Finding Hidden Time

Identifying an important goal liberates time you don't realize is available.

Reviewed by Hara Estroff Marano

Key points

• Most people complain that they do not have enough time in the day to do what they really want.
• Available time is often a matter of perception; we typically have more time than we think.

Most people I encounter complain that they do not have enough time to accomplish the things they would like to do. But this is a matter of perception. We are all given 24 hours in a day, and some people utilize time effectively to work towards their greatest goals, while many squander this resource in various frivolous pursuits. Technology has amplified the possibilities for wasting time, through the internet and social media.

Making good use of the time is a skill that we must master and it can be trained. Here are some tips to help you reclaim lost time, all of them based on empirical evidence.^1,2,3,4,5

1. Identify your most important current goal or ambition. It could involve your career, starting an online business, optimizing your health and fitness, or improving an important relationship. It should be something that you must accomplish at all costs in order to be inspired and motivated to devote time to it— the one goal that will exponentially improve the quality of your life. This does not mean that you cannot have more than one goal, but start with one.
2. Determine the next smallest step you can take to work towards that goal. The smaller the better, to prevent overwhelm.
3. Make a schedule to incorporate deep work on your most important goal. The fact is that you need to make work toward your goal a priority in your life if you are to move the needle on it. It cannot happen without putting work towards it on your daily, weekly, and monthly schedule. Consider this sacred time, not to be compromised for anything but a dire emergency.
4. Wake up earlier. For most people, morning is the most productive time of the day, especially before the start of routine daily activities, regardless whether we you are in school or have a regular job. It is a time of little to no distractions. Waking up one hour earlier than usual can provide time to focus on the smallest step towards one's greatest goal. It may require going to sleep earlier, but the possibilities for accomplishment are greater in the early morning hours than later in the day, when the tasks of daily life start piling up.
5. Do not check your email or social media till mid-afternoon. Most people end up wasting hours each day on such activity—unnecessary unless you use email for your work. In the first half of your day, instead of jumping on Facebook or Instagram or skimming through your email, spend time doing something that will move you forward on your most important goal.
6. Utilize waiting time efficiently. Whether commuting to and from work, waiting at a government office or waiting to see a doctor, harness the time for your benefit. Use a long work commute to listen to an informational podcast or audio books. If you know that you'll be waiting at an appointment, bring materials to read or work on something you're writing.
7. Watch less television and streaming services in the evenings. Yes, you need entertainment, but it should be the exception and not the norm. Think how much you could accomplish in two hours in the evening if you focused on your most important goal!
8. Devote time on the weekends to doing deep work on your highest goal. Unless they work in healthcare, retail, food service, or tourism, most people have their weekends to themselves. It takes nothing away from relaxing or being with family and friends to devote two or three hours each Saturday or Sunday to doing deep work on a goal with no distractions.

There is a lot of hidden time available if we have the motivation to harness it for our betterment.

Do not waste another moment. Do something that you dream of now, not years from now when you imagine having more time. You'll never have more time than you have now.

Copyright Nauman Naeem, M.D.