Your days are numbered…

But are they measured?

A friend of mine said to me just this week, “I don’t have the time to…”

This is the same friend who sends giant clusters of memes to group texts, who always knows everything there is to know about pop culture, and spends time ensuring that there is always a well-used watch list on their Netflix account. I have said before on this channel that everyone needs time off, and everyone does need some downtime.

But you don’t need as much as you think.

Every time you say to yourself, "I don’t have the time," have you wondered if it’s true? I think of my sister who works two jobs, helps take care of her dying husband, and assists her kids by taking care of her grandkids. Try telling her you don’t have time. You probably do, and here is how I’ll prove it to you.

Measure your day. You don’t have to do it for very long, and you can do it with things like Google Notes or a notebook. Write it down. Write down everything you do in your day meticulously. Do it for two or three days.

-          Got up, went to the bathroom, combed my hair, brushed my teeth. 15 minutes.

-          Stood at the kitchen counter thinking about breakfast while watching YouTube shorts. 10 minutes.

-          Actually made breakfast and ate. 15 minutes.

-          Went to work. 30 minutes.

-          Checked the news for 15 minutes while sort of checking email. 15 minutes.

-          Actually checked email. 30 minutes.

-          Worked on project XYZ. 2 hours.

At work, I am accountable for every minute of my day. I have to log to the nearest ten minutes for my projects. At first, I thought it was annoying. Now I understand the value of it. We waste such an incredible amount of our day doing nothing at all while not achieving the goals we said we were going to achieve.

If after two or three days of writing down your day, and being honest about it, you don’t look at your time spent and realize that you are embarrassed, you are either a very disciplined person, or you are still not being honest with yourself. You have the time. You have the time to start that book you want to write. You have the time to work on that woodworking project, or teach yourself that new skill. You have the time, if you make the time.

Your days are already numbered. Make sure they are measured.