Do What Matters Most to You

It doesn’t matter whether you’re rich or poor, powerful or weak, young or old — everyone has the same amount of time each day. What you do with that time is your choice and your choice alone. You can invest it or fritter it away. You can focus on priorities or waste it on meaningless tasks. The key is that every time you do something, you’ve chosen to forgo something else. So, the next time you say, “I don’t have the time,” what you’re really saying is, “I won’t make the time.” Do you do what matters most to you?

How much time do you spend on the phone, hanging out on social media, or watching junk TV? How much time do you spend doing things expected of you rather than doing stuff that you want to do? How much time do you squander by reacting to distractions, disruptions, or being hijacked by other people’s priorities? It’s no wonder you run out of time.

What matters most to you? Are you too busy to think about that?

Find the Time for the Things That Matter

Did you ever ask yourself where the day went?

When most people are faced with that quandary, they cram more stuff into their day by moving faster, getting less sleep, or working longer hours. (Ugh.) That’s hardly the answer to your problem. The solution lies in the following three principles:

Make your priorities a priority. Checking items off a to-do list doesn’t determine progress; focusing on your priorities is what counts.
Subtracting from your list of priorities is as important as adding to it.
Saying “no” to one thing allows you to say “yes” to another.

You are bombarded with choices every day. How can you make good decisions if you haven’t determined what matters most to you? Moreover, if you say yes to everything, you’ll run around like a headless chicken, but won’t move any closer to your goals.

A lot of people are busy…doing figure eights.

Are you spending your time wisely? Have you achieved the correct balance? Are you driving the ship or letting others take the wheel? What tradeoffs are you knowingly — or unknowingly — making?

“I’m too busy” is another way of saying, “It’s not a priority.”

Are you making the time to strengthen your relationships, boost your career, be a part of your children’s lives, make happy memories, pursue your favorite recreations and hobbies, practice your faith, serve your community, stimulate your mind, body, and soul, or enhance your health and well-being?

It’s not that you don’t have time. You just spend it doing something else.

People claim they’re so busy that they don’t have time for the important things in their life. You have 8,760 hours, which equates to 525,600 minutes or 31,540,000 seconds each year. * Invest it wisely. The next time you say you don’t have time, remember that you made that choice. What are your priorities? If you don’t focus on the things that you hold dear, you’re losing more than time. As author Michael LeBoeuf said, “Waste your money and you’re only out of money, but waste your time and you’ve lost a part of your life.”

Check out Frank’s new book, The Path to a Meaningful Life.