I often hear people say that there’s not enough time to do anything — to finish that creative project, that book, or that art piece. And it’s often true especially for those of us who have regular jobs and must provide for our families.
I do my 8 to 5 work day, get home, do some chores, and when everything is finished… I’ll finally get the chance to work on my own projects (and that’s If I haven’t taken on another job for someone else). I would be lucky if I get to start at 8pm and finish up by midnight. Then the cycle starts again the next day when I wake up at 5am.
I remember when I used to stay up until 3-4am in the morning working on anything that I wanted. But I was younger then, and time seemed to go on forever.
But somehow, even with all the responsibilities of a parent, I’m still able to sneak some work and finish my projects. And people ask me what the secret is to this…
Find the energy, not the time.
I’ve thought about it and I realized that for most of us, it’s about finding more ENERGY, and not more TIME. We all have time, even those who complain about not having enough time, they really do. But what happens is that most people will channel their available time to other priorities, maybe netflix, or browsing facebook, or writing blog posts for that matter — those things suck up time. And it happens more often than we would like to admit.
My theory behind is that (1) we prioritize the wrong tasks and (2) our project do not energize us.
When our project doesn’t energize us then we find reasons not to do it. Either it feels to big to finish or it’s too boring, etc… Our energy level goes down and then we focus on something else.
That’s why we need to fall in love with a project/hobby/task that energizes us. And when that something gives you energy, you will work on it until late into the morning and time will seem like an inconsequential matter.
So I make it a priority to work on projects that I love — projects that energizes me. Sure, I’ll still have those down days, but for the most part when I start working on my project, it’s something that I’ll be excited about.
So next time, make sure to find that energy, that excitement and I bet you will keep going all night as if time didn’t exist.
Good luck!
