Time is a created thing. To say" I don't, have time" is to say, " I don't want to."
I have to admit , one of my pet hates is people who constantly say, “ I don’t have time.” They consider themselves full up with work, family and worries.
So when you suggest something which involves giving some time to you, out comes the ‘time mantra’
Today, I am looking at this life detail.
A friend of mine who died some years ago had someone speak about him at the funeral who stated "there was never enough time for him”.
This person was the nicest guy you could ever meet, he was a serving RAF Warrant Officer, a family man and he always was my first choice to run the Royal Box when I selected the recruits for Wimbledon.
I thought he “managed time” well and he probably did in the service manner he was attached to.
He died after a Christmas party, as his wife was in the bathroom, he laid on his bed and simply passed away. He was not even 50.
Was this a feature of doing too much for himself, for others or for his family? I wonder, even today, what made him go the way that he did?
Time is something that creeps along, making your life tick in directions which push you or pull you to make you who you are. It’s weird that time can be slow or “gosh I can’t believe that went so fast”.
As I get older, I get up earlier. I can’t help it, bed is for sleeping in these days and once I am awake, I want to make the best of my time.
Let's open this up?
One day is 1440 minutes. That is 10,080 minutes per week. When you work, you should spend no more than 2400 minutes at the grindstone. That’s 40 hours.
This means you have 7680 minutes left to occupy the week. So you then have to provide x amount of minutes to handling other things.
So what do you do with 127 hours? (That’s 5 days and 7 hours).
Maybe you have two jobs, shifts or you work overtime. So take these hours off the total. How much have you got left. Then what do you do ?
House chores, washing, sport, television , doom scrolling, board games, travelling (commuting) , collecting children, visiting loved ones, dating ?
Do you manage this time? - probably not!
Therefore, it’s bedtime at some point. There, you sleep for a good 480 minutes a day. That’s 3360 minutes or 56 hours a week - take that off and you leave your self with 127 or a final total and that’s how much time you actually have to give someone or yourself.
So now I have 71 hours to do something from that list above. Thats 2 days and 23 hours.
These are non sleeping hours; so if intake a nap every day for an hour, I have only 64 hours of time to kill each week. if I don’t use the time for relaxation -it could kill me.
So in a week of working, sleeping and napping I have two days and 16 hours to do what I want per week.
I never say, I don’t have time, because I factor in what time I will give to a request or a pursuit.
Example, if I go to the gym, I will work out, sauna and swim and listen to an audio book and or some favourite music. This might be three times a week at 1 hour 30 minutes, including travel time, shower time, shave time and teeth time. Because they are all done together - this is time managed.
Take the gym time off my lot, where I have worked, napped and slept and I am left with 59 hours and thirty minutes left. That’s still two days and eleven hours of spare time I can use. So the question you must ask yourself is - where do you waste those couple of days?
Television - film 2 hours
Football - watching playing 2 hours
Gaming - 2 hours
Shopping - 2 hours
What ever you do -you have this time - you should realise this and if you find yourself at the end of the week saying "I didn’t or don't have time" - say in responding to a friend's or colleague's genuine request, because they want some of your time - just be honest and say "no I can’t this week"; but, you could then say, "maybe next week, we can plan something together then right"
Saying, “I don’t have time” for me, comes over to me as rude and to me, the person is really saying “I don’t want to play with you so don’t ask me again”. Of course, when it’s constantly said, you stop asking.
But if you really think you have no time after all is said and done, sit down and work it out because that old saying “life is too short” will come to you when you least expect it.
Before my usual poem, here are some time tips.
Filing - Don't hold things in your office or on your desk or even your home simply because you don't know where to file. Its either worthwhile or worthless. Find a home for it or throw it away.
"In a minute" - Consider the cost and benefits of delay. Hard jobs are often the easy ones you didn't do at the proper time.
Respect - Show people you respect them and their time
And here's a thing I learned today, Your brain is like the "tabs" in a google or safari browser, you select them in your browser and sometimes forget they are open. How many do you have open?
One day, I clicked on a link to read a story and it sent me to another link to open and this gets distracting from the task you might be wanting to achieve. Things you use to scroll around the internet are wasting your time and preventing you using valuable time on something else. Don't' get me wrong , there is nothing demonic about "doom scrolling" but it can be seen to bb rude as well especially when you are with someone else who has given you their time
So close the tabs and if there is another link then put it in a note to look at later - complete your tasks and do other things in real spare time. I have a brilliant tool to share with you to manage your time and prevent distractions - wait for it....
Its called...
a list - if I want to remember something to do and it looks interesting, but, you are doing something important. Put the link or detail in notes on the iphone or one note in MS office. If its something, I have to do then, I put it on my "to do" list. Use your diary to remember events and hey - you are managing your time.
Poem
The way we live and work and dream
Is all down to me, it’s one big scene
Act one, I’m up, the day begins
Act two, I sit and daydream, scroll on 'things'
'Things' are infectious, so put them away
Or else Act three will not come into play
The time is ripe - I have some too spare
Shall I use this space - say I am washing my hair ?
Shall I flash up FIFA or treat my soul
Maybe meditation, gym, swim and sauna - these take their toll
Why am I still working, why now I ask?
Why didn’t I manage that friend requested task
He is my friend, he asked, I refused
Now he’s gone, I am shamed and he is suitably bruised.
I have to think, time is tight , it’s all we have to share
To live, love and laugh and show that I care.
The final act comes , he asks just one more refrain
Of course, I then say, my friend - let’s open Champagne.
To us !!
