Life is full of moments when we say, “when this happens, I will (fill in the blank)”.
We wait for many reasons:
When I get my first job.
When I retire.
When work is a bit less busy.
When the kids go to college.
When I move out of my parents’ house.
When I get promoted.
And the list goes on.
Mostly, we are waiting to do the things we WANT to do because we are spending our days doing things we believe we HAVE to do. We don’t think we have the time right now to focus on other things.
I think the problem is that “when” may never arrive. Once we are finished with school, we will wait until “work settles down”, and then there is something else in the way.
What if we changed our mindset and worked to find our “when” right now?
Finding just 30 minutes of space in the day for things we want to do can add up. In fact, over 10 years this becomes more than 1500 hours. Imagine what you could accomplish with 1500 hours!!
My Story
The last ten years, I’ve tried to embrace this philosophy finding space in the margins of my life to squeeze in things I wanted to do. I read books, took photography classes, studied sustainable living, started a side business for fun, learned about blogging/websites/Etsy, taught marketing classes at the local community college, wrote a book, and got my coaching certification.
Looking at the list now, I’m thankful that I made the decision I did 10 years ago and found time to squeeze all of it in. Along the way, I was working a full-time job, raising teenagers, and attending school/sport activities. Yet, most of the time, I never spent more than 3-4 hours a week. Weekdays were tricky, but I managed to find 30 minutes somewhere in the schedule. Weekends were a bit easier, I could usually find somewhere between 30 minutes and 2 hours depending on the schedule of the week.
Progress was happening over time, and I enjoyed the experiences along the way.
Your Turn
Think of something on your list of dreams and wishes that is waiting for that perfect timing.
How could you start it today?
How could you spend 30 minutes today doing something related to your wants?
Starting is all that needs to happen.
Once the first move is made it should become clear what to do next and keep the momentum going.
Take the challenge – make today WHEN!