How to find time

Have you ever thought to yourself, ‘when will I find time for…x, y and z’? We are all so busy and seem to cram so much into our lives that finding time for the things that you want to do, seems impossible. Yet it’s so important, for both your health and your sanity. Here’s how to find time for those things…

There’s a quote I came across last week by Charles Buxton: “You’ll never find time for anything. If you want time you must make it.” This is so true. You’re unlikely to ‘find’ an hour, like you might find a £10 note in your pocket that you forgot was there.

 Make better use of your time 

The thing about time is that you can’t see it, touch it or recover it. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. If you wasted time on something, you can never get that time back. Instead, you need to make better use of your time and be more productive. There are many ways to do this. For example:

• Get up an hour earlier
• Plan your day before you start
• Have a to-do list
• Simplify tasks, or break them into smaller parts
• Have regular short breaks
• Turn off your phone
• Have a routine
• Learn to say ‘no’

These will help you be more productive, giving you more time, but they may not be life changers! So let’s move on to…

Evaluate all of the things on your list of things you have to do. Sometimes we get stuck in routines and forget why we are even doing things. Situations may have changed, and if you think about it, you might realise that it’s not needed any more. Ask yourself: Do I actually need to do it? How important is it? What would happen if I didn’t do it?

If it’s not important, stop doing it!

For the things that you’ve decided must be done, is it something you could outsource? For example, we all need to eat, but would you benefit from somebody planning and cooking meals for you so that when you come home from work, you can sit down, relax and eat? Imagine how much time that would save you, and also how much less stressed you would feel. There are so many things you can outsource to a personal concierge like ‘The Time Fairy’. Such as, dry cleaning, laundry, spring cleaning, buying gifts, collecting children from school, shopping, cooking, filing paperwork, de-cluttering, organising a party, booking appointments, helping with house moves, and the list goes on!

So decide for yourself – if something causes you stress or takes up a lot of your time, it may well be worth outsourcing it. You’ll be happier, more relaxed and best of all, have time to do more of the things that you want to do.

If you like the idea of outsourcing something, but you aren’t sure if it’s possible, call The Time Fairy and we can have a chat about it.

Ruth Lowe
Based in Southam, Warwickshire