Time is funny thing.
It can seem to move so quickly, like on a wonderful vacation.
Or so slowly, like when you are getting through the first weeks of a rainbow pregnancy.
Time can be an enemy and a friend. Like how every angelversary is one more year without your baby, and yet one year closer to seeing each other again.
What is your relationship with time? What are your beliefs about it?
Are you punctual or always late? Do you feel rushed and busy or does time stand still?
I encourage you to do a thought download about time. And if you think you don’t have enough minutes in the day to stop and do this, well….there’s your problem 😉 (any Mythbusters fans out there?)
What you think about time is going to create feelings and results.
We don’t have a time problem, it is always a thought problem.
Time is one of our most valuable assets, and it’s something we literally cannot get more of.
We like to label time in different ways, such as “work time” and “free time” but really there is just time.
It’s all about how we think about it.
Putting your thoughts about time in a Model will help so much with your awareness. Let’s say you have a project that needs to be done. Try it:
C: Time (this is neutral)
T:I don’t have enough
F: stressed
A: procrastinate, buffer (snacking, Netflix, scrolling your phone)
R: I don’t have enough time.
Basically when we think we don’t have enough time, also known as time scarcity, we actually avoid what we need to do and end up making the problem worse. A lot of us aren’t aware that we do this.
My garage has been a disaster lately. With all the bikes and camping gear and different items in and out this summer, I could barely open my car door. Every time I would go in there I would feel frustrated and annoyed. But I never stopped to do anything about it. Because I didn’t have time. Usually I was coming or going and did not want to stop. So my result was I never made the time to pick things up.
But what would things look like for you if you had plenty of time? How would things be different? Here is an example:
C: time
T: I have plenty of time
F: Abundance
A: plan, use, create
R: I have plenty of time
See how believing we have enough time totally changes the feeling? And since feelings drive all our actions, we are going to do things differently when we are feeling abundant rather than stressed.
It’s really important to remember that the time really is neutral. We all have the same hours in the day as Beyonce, and it’s up to us how we think about them.
I FINALLY decided to do something about my garage today, and this frustrating problem I thought would take forever and that I kept avoiding because I didn’t have enough time ended up taking less than half an hour.
Now, I understand that a lot of people will resist this idea….”but Amy, if I think that I have all kinds of time I will not get as much done.” The opposite is actually true. When we have a true mindset of abundance around time, we will create much more useful feelings. We will use it much more wisely. We won’t waste it. We won’t procrastinate. We will plan it. We will manage it. We will be grateful for it.
We will take back control of our time instead of being victims to it.
And trust me, it’s way more fun that way.
So just be aware of how you are using your time. Even make a list of what you do and how long you do it in a 24 hour period.
Are you spending your time the way you want to?
If not, be more intentional. You have plenty of time. Use it to your best advantage to create the results you want in your life.
If you feel like you have tried lots of systems and planners and set all the phone alarms to manage your time and they haven’t worked, let me know. I’d love to teach you a better way to do it.