Free Yourself From Your Time Prison

I did a poll recently and verified what I previously thought: perhaps the biggest and most powerful stress that lawyers and other professionals feel is that of time, a lack of time. So many feel trapped by having too much work to do, not enough time to do it, and an inability to separate work from family and other personal activities.

How can we free ourselves from the time trap? How can we take ownership of our time and not feel so much a victim to the paucity of time to do the work we feel we need to do? In this newsletter I will explain how a new attitude towards our time can free us emotionally, allowing us to create our own time. I will them provide tangible steps to use our time more effectively and free ourselves from the time trap. This is a prison we can all escape from.

OWN YOUR OWN TIME

*Have you ever felt you had so much to do and so little time to do it?

*Do you find yourself saying repeatedly, "I wish I could, but I just don't have enough time?"

*Do you find yourself working tirelessly hard, and still frustrated at the end of the day because you ran out of time to get done what you wanted to get done? 

*Or saying, "there are just not enough hours in the day."

Gay Hendricks, in his wonderful book, The Big Leap, explains that the problem is that we make ourselves a victim, and we focus too much on the lack of time instead of taking ownership of it. We allow ourselves to feel that there is never enough time, that we are always rushed, that we can never get everything done. We focus on the scarcity of time and as a result we are always busy, rushed, stressed to fit in as much as we possibly can.

We feel that time is somewhere "out there," which puts pressure on us inside. And what does that pressure feel like? We may experience a tightening in our chest, a rushed heartbeat, a lack of appetite, a headache. We feel anxiety and stress. We keep focusing on our lack of time which distracts us from what we have to do. We create our own additional pressure that traps us in this prison of "I do not have enough time."

 Instead of making ourselves a victim, we can free ourselves by taking ownership of the amount of time that we do have. We are all blessed with the same 24 hours in a day. We can make however much of the time we have as we choose to. We can create an attitude where we are no longer the slave to time. We choose how we wish to spend our time. We are in charge of our time, not a victim to it. We can accept the time we have as being ours, and stop being in conflict with it.

So many times we use lack of time as an excuse when the real explanation is that we are responsible for our time and how we use it, and there is some greater priority at that time. If your child said "let's play a board game," and you were busy on a home project, you may say "sorry, but I do not have time now." But if that same child cut his hand badly, you would never say you did not have time to help him. See, whether you complete the home project, play a board game with your child, or rush to his aid when he is injured, is simply a matter of choice on your part as to how you want to use the time that you have. Time is yours, and you can choose to use it as you wish.

Is this easy? Of course not! We all have been conditioned to say we do not have time, to blame a lack of time for our inability to speak with someone, complete a task, etc. How do we change that? Create a different mindset. See yourself as owning your time and choosing to use it as you wish. This empowers you to be in charge of your day. It frees you from the stress of being a victim to the lack of time. It allows you to escape from the prison that the scarcity of time placed you in.

The key is to focus on your thoughts and your words. Do not allow yourself to ever use lack of time as an excuse. It's always your choice.

What are the benefits of changing this mindset towards our time? Does it really change the fact that we have so much to do in our day? On one hand, of course not. You still have the same projects to complete in the same day. But you will find that you are no longer stressed and anxious to the same extent. You will be more purposeful and more focused. You will get more completed in your day because you realize how you use your time is up to you and your choice. You will not feel so overwhelmed, but instead more efficient and productive. 

This mindset change is not easy. But it does help you to create personal freedom in your day. It is a practice that takes time.

TOOLS FOR BETTER USE OF OUR TIME

Now that we are having a healthier mindset towards our time, how do we make better choices about how we use it? The term "time management" is really a misnomer. We cannot manage time, we have the time that we have. All we can do is manage our relationship to time, and the events in our life in relation to the time that we have. How we use our time depends on our choices. Here are some tangible steps that have helped me:

1. Know how you spend your time. Be alert to what you do during your day. What takes you the most time? What is most important? When are you most productive? What do you devote move of your time to? Is any of your time "wasted" on unimportant matters? The more you are aware of how you spend your time will help you to make the choices you want going forward.

2. Set priorities. Evaluate the tasks you have to do. Determine which ones are urgent and necessary to be done first. See which ones really are not that important and can be delayed. Choose which are the priority matters that should be done right away.

3. Schedule your day. We often think of schedule as referring to the appointments that we have. But instead, actually plan your day, each hour, and how you're going to use your time. Decide which matter you will work on when. Include in your schedule necessary breaks to clear your mind, and a lunch break. Begin your day with a conscious plan of how you intend to use each hour of your day. It will help you to be both more efficient and to feel less overwhelmed.

4. Don't procrastinate. Too often we find we are "getting ready to get ready." We spin our wheels because we are hesitant to get started on the most important project. How often did I try to "clear the deck" so I could focus on the big important project, when really all I was doing was delaying it? Be aware where you are wasting time and simply putting off what you should do first. Try to eliminate the time wasters.

5. Focus, focus, focus. Do not let distractions get in your way. Consolidate responding to emails and calls in a time block. Interrupting your important project to answer every email that comes through your computer prevents your singular focus on the most important project. Multi-tasking is actually quite inefficient. We get less done by trying to do multiple things at once than if we singularly focus on the most important priorities.

6. Delegate. Often we identify projects that others can be doing for us. When you see a task that others can do, do not hesitate to delegate the projects to them so that you are doing only the things that particularly require your level of talent, experience and training.

7. Stay healthy. Set boundaries protecting your personal time. Eat well, sleep well, exercise. Take a break during the day to free your mind. Enjoy your lunch break when you are not distracted by work. If we are nourished, relaxed, and content, we are much more efficient during the day.

Has any of this been helpful to you? I am now coaching attorneys and young professionals on how to better relate to their time pressures, helping them to overcome the feeling that they simply do not have enough time in their day to complete that all that must be done. I would love to connect with you on a discovery call to learn how you are doing. Feel free to schedule a chat here: https://calendly.com/garymiles-successcoach/one-one-discovery-call