Mar 17, 2021
Why you Never Have Enough Time and What to Do About It
We have all heard the aphorisms about having the same amount of time in a day as all the greats did. Ben Franklin, Marie Curie, and Thomas Edison all had the same 24 hours as you and I have. But, if this is true, why does our 24 hours seem so much shorter than theirs?
To find the answer to this you only need to create two things: a time map and a time log. A time map is your depiction of how you spend your 24 hours in ideal conditions. Map out your whole day, including sleep, breaks, meals, and other routines. Your time log is how you actually spend that time on a typical day.
The time map is best created while you have time to be thoughtful about how to be efficient and effective. A time log is best done on a typical day and activities recorded every 15 minutes, or so. If you create a time log on 5 different days over the course of two weeks, you will have a pretty good picture of how you are actually spending your time which you can compare to your time map.
In every instance where we have done this, the map varies significantly from the log. Identify your gaps and start to shrink them. Perhaps you are spending more time at meals than you intend to, or stay up later than you like watching TV, short circuiting both your productivity and your sleep.
Every two weeks, identify one area of your time log that you want to improve. Just one. Work on creating a single new habit every two weeks. Improve your time usage in incremental steps and create new, better habits that more closely match your time map.
Within two month’s time you will feel much more rested and much more productive!
The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are, first, hard work; second, stick-to-itiveness; third, common sense.
