Big Time: A Simple Path to Time Abundance by Laura Vanderkam takes the position that no matter how busy we feel, most of us have free time that we are failing to leverage: “Almost everyone has some discretionary time,” Ms. Vanderkam writes, “and many of us have a great deal if we’re willing to be more organized and honest about it.”
I suspect many a reader is vehemently denying the above. Perhaps so, however I heartily recommend creating a time log for at least one week and repeating quarterly to spot trends and patterns. Most of us have a rather inaccurate perception of where the hours of our days go. I’ve done time logging before and it is shocking how much time slips away in ways that do not serve us. Time logging forces you to take a close look at what was REALLY important to you and even scattered bits of time, if anticipated and organized, can be utilized to create meaningful opportunities.
A time log often shows you actually have more discretionary time than you know, allowing you to shift out of a scarcity mindset. Far more than just telling you where your time goes, a time log gives you control over time, turning vague feelings of time stress into concrete, actionable data.
Two cautionary thoughts: first, being “busy” can be a form of evasion. It is possible to fill calendars with low-leverage tasks to avoid the anxiety of doing the hard, high-stakes work that actually moves us forward. Second, in some cultures, long hours are a form of social currency, even status, regardless of the degree of productivity achieved.
Closing Quotes:
“The way we spend our time defines who we are.” – Jonathan Estrin
“You will never ‘find’ time for anything. If you want time, you must make it.” – Charles Buxton
“Time is the scarcest resource, and unless it is managed, nothing else can be managed.” – Peter Drucker
“You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.” – H. Jackson Brown Jr.
“Being busy is often used as a guise for avoiding the few critically important but uncomfortable actions.” – Tim Ferriss, Audit of Evasion: Are you doing 20 emails to avoid one hard conversation with your Sr Mgt Team?
As always, I share what I most want and need to learn. – Nathan S. Collier
Note: Every effort has been made to properly source any 3rd person material. I am, however, a voracious reader. If anyone finds any unattributed material, pls let me know asap and I will be delighted to give credit where credit is due.
“All intelligent thoughts have already been thought; what is necessary is only to try to think them again.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749-1832
