How to create more time in your day
We are all looking for more time so today I’m going to teach you how to create more time in your day. This is a constant struggle for many of us. We buy planners, programs, systems and charts, but we struggle with them because they don’t get to the heart of our struggles. Today I’m sharing a simple exercise designed around you and your needs. This exercise will help you create more time and purpose in your schedule
It might be helpful to grab something to record your thoughts either through voice memo or written form.
Now take some deep breaths and get into a more restful state. If you have screaming kids running around this will be difficult so just try your best.
You’re going to start painting a picture of your perfect day. Let your imagination go wherever it wants. What happens when you wake up? Which feelings are flooding your body and what thoughts are you having? Picture yourself climbing out of bed. Where are you? What is the first thing you do? Who will you see first and what is your interaction like? Now go about your dream day and try to capture as many details as possible. These details include important information that will help you get your time back.
It’s okay if this process takes a bit of time. You can even come back to it over a span of several days as you think of more details.
***Warning****
Your brain is likely going to try to sabotage this process. Your brain wants to keep you safe. Sometimes it does that by sabotaging the exact exercises that will help you. Your brain might be going haywire right now. It’s telling you that this exercise is pointless and you’ll never experience your dream day, so why bother.
It’s okay. There is nothing wrong with you. Your brain is just doing what it thinks will keep you safe.
Tell your brain that it’s okay to have big feelings but this process is designed to help, not harm.
If you’d like more help dealing with your inner saboteur then read my recent blog post titled ‘Four Sabotaging Voices and How to Deal With Them.”
Back to your list.
Now that you’ve described your dream day, look inside for clues and start jotting those down.
- Is it full of interactions with other people?
- Do you spend a lot of time in solitude?
- Is there space for your nervous system to reset?
- What kind of food were you enjoying?
- What was meaningful to you about that day?
- Where do you see your values shining through?
Each clue is points you toward creating a daily schedule that will free up your time.
This is where the magic happens
If you are a person of faith then take both your current schedule and your dream schedule to prayer and ask God for clarity. You are going to examine your current day and start to cultivate a lifestyle that is more in line with your values and dreams. This is not a ‘name it and claim it’ process. Rather, it is honoring the unique way that you are designed by God and using that clarity to structure your days. God gave you your desires as part of your unique design and it’s time to work with that design rather than against it.
Look at your current schedule and compare it to your dream day. What are the similarities and discrepancies? Do you see the same elements in your current day as your dream day? Are there aspects of your current day that do not align with your values?
Maybe you thrive in quiet spaces but you fill your day with people. What changes can you make? You value time with family but you get home from work at 9 pm. How can you restructure your work to fit your values? Continuing education is something you believe in but you never make time for learning. What can you take out of your day to make room for classes?
Get courageously curious about the way you schedule your time. Are negative feelings ruling your day? Is guilt a driving force? What about fear? Do you use busyness as a form of procrastination? Do you fall into hopelessness and give up before you even start?
Curiosity will help you discover those pesky thoughts and feelings so that you can weed them out. What would your day look like if it wasn’t ruled by fear? How would you show up for your kids if guilt isn’t part of the equation? Imagine going out to dinner with your friends and being fully present instead of nagged by all the ‘shoulds’ running through your thoughts.
God meets us in our big dreams because that’s where we encounter His loving design of our soul.
God meets us in our big dreams because that’s where we encounter His loving design of our soul.
As you begin to live your day according to how you’re designed, you will have more time for the things that matter to you. Guilt will no longer rob you of the satisfaction of a life well-lived. You can go about your day in confidence knowing that you are working with your design rather than against it. Suddenly you have more time for the things that matter to you.
If you liked this idea but want more help in the process then click here to schedule a consultation call with me today. In our sessions together I will hold the time and space you need in order to navigate your dreams, goals, desires and struggles. I won’t tell you how to structure your day. Instead, I will ask you the questions that will help you discover the life you’re created to live.
