Taking the time for your priorities

“I don’t have time for…” or “I would love to have more time for…” are the past. Taking the time for your priorities is easier than you might think.

Let’s talk about time
Time is our most valuable resource. It’s not renewable, it doesn’t come back. Every minute we spend, of every day that passes, is gone. Does that put pressure on us? Sometimes yes, if we let it. Does this mean we have to be super productive all the time or do something extraordinary or create something, in order to spend our time the most possible way? No. You don’t have to do anything. I recommend you to say the following mantra out loud to yourself, 3 times: “I decide what to do with my time.“
Generally, while we are kids, it’s usually our parents/caretakers who show us how to spend our time or create certain time frames. As we grow up, we take on different roles and responsibilities and they have an impact on our time/time management. And as everything, there are two sides to it. If we want to be part of a society or community or family or company for example, there is a high chance we need to make some compromises and take on some responsibilities, in order to make it work. To meet somewhere in the middle, integrate and respect every member of that community, including yourself. This, of course, comes with the reward of being part of a group. Again: It’s your decision, which one(s) you would like to belong to. Just keep in mind: If you want to be there for others, you need to be there for yourself. No matter what’s your role at home or position at work, you need time to recharge. Yes, it’s a balance act.
When we talk about “freedom of time”, in my opinion we actually talk about “freedom to decide which responsibilities we take on”. In the majority of the cases, it’s our decision. I say on purpose “in the majority” because there are situations and certain families / companies / countries / cultures, where responsibilities are pushed upon people and expected. I’m focusing on the ones where we can actually decide for ourselves, where we can have an open conversation and re-organize a few tasks maybe, so that everyone feels more supported. I know and I honestly think the topic of “time” has many, very sensitive aspects (and expectations) to it. But we need to learn to become aware and at least talk about it. To sum up this last part, the new mantra I recommend you to say 3 times, is: “I decide what responsibilities and compromises to take on, as I know they impact my time.“

Let’s talk about priorities and creating time for them
What are your priorities? “Priorities are the relative importance of various tasks, activities, or values in your life. They reflect what matters most to you at a given time and guide how you allocate your time and resources.” (Definition by Chat GPT)
Do you know your priorities? And if you know them: Do you allocate them the majority of your time and resources?
If you need help defining your priorities, I recommend you this article, which I shared recently: https://littlehealthyhabits.com/how-to-become-aware-of-your-needs/.
If you already know your priorities and allocate them the majority of your time and resources: Congratulations, that’s amazing, keep going!
If you know your priorities but don’t allocate them the majority of your time and resources, please reflect on that question: What activities or tasks take up a lot of my time but I could actually skip for a few days (because they are neither important nor urgent), in order to create time for my priorities?
Once you know that: Skip those tasks. Just leave them. You just defined for yourself they are neither important nor urgent. Please at least try for a few days.
You can repeat this mantra 3 times: “I have time for my priorities.” or “If it is a priority, I find the time.” If you don’t find the time over and over again, it might not be as much of a priority for you as you thought. Then I recommend you to start reflecting again.
A long lasting change is only possible little by little. Start today. You will get better over time, I promise.

From my personal experience
In my case for example, I had worried a lot more about my household in the past. I thought my place always needed to be extremely tidy and organized. But the problem was I also had a lot of stuff. Today, I have less things so I’m first of all quicker tidying up. Secondly, I learnt to accept a certain untidiness and in general less self-claim of “perfectionism”, in order to have more energy and time for my priorities, like new business ideas, my family and friends, and self-care. For insights on self-care and how to recharge your battery, read this article: https://littlehealthyhabits.com/take-care-of-your-personal-battery/
It’s all a very personal decision and this decision starts with ourselves.

To sum up, I’ll share this quote by Steve Jobs:
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

What are your thoughts? If you have any questions, please let me know, I would love to support you.
You can also send them directly to hello@littlehealthyhabits.com.