Women: Are You Using Or Creating Your Time?

Time is defined as the duration of sequential related matters. Huh?

Women wear many hats: wife, mother, executive, business owner, entrepreneur, friend, and the list continues. Unfortunately, many women think of time as not being late, watching the clock or feeling stressed for not having enough of it.

But where in the whole scheme of things does time take on a different meaning? Does time have to be limited to an enclosed segment of space?

What’s your relationship with time?

Think of the ways you use the word time. “I don’t have time.” “How much time is left?” “Where will I find the time?” “I don’t want to get old.”

These statements or "conditioned beliefs" cause great damage: heart disease, high blood pressure, digestive problems, and anxiety to name a few. All this because you have a negative connection to time, such as pressure to meet deadlines, perform or finish that never-ending to-do list.

Consider a new way of using the word time. “There’s no time like the present.” “I’m in charge of my time.” “The time is now!” Not only do these sound different, they present a new perspective on time. When you make time your friend, several physiological systems inside your body rejoice; they breathe, relax and perform at peak strides.

What matters is how you spend your time. Whether you haven’t seen someone in 4 years or you see them every day, it all counts. Time is an interesting thing. You can’t touch it, wrap it or make it stop. It’s just there.

The good news is you get to make a decision about time. Will it be your enemy or your friend? If time becomes your enemy, it has you chasing dreams, missing what’s here and now and stealing your enjoyment of life.

Make Time Your Friend

Making time your friend leads to self-acceptance and powerful connections to others. Don’t just sit there hearing what your daughter is saying while you mentally make your grocery list. Focus on her words, the tone she’s using, and the nonverbal physical motion in her every move. Immerse yourself into what is not being said. Be present. That is how time becomes your friend.

So, how do time and wisdom go hand in hand? Wisdom supports knowing and honoring what works for you. There are a few things you can do to guard that precious resource you call time.

First, decide on and categorize your responsibilities. We all have them, so let’s put them into groups that make sense to us. This applies to both your personal and professional responsibilities. It can be anything from managing people on the job or spending play time with your kids. The idea here is to focus on the opportunities of what you are responsible for and not the crises that come up.

Second, ask yourself what percentage of time you need or want to spend in each category. Remember, needs and wants are vastly different, so keep this in mind during this exercise. Know what you want to accomplish whether it’s for that day, or it’s about a relationship. Once you’ve allocated the percentage of time spent, do a checkup. Ask yourself if the amount of time given to any one category is sufficient.

Third, make sure your time allocations are in alignment with your values system. Is anything out of alignment with who you want to be at the end of the day? When you complete this process, do a double check in a week or a month to find out if this is adequate to accomplish what you want with your time.

When it comes to improving your relationship with time, know that everyone has the same 24 hours in the day. If you don’t get to your ‘time’ list today, don’t worry – there’s always tomorrow.