Why “Not Enough Time” is an excuse:
Does this sound familiar? By the time you get out of bed, get going, and make your way through the day’s jobs and tasks, you’re left exhausted, wondering where the time went. "I just don’t have enough time," we tell ourselves. It's an all too familiar excuse we give when we miss our workout, forget to read that book we’ve been meaning to, or drop the ball on some important personal goal.
But is time truly the problem, or is it how we are managing it?
Let’s face it... we all have the same 24 hours in a day. It’s a fact, and yet, some people seem to manage to exercise, eat healthily, work, and still have a personal life while others are running around in a blur of endless to-dos and constant stress. How does that make sense?
The truth is, we've started to believe that time is scarce, that our lives are overly packed with too much, and that we simply don't have enough hours in the day to get everything done. But let’s break it down.
How Much Time Do We Really Have?
First, let’s look at a typical day in the life of the average person. A common starting point is the amount of sleep we get, as it often sets the tone for everything else. For the sake of simplicity, let's assume we sleep for a solid 8 hours a night. That leaves us with 16 waking hours left.
Next, we factor in work, and again let’s stick with the standard 8 hour workday, plus about 30 minutes for commuting each way. This brings the total time spent on work-related activities to 9 hours.
We're now at a total of 17 hours of the day gone, which leaves us with 7 hours remaining to "do it all" — exercise, eat, spend time with family, get jobs done, read, watch TV, or just relax. Seems like there's a still quite a lot of time left, and I think you'd agree if you were being honest.
So Is It "Not Enough Time", Or Just Lack Or Prioritising Tasks?
Ultimately, I believe the issue is not about lacking time but about how we plan, and prioritise our days. We are constantly bombarded with distractions, obligations, and commitments. But it’s up to us to decide where our time goes. There are obviously some things that we can’t eliminate, such as sleep or work, but everything else — the scrolling, the procrastination, the aimless TV watching — that can all easily be reduced or replaced with more purposeful and productive activities.
So how do we start to change things around? Well, one simple step is to take ownership of our time and make conscious decisions about how we want to spend our hours.
Here Are A Few Simple Steps To Reclaim Your Time
To actually reclaim your day and start to effectively find time for exercise or other personal goals, try these simple strategies:
Time Diary: Keep a time log for a few days to identify where your time is going. You’ll be surprised at how much time you waste on distractions.
Schedule Exercise: Treat your workout as a non-negotiable part of your day. Put it on your calendar.
Reduce Time Wasters: Cut back on social media and TV. Set limits on how much time you spend on these activities each day.
Break Things Into Small Tasks: If finding an hour for the gym seems impossible, break your workout into shorter, manageable segments throughout the day.
Learn to Say No: You don’t have to attend every event or say yes to every request. Protect your time.
Time Is What You Make of It
At the end of the day, the excuse of "not enough time" is just that — an excuse. We all have the same 24 hours, but it’s up to each of us to decide how we’re going to use them. By acknowledging how we spend our time and making small, conscious changes, we can regain control over our days and create space for the things that truly matter, like exercise, self-care, and personal growth.
Stop waiting for that mythical “perfect day” when everything aligns and there’s finally enough time to focus on yourself. That day is now.
Hope that helps, and if you need help to action any of the above, drop us a message. I'\ll be glad to help you :)
Luke
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