“I Just Don’t Have Enough Time!” Part 1

By Action Coach Dave Beam

How many times have you used the EXCUSE of not having the time to do something you really want to do?  You protest.  “That’s not an excuse!  That’s reality.  I really don’t have enough time to do everything I want to do.”

What I want to challenge is your paradigm and mindset.  You are making yourself a victim to something that is out of your control.  You have as much time as everyone else.  You have 24 hours a day – no more and no less.  That does not change.  So if you want a different experience in life, YOU must change. 

And the first step for lasting change is to get a clear understanding of the real issue.  You DON’T need to try to manage your time better, because you can’t manage time.  The solution is not having more time, because there is no more time to have.  The solution to ridding yourself of that overwhelming anxiety and stress because you “don’t have enough time” is identifying, choosing, and committing to your top priorities.  The real problem that produces supposed time management problems is a lack of purpose.

If you know exactly what you want to have, and exactly what you need to do to have what you want to have, you will be free of your time management problems.  Lack of clarity and lack of action based on lack of purpose is the issue that must be addressed.  And until you drop the excuse of “I don’t have enough time”, you won’t work on the real problem.

Here’s a starting point.  Sit down with a blank sheet of paper and a pen, and write down three important issues that you would like to address.  Identify a first step that you can take tomorrow to address each issue.  Consider your prior commitments for tomorrow, and if these first steps can be completed in the available time, then just DO IT. 

Get the idea.  It’s really very simple.  Get clear on the first step you need to take to get started on something you want done, then schedule the task, commit to it, and do it.  It’s that simple.  No new fancy phone needed.  No elaborate organizer.  No 300 page book or multi-volume time management system.  Just a pad of paper, a pen, and your commitment.  You don’t even need any more will power.  It’s just a simple choice.  CLARITY + ACTION = RESULTS

So next time you’re feeling a little (or a lot) overwhelmed, take a break with a pad of paper and a pen, choose your top three priorities, define the next action step for each one, write down exactly what you are going to do,  – THEN DO IT!

Next week I’ll help you determine your purpose and true top priorities.  Have fun DOING IT!