Do you really not have the time?

How often do you complain about not having enough time? No time to get everything done. No time to work out. No time to meal prep or go for that walk. To take a moment for yourself or even take a nap if you needed it?

There are a few truths to face here.

1. We make time for the things we want to do.

2. We waste way more time than we want to acknowledge.

3. We confuse being in motion with taking action.

Let’s look at the last one. I’ll use myself as an example. I can literally spend hours organizing my desk and emails. I consider this essential “work” time. Deleting the emails I don’t need so I can go back and focus on the ones that are important. Sorting through piles of essential printouts to review and the ones to file. Researching new recipes to share and content that I created that I want to re-use.

I can literally spend HOURS doing this. But the question is what have I really accomplished? Did any of this action move the needle towards my goals? Busy work = motion. But it doesn’t lead to the action that will make a difference in my life.

I’m going to break it down in these examples.

If my goal is to eat healthier:

• Motion = Find some go-to recipes (productive motion), but spending too much time down the rabbit hole of looking for that “perfect” one (less productive).

• Action = Actually cutting up the veggies, batch prepping proteins, salads and sides like quinoa or brown rice.

If my goal is to workout on my own:

• Motion = plan the week and put the workouts on the calendar (productive motion). Spending a half an hour scrolling instagram looking for just the right workout series instead of just getting moving (less productive).

• Action = Just start. Pick one and do it. Gather up your favorites over time so you have them readily accessible. Walk with a friend. Start the morning with a 45 second plan and 45 second wall sit. Do this 3 times.

Clearly motion is not a bad thing if it leads to or facilitates taking action. But when the motion takes up all of your time, it gets in the way of really accomplishing what you want to achieve and becomes a distraction and time suck instead. Stop wasting time thinking about it or planning. Just Do It.

So how do you break some of these patterns so you DO have time for the things that will level up your health, mind and productivity?

1. Keep a time journal for a day or two. Be brutally honest and write down EVERYTHING that you do and the time frame.

2. After the 2 days, analyze how you’ve been spending your time. Find the areas that can be better used for something else. Take note of how much time is motion or wasted time.

3. Create a plan. Decide what you can eliminate or modify so that you have more productive time and more free space to insert the things you want to do.