How to deal with Not Having Enough Time?

Not Having Enough Time: This is one of the most common complaints of our generation – we don’t have enough time to do the things that we want to do. And that’s true too, it is easy to get distracted with so many things demanding our attention constantly. However, this comes with a sacrifice that we don’t have enough opportunity for the things that matter the most to us.

In other words, it brings back the question of living in the moment and having enough time to do the things that matter the most to us.

Not Having Enough Time

Lack of time is one of the most common challenges and complaints of our generation. Unfortunately, we all have only 24Hrs during the day and we somehow have to find out the best way to use this. The feeling of not having enough time can manifest itself as one of the following:

Time Anxiety: This is a feeling that you never have enough time compounded with the feeling that you’re not doing enough with your time. It quickly manifests into self-blame that you’re wasting your life in some activities which can be construed as leisure or taking a break. Sometimes, these breaks are the most important thing to organise yourself properly. The anxiety not only affects the quality of work we’re doing but also restrains us from enjoying our activities.

Not enough time in the day: This is one of the most common phrases I’ve heard about productivity management. There’ll never be enough time during the day to do all the activities that we want to do. Sometimes, this feeling of stress is a dominant indicator that either your activities aren’t planned properly or that you might be doing things that are less important. The main point of managing your schedule is that you don’t have to do everything yourself. It’s great to be busy, but you ought to be doing things that matter to you. If not, even being busy sucks the life out of your day and leaves you feeling stressed and enervated.

The other manifestations are – I’m too busy, not having time to stop and breathe and identify what’s happening. The most ironic quote to remember at these times is:

To live in the present moment is a miracle. The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth in the present moment, to appreciate the peace and beauty that are available now.

– Thich Nhat Hanh (Source)

Too much to do but not enough time

This is far more common than we appreciate. Our days and lives are busy – the to-do lists are never-ending. How do we balance this?

The most common answer I can give us – is prioritisation. There are two aspects to the feeling of not having enough time – having too many things to do or not being efficient about time. For the latter, I’d recommend reading through the time management ppt to help manage time better.

If you’re worried about the former, it is a clear sign of using proper prioritisation techniques.

• 80-20 rule is a fantastic way to identify what’s most important. The rule says, if you can only do 10 activities in a day, at least 8 of those must be of the greatest value to you. Use the 80-20 rule as a guide – 80% of your efforts should be on the things that matter the most to you.
• Prioritise your activities as the Eisenhower matrix between urgent and important. Just because something is urgent doesn’t mean that it is important. This helps you to save your time for the things that matter the most to you.
• 4D’s of time management: You don’t have to do everything yourself. Some activities can be deferred – postponed and procrastinated while others can be delegated. Identify which activities demand your physical presence and whether they are important.

These techniques are guiding principles. Might not solve all your problems but will get you into the habit of managing your resources as per your rules and standards in life.

Say No!

Most people find it hard to say no in the fear that they appear rude or unhelpful. If you are one of those people, then think about the flip side. If you say yes to everything, you’ll end up working on things that are of less value and importance. Invariably, you will not be able to work on things that are most important to you.

The sacrifice is very real and harsh. I am not suggesting to be unhelpful but make sure that you know what you’re signing up for. There is a huge strength in awareness and knowing what you’re exactly doing. So if you are accepting something, know for sure what you are missing out on because of this.

Creating opportunities for yourself

Time is not a given. Although it appears to be available, we make the mistake of confusing that with an everlasting resource. But as days pass by – the deadlines get closer. Not having enough time only means that something else is taking your mental space. Try to identify what activities are demanding your attention. Following that, identify if they’re all important.

Creating time for yourself is a conscious exercise and it will ask you to be tough. If you can’t do this for yourself – who are you doing everything for? If your priorities don’t matter, you’re easily slipping away and frankly disrespecting the value of your own life.

You will never have time for anything. If you want time, you must make it!

Charles Buxton (Source)