One of the biggest stress triggers that I hear people talking about is time. No one feels like they have enough of it, and everyone wants more of it.
I’ve caught myself feeling trapped by time before too. It’s such a frustrating place to be because we feel out of control and helpless (victims of time). But then I made a very subtle shift in my perspective and it literally changed everything. It’s not actually about time…
Time is out of our control. We all have the same amount of it. We all just manage ourselves and our commitments differently. Some of us are overly optimistic about what we can get done in a day. Others of us feel obligated to “do” everything. And then there are those of us who are easily distracted and really struggle to stay focused.
If I’m being completely honest, I’m a combo of all three. What about you?
Here’s the thing that is life altering when we finally accept it – learn to manage yourself, not your time. We can’t actually manage time, or impact it in anyway. Even if we know this, saying things like “there’s just never enough time” is sending the message that we think that time is the thing we have to change.
Time is not in our control. It moves whether we want it to or not, and the speed of it is always consistent. Reality is, if we were given more time, we’d just cram it with more things to do.
The second that we realize we need to manage ourselves better than time, everything changes because now we have options. We can make choices about our actions and we can be intentional in choosing what we put in our schedules.
Time is precious commodity. We all have a certain amount and once it’s spent, it’s gone. So use it wisely.
Give this a try – next time you think “there’s never enough time” ask yourself, if there was the exact right amount of time, what would change? Maybe you’d feel calmer (less conflicted or frenzied) or maybe you’d have more quality time with your family. Then ask yourself, “what is one thing I am willing to do today to make that happen.”
Hit reply and let me know how it goes!
Emily 🙂
P.S. If you want to learn more strategies to help you manage stress, join the “Make IT Happen Masterclass.” We’re talking about stopping the stress struggle once and for all on our call this Wednesday! Join here.
P.P.S. Know someone who is always feeling stressed about time? Be sure to forward them this email so that they know how to get some help!