I’ve had time to do some really fun things over the past few days. I took time to visit a local farm and see all the new spring babies, like pigs, goats, and sheep. I naturally dyed Easter Eggs with my daughter. I took a yoga class with my husband. I slow roasted tomatoes for bruschetta, but first stuffed them with garlic, and drizzled them with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper.
I stretched my legs and had a little nap on the deck to enjoy the new spring weather. Last night I made a butternut squash risotto even though it took almost an hour to cook (with constant stirring). I even had time to exercise for an hour every day, and do my work.
While I still struggle with time some days, usually I do things that I love, accomplish a little less and end each day rested, satisfied and happy about how I spent my time. Compared to how I used to wake up groggy and collapse into bed each night, this is a big improvement.
In the past, time was my biggest excuse and obstacle for really enjoying life. Do you often find yourself saying things like…
If I had time I would _______________________.
I wish I had time to _______________________.
With more time I could have _________________.
Time is our greatest limited resource. There are only 24 hours in a day, and after sleeping, working, checking email and taking care of things, you are lucky if there is one left just for you.
Real Simple magazine recently commissioned a survey on women and time and here is what they found out.
- 52% of women have less than 90 minutes of free time a day.
- 29% have less than 45 minutes a day.
- Cleaning is the chore that women would most like to eliminate (no surprise there)
I thought that jobs must be the reason that people have no time, but in the survey more than 2/3 say their jobs don’t interfere with their personal life.
I don’t know how closely this survey relates to real world women and men, but I think it’s safe to say that most of you feel short on time. I don’t believe in work/life balance, or really balance at all unless you are on a yoga mat or doing hand stands. Finding more time is not about creating balance, it’s about focusing on the essential. It’s about doing less crappy things and more amazing things.