Whose time is it anyway?

Even if we have responsibilities, our time is still, fundamentally, ours

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
tip is to remember that your time is your own.
We have responsibilities to other people and organizations, but your

(00:25):
time is fundamental yours and you could make choices with
how to spend it. So. I frequently hear from people
about their challenges and hopes for their time. One person
recently told me that if she were successful in making
over her schedule, she would feel that her time and

(00:45):
her life belonged to her again. Well, on some level,
I think that is an inspiring goal. It was also
sobering to hear because it implied that she didn't feel
like her time in her life belonged to her currently,
and I stand that feeling. I think a lot of
people feel like their time is not their own. When

(01:07):
you are at work, you might feel like that is
your employer's time. When you are cooking or doing laundry,
getting groceries, it's your family's time. Or maybe it's more
abstract than that. You may feel a vague sense of
obligation to no one in particular to keep a clean
house and make a balanced meal and send Christmas cards to.

(01:29):
When you're with your kids, it is their time, and
maybe when you're not with your kids, you may feel
like it should be. You feel like the time is
actually theirs, but you are borrowing it to wrap up
a work project. You may have friends you feel you
should get together with, or organizations for whom you are
overdue on a task you volunteered to do but haven't completed.

(01:50):
It can feel as if everybody else has a claim
on your time and there is none left for you.
But fundamentally, your time is yours. There are always consequences,
but over the long run, we have the power to
fill our lives with the things we want to see there.
If you feel like your time doesn't belong to you,

(02:10):
one of the first things I suggest doing is tracking
your time, which lots of people are doing with me
here in January. You may find times that could be
more obviously reclaimed as yours with a mindset shift. If
your kids are in bed at eight and you go
to bed at ten, at least an hour of this
could be yours. If you limit the housework, maybe you

(02:32):
work from home on Tuesdays and Thursdays and your kids
are on the bus at seven point thirty. If your
calls don't start until nine, maybe this ninety minute gap
could be spent on whatever you'd like, as long as
you remind yourself that you will work a full day
at nine and the house can be cleaned up later.
As for things that do seem like obligations, sometimes it

(02:55):
helps to articulate your values and priorities. If your time
commitments to don't fit with these values and priorities, you
may need to make some adjustments. But if they do,
then perhaps you can connect your time with your purpose.
Working incredibly hard on a work project isn't about owing

(03:15):
time to your employer. It's that you want to have
an impact on your field and you see a direct
link between this project and people changing how they do things.
If you value having a smooth, functioning home, then a
solid laundry system isn't about owing time to Martha Stewart
or your mother or your home act teacher. It's something

(03:39):
you do so you and your family can get dressed easily.
Now I am not saying this is always easy, but
it might help, and you might even be able to
insert some pleasure in to moments of less pleasant obligation.
You value physical activity and friendship. So you drive your
kid to soccer, but maybe you get to listen to

(04:02):
your music or your audio books in the car. At
least some of that time can still feel like it
is yours. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening,
and here's to making the most of our time. Thanks

(04:27):
for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas,
or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura
vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.
For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app,

(04:49):
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.