Finding Time Means Making Time

To my dismay, I sometimes find myself using a time-worn phrase to explain why I didn't get something done. "I haven't been able to find the time."

I hate saying that because I absolutely realize that you don't find time to do anything. You make the time. Achieving or accomplishing something isn't a matter of happenstance. If you're waiting to find some time, you'll never achieve anything that requires a commitment of time.

You just can't rummage through the attic and find some spare minutes. They're not lurking under rocks either. You make time to work on something based on your priority system.

Henry David Thoreau said, "As if you could kill time without wounding eternity?" Yet many of us seem to be time assassins, playing our games of Freecell or Cubis, watching boring re-runs on TV, and any of the other distractions that steal your time.

Make Time

If you want to blog regularly, then you set up an editorial calendar that details how often you will blog. Make a commitment no matter how small that time increment may be. The same holds true if you want to write a book or learn how to ballroom dance. Sit down and figure up how much time on a daily or weekly basis you can commit to the project.

Just as important, figure out if you're going to have to sacrifice something else in order to make the time to work on your higher priority item. If you say you want to write a book, what's more important: watching Survivor or writing pages?

Commit: Take Action

After you've penciled in appointments with yourself on a calendar that indicate when you'll work on achieving that which you desire, take some action. If you want to dance, look up the phone number or website URL to get schedule information.

If you want to write a book, sit down and start making notes about what kind of book, the premise, the characters. If you want to create web content regularly, sit down and brainstorm topics on which you can write.

If you want to work on a master's degree, call the college or visit their website to get the information you need in order to make the decision.

Takeaway Truth

Everyone is allotted the same number of hours in a day. Those who achieve, use their time effectively.