There's No Time For That (A Common Fallacy)

When I set my goals for 2024, I decided to challenge myself to read forty-eight books over the course of twelve months. Not quite one book a week. I wasn't sure if I could do it. After all, life is busy. I homeschool the four kids still living at home (three of them teenagers), and when school is done I Uber them to taekwondo, band, music lessons, babysitting, cleaning jobs, and more. When I'm not driving kids around or instructing them in the "three R's," I'm checking on my parents, helping my eldest navigate the waters of adulthood, filling a grocery cart to feed my family, making meals, hosting friends, doing laundry, supporting my husband, or squeezing in a few hours a week of proofreading to help pay for it all. A clean kitchen? What's that? 

Photo by Robert Bye on Unsplash

So when I decided to aim for almost one book a week this year, I was a bit skeptical about the reality of that happening. But what I found was that I actually had quite a bit of dead space in my day between all those events. Waiting for kids? I've got time to read if I'm not running to the grocery. Everyone busy with their studies? I pull out my book at the teacher's desk, pausing to answer questions when they come. Rather than wasting time on social media first thing in the morning or at the end of the day, I now open a book or my Kindle app and "scroll" through the pages before starting the day or falling asleep. 

The point is...we have time for the things we want to have time for. 

Last month I made the decision to limit my scrolling on Instagram to one hour on Saturdays. I didn't think it would make that much of a difference, but the results have been stunning. Not only am I on my phone less, but I'm more productive in general, in addition to knocking my monthly reading goals out of the park. So before you say "I don't have time to do that," take an honest look at your day, track your phone time, and pay attention to how you spend your hours. You may be busy - in fact, you probably are - but make sure you're busy with the right things, the things that will help you meet and exceed your goals, simple or otherwise.