“But I don’t have time.”
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard his phrase. I’m just too busy, I can’t fit in one more thing, I’m too busy right now, I’ll do it later and put it off for good, or yes, I’m just going to do it now and then never do. I have so much to do right now, maybe when I find the time I will and so on.
All sound familiar? I know I’ve said and heard all these phrases and more a ton of times. Time can be one of our biggest factors in not doing something, procrastinating, or using it as a perfect excuse.
I sat down to write this blog during the ‘Stay at home’ period in April 2020. It dawned on me that if I was still using the excuse “I don’t have time” during that period then I needed to be a bit more honest with myself about somethings and say “You know what I’m not going to do that.”
It’s important when we say the phrase “I don’t have time” to stop and check in with yourself and be honest. After all, if we can’t be honest with our own feelings then how do we expect to live our best authentic self with others?
Ask yourself:
- Are you genuinely too busy? If so, that’s fine.
- Would you rather not do…fill in the blank? If so, that’s fine too, own it, and say so.
- If you would rather not do whatever it is, be honest with yourself. You may then need to share that with someone who the issue is with. Maybe you’ve been asked to do something, and you have used the excuse of time to not do it. It is possible to say no, with compassion.
- This can feel uncomfortable I know, but being honest is always better, how many times have you done something and regretted it because it compromised something else or you resented doing it?
- For example, when starting a healthy eating plan I might say to myself “I’ve not got time to prepare my food from scratch right now” When I stop and check in with myself I may be more honest with myself and say “I don’t want to do this at this moment in time.”
- Other examples maybe starting an exercise program, working on your hobby, your new plan for your business, working on your own personal growth or fitting self-care into your routine.
Our brains will try to protect us. When we say “I don’t have time to…” it will find a way to protect us and fill our time with things to do, excessive thoughts, and ways to embed what we are saying to ourselves. So in order to change this thought pattern we can do the following;
Test to see if you honestly have time or not
- When you think of the issue or situation:
- Place your hand on your heart and take a breath in and out
- When you think of the object in mind does the thought of doing it fill you with joy or dread?
- Does the thought of doing it light up your soul? Or make you recoil?
- If it’s a flat out no, that you do not wish to do it, or maybe can’t, replace the thought from ‘I don’t have time’ to ‘I don’t want to because…’ Be honest and authentic.
- If it’s a yes, I do want to, replace the thought ‘I don’t have time’ with ‘how important is this to me and my wellbeing and therefore how can I make sure I fit this into my schedule?’ If you really want to do something you will find a way.
The idea is to change your mindset from the place of a negative “Don’t” to either
- Own it and state your truth
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- I can and I will because it’s important to me
It is amazing how we use the excuse of time, to put ourselves to the back of the queue. If you are genuinely wanting to make your self-care a priority, jump a few places in the queue (go on, don’t be so British 😉)
Use The Following Mantra:
“I do have time and will open space to be able to…”
It is truly amazing when we open space to the universe, how it will find ways for us to be able to do what we truly want to do.
And so is it, Karen x