Time management is something we all want to master. Do you ever feel like your free time is slipping away from you? I know I spend too much of my free time working, but it’s all about preference and relaxing and refreshing your mind.
Laura Vanderkam writes about time management for a living, and she wants us to get control of our free time again. In her TED talk, she explains that just because she’s an expert on time management, does not mean she’s always on time. In fact, she was once late to her own speech on time management
She doesn’t believe that time management comes from finding extra time in the day and has looked at successful people’s schedules to find that, “We don’t build the lives we want by saving time. We build the lives we want, and then time saves itself.”
“We cannot make more time, but time will stretch to accommodate what we choose to put into it.”
Laura once interviewed a seriously busy woman. One of the busiest women she’d ever met, with a business and six children, who didn’t have time to talk to her not because she was busy, but because she’d decided to go on a hike on a beautiful spring morning. When they finally had a chance to talk, she told Laura that everything she does, every minute she spends is her choice. She’d never say “I don’t have time” she’d just say “It’s not a priority.”
As Laura says: “I could tell you I don’t have time to dust my blinds, but that’s not true. If you offered to pay me $100,000 to dust my blinds, I would get to it pretty quickly.”
Instead of saying “I don’t have time” use language that reminds you that it’s not lack of time, it’s a choice. You don’t want to do it because it’s a boring task, or it’d take time away from something you actually want to do. Acknowledge that!
Watch the full TED talk below and figure out how to finally find those magical extra hours and manage your free time.
Sunday 29, January 2017 will see the return of the sold-out Career Girl Academy at the coolest spot in London! Make 2017 yours with masterclasses and talks that will help you become the best version of you. Reserve a guaranteed place when you book your tickets to this event here.
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