How to Make More Time

Time is not something that we have. It’s something that we make. Unless we look at it this way, we may never have enough time for the things we want to have enough time for.

Making time is an art and it takes a lifetime to master it. The trouble is that by the time we do master it—that is, retire—we’re often no longer healthy enough or have sufficient energy to enjoy the time we have.

So we may as well start while we are still relatively young.

How can we make more time?

Saying No to the things we say Yes to while feeling that we should say No to them.

Trying to live without a TV or Netflix. We’ll gain hours every week may find it to be surprisingly easy.

Using our computers and smartphones less. Technology speeds up time. When we use it, we move at a digital pace, which is considerably faster than the analog pace of a screenless life.

Not multitasking if we can help it. Our brains haven’t adapted to multitasking yet. We are usually more efficient when we focus on one task at a time.

Trying not to live in our heads all the time. Feeling the ground under our feet. Breathing in the air. Becoming conscious of our movements and the things we are doing. Being present in our bodies, aware of the present moment, is one of the best ways to slow down time and make it last.

Doing new things or familiar things in a new way. We tend to do the same things around the same hours. Time feels like a well-oiled mechanism that just runs its course. But not if we change the way we do.

Creating rather than consuming. Whether it’s baking a cake, writing a poem, recording a song, or knitting something, the act of creation makes time feel like it belongs to us more.

Not reading too many blog posts. You’ve read this one, now go do something else!