Holding Yourself Accountable for Lost Time

“Time is what we want most, but what we use worst” – William Penn

“Time = life; therefore, waste your time and waste your life, or master your time and master your life.” – Alan Lakein

“Don’t be fooled by the calendar. There are only as many days in the year as you make use of. One man gets only a week’s value out of a year while another man gets a full year’s value out of a week.” – Charles Richards

Do you complain about lack of resources or blessings yet consistently fail to open your eyes and mind to what is truly available? So many of us overlook the free opportunities that life has granted us and time stands forth to be one of them. That’s right time is an opportunity to use in the way we choose! In a world where one can have, be or do so much, rarely do I hear individuals speak about how they can make more and better use of their time.

Time can be a burden or an asset. It can be used to build empires or to wither away without purpose. It is one of the major tools that we have to work with and it is up to us to do our best to make it work for us and not against us. When applied correctly time can be a weapon for change and progress. Have you held yourself accountable for the time that you fail to take advantage of?

Learning to set aside specific time periods for focused production can turn out to be a true life changer and game breaker. When one sets a timer and then begins hammering away in total concentration, without distraction, they can tap into another dimension, they can escape and they can flow. The problem is that in the midst of performing a task we often get distracted or taken off course by something alluring or attractive. If one kept track, he or she would most likely be amazed at how many minutes he or she wastes everyday dilly dallying in unexpected and unnecessary endeavors because they are not holding themselves responsible for wasted time.

After acknowledging all of the wasted seconds that one lets slip by in a day, the individual will unveil time that he or she thought was not available. This time can be used to make oneself more valuable, perhaps through the practice of exercise, meditation, reading or studying. With our newly found time we may decide to peruse an online course that can enhance our future or to partake in learning a new skill that can change our lives. Obviously, more time would then allow us to be able to relax and unwind or to linger with loved ones.

How often do you set a timer for your “productive worktime” in which you do not allow any distractions whatsoever to pull your attention? Famous motivational speaker and author Eric Thomas revealed how he sets aside specific windows of time within each day for work in which he will not be distracted by anything save that which is a true emergency. Often in his speaking engagements, he describes how this discipline has transformed his life from rags to riches. When one hunts and searches for little pockets of time to accomplish their goals for the day, they are being advantageous and they are using focused time management! These individuals are on their way to achievement as there hunger for opportunity holds to be a true prerequisite to greatness.

In effort to grow we may start by setting aside thirty minutes a day (on a timer) in which we read, study, exercise or meditate. Once we graduate with that we can begin setting aside either another half hour or hour of allotted time to pursue some sort of side task or side hustle. We can use this time to serve, to produce, to generate profit or to establish a means of developing passive income. Before one knows it they will have added up hours and hours of productivity, service, research or insight.

This tactic of holding yourself accountable for your “productive time" will allow you to relax and be at ease during your time of work and to be in the moment rather than focusing on the quantity of your foregoing. If you wind up short by an hour or by a few minutes, you can find spare time during the day or week to make up for it. By chipping away at what needs to be done and staying after it, we can accomplish all tasks. Hence it may prove to be a lot easier to rack up time or productivity when we break it up for the day or for the week.

Is your goal to perform 200 pushups for the day? Instead of doing 200 straight, you can do 50 reps at a time spread out throughout the day. It is in this way that navy seal and world renowned author David Goggins broke the world pullup record. Not in one fowl swoop but broken up and chopped into segments!

It’s a startling and inspiring feeling when you realize all of the lost time that you have uncovered during a day or week that can help you to get closer to your goals. It is important that the individual starts out small so that they are not overwhelmed in the beginning and when they start taking more responsibility for their time and their lost time, they will begin to feel guilty about wasting it doing things that are useless. It is then that one will truly realize how much they can do with what they already have.

Still there are those who claim that they are too busy to find time to add value to their lives. These individuals are responsible for using their brains to make and to find time as most great advancements were and are created during difficult circumstance. Some ways the individual can do this is through the use of other people, by waking up earlier or by staying up later. Remember that with every opportunity comes difficulty and where there is great enough will, the mind can always find a way. Where there is time, there is always opportunity!