Time…. We spend our younger years trying to speed it up, and our older years trying every method to slow it down. The older we get, time just seems to pass us by, and lets face it, there’s never enough time in the day to do anything….. or is there??

I’ve had several conversations this week that really had me thinking about my own time and how I spent it. But.. I think we should all get on one page with the definition. So I went with Webster’s :

Time (noun)- the indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future regarded as a whole:

Ok.. So what does that even mean?

No idea… because it’s all relative… But what I do know is… Time is Precious!!

You would think that we would spend it wisely (Notice I said “we”) Truth is we don’t. We spend time so carelessly, as if we have all the time in the world.

Example:

If I could get all of the hours, days, months, years… now I’m sure, back from doing absolutely nothing, but scrolling through all social media platforms. The Travel… Outlier would probably be a full publication by now and those clean clothes in the basket could have probably been folded by now.

I figured I couldn’t be the only one out there wasting time on NOTHING. I wanted to learn ways to capitalize on my time. So I did my own research. Yes, research! You may laugh, but through reading countless success stories, I’ve noticed that “successful people” have this in common:

The person usually discovers their purpose.

With that new discovery, they find out what’s really important.

They realize they’re different and play to those strengths (It took me a while to realize this) &

They learn to avoid the negative: negative people, negative thoughts, negative actions

And then they build their team!!

(OUTLIERS BABY!!!!!!)

So I decided to compile my own little list to “take my time back”.I’m calling it….

“SPEND YOUR TIME WISELY” CHALLENGE:

1. Find out how your Time is being spent.

Write a list down of everything you’ve done in a day, and I mean everything. Even if you have to write: you spent about 45 mins scrolling through Netflix trying to find a good movie (Not me of course). It’s important if you can somewhat account for your hours in a day.

How much of that time was lost?

Get a journal. I swear by it. You’ll find that it is extremely helpful and a little therapeutic also.

2. Write yourself a to-do list/ goals

Again, write everything down! It can be your life’s goals or something as simple as folding those stupid clothes. It should be compared to your first list. At this point, you’ll probably find “lost” time. Lost Time?? The time you could have spent taking over the world, but instead you decided to waste it. That last sentence is probably more directed to myself then anyone. But if it applies… Lace it up!!

Vision board parties are great with these things, which I recently had the pleasure of hosting. It gives you a sense of accountability and an excuse to drink wine!

3. Prioritize What is Important

This step is very important because you can get fooled. Just because your busy does not mean your productive. You want to prioritize the things that are most important and what gives you the highest achievement. Celebrate those wins, big or small (This is a constant reminder). By focusing on results, you risk the chances of trying to always beat the clock. Or my favorite, running into the school at 5:59 pm to pick your child up before 6 pm (Don’t be the LATE PARENT).  This only puts you back on the hamster wheel. The goal is to invent something that keeps the wheel spinning, so you can do the things that gives you real happiness. Leave room for flexibility. That way if your plans change you have room to adjust. Remember: Head on the swivel (Assuming you’ve read, Men Lie Women Lie, Numbers Don’t)

4. Time is Valuable 

After following the first 3 steps, you realize your time is valuable. Here, you will begin to spend more time on things that give you the greatest accomplishments. You will start to learn how to say NO! For me, I am a wife, mother, friend, and my new title … (drum role please).. Entrepreneur. I have to realize there’s a time and a place for everything, except lost time. True freedom comes when you fit your time around your lifestyle!

I figure if I practice these steps enough, eventually it’ll become routine

There’s only 3 things your able to spend your time on: thoughts, conversations, and actions!!! So if it’s negative why are you wasting it???

It’s time to take OUR time back. Why not start now? I challenge you!!!!… and leave a comment telling me about it.

As always, 

Dream. Travel. Live. Repeat!

The Travel…Outlier