HOW TO MAKE TIME FOR WHAT MATTERS MOST

“Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important.”  ― Stephen R. Covey

I relate to this quote on a very personal level! You see the tag line for this blog is “clearing space for what matters most”. However, finding the time for what matters most is often easier said than done.

On any given day I literally have 100 things pulling for my time. And I’m willing to bet that you do too!

The reality is, no matter how much space we’ve cleared in our homes it doesn’t take much to add stuff to our already packed schedules. In fact, it happens without even realizing it.  The result is little margin in our day. Soon it feels like we have no space to breathe.

And when we’re living at this pace, it’s easy to hustle along and not see the little things as important. Instead, we become reactive, we forget that we have a choice, that we really don’t have to do everything. Soon life becomes a whirlwind of activity and we miss the exact moments we want to treasure.

I’ve been working hard to change that!

7 Ways to Make Time For the Important Things

If you want to join me in devoting more time to the parts of life that matter most, then here are seven ways to follow through on this goal.

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission if you purchase something mentioned in this post. See more details here.

1. Conduct a Time Audit

This is no easy task, but it’s invaluable if you do it.

Recording your daily activities is the number one way to accurately determine what you’re spending your time on. When you know exactly where you’re investing your time it allows you to make necessary adjustments.  By making these little adjustments, you’ll have the time to accomplish those things that matter most.

So this week take some time to record each activity you are spending time on. For at least one week, write out what you’re doing each day. At the end of the week evaluate which activities are worth keeping and which should be let go of.

2. Identify What Matters Most to You

This may seem obvious, but when life has us constantly on the go, we can lose sight of what’s truly important to us. However, it’s essential to make sure you really understand what matters most to YOU and why.

After all, you can’t make time for what matters most, if you’re not crystal clear on what that is. This is why it’s important to answer the question: “What matters to you?”. Is it a satisfying career? Perhaps you value a life full of creativity? Do you need to make more time for your faith?  Or do you want more time to pour into the people who surround you?

Being able to answer these questions and knowing your core values is essential to creating a life with meaning and purpose.  Because, what’s matters most to me, maybe different than what matters most to you, only you can answer these questions.

If you’re unsure at this time, consider writing a personal or family purpose statement to help you pin down your core values.

For help getting started, this post on discovering your core values has a list of questions to ask yourself. As you go through the questions you’ll be able to determine what your core values are.

3. Write Out Your Goals

Once you have a clear picture of what you’re spending your time on and what your core values are, start writing out some goals. Studies have shown that people who actually write down their goals are 42% more likely to accomplish them.

This also has the added benefit of allowing you to see whether the goals you’re working on, line up with your core values. Once you know you’re focusing on the right things, the next step is to put those priorities in your schedule.

Personally, I carve out time on the last Sunday of each month for writing down my specific goals for the following month. I write my goals directly in my planner.

For the past couple of years, I’ve used the Living Well Planner. The planner makes it simple and easy to get in the habit of writing down your goals each month. This is because there are specific goal-setting pages the begin each month. You can get more details on the Living Well Planner here. Or I send out a printable planner to all my newsletter subscribers.  You can sign up for the newsletter here.

4. Plan Your Day the Night Before

In addition to planning out your monthly goals, spend a few minutes each evening planning for the next day. This is invaluable because we’re more likely to spend time on what matters most when we specifically schedule it.

To stay consistent, designate a specific time and place each night to plan for the next day. My favorite time for planning is in the evening after the kids have gone to bed. It usually only takes 5 minutes to write out a list of what I want to accomplish for the next day.

Just make sure to include time for what matters most to you. By being intentional in planning out your day, you’ll start to notice those little things you want to treasure.

5. Delegate

Look at your typical to-do list and think about which tasks you’re spending time on that don’t have to be performed by you. Can you delegate, simplify, or drop those tasks?

For example, how about making some room in the budget for a meal planning service like $5 meals or eMeals? For only $5 a month this is a big task that could be taken off your plate. Could you simplify bills through auto-pay or paperless billing?

The more of these types of tasks that you are able to delegate the more space you clear for what matters most.

6. Let Something Go

Busyness has a way of stealing our focus. It blurs the line between what matters most and the tyranny of the urgent. On the other hand, freeing space in life often brings things back into proper focus and helps you see your priorities more clearly.

Consider letting go of certain commitments or events that you have been tied to.  Can you limit the kids’ extracurricular activities or slow down on the volunteer work you do?

A life that is full of time for what matters most, one that is lived on purpose doesn’t happen by accident. It’s something we have to work for. If you want something different you have to do something different.

Decide to let go of some of the busyness today!

7. Declutter

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again because it’s worth repeating! Everything you own takes some part of the most valuable asset you have… TIME! Your precious time is required to care for, clean, and maintain all that stuff.

If you can eliminate even a few hours a week spent cleaning and maintaining all the stuff you have, think about how you can use that time for what matters most to you.

In addition, getting rid of things you don’t need allows you to have more peace and less stress. Most importantly, it will allow you to have more time for what matters most.

There’s no time like the present to get started decluttering your home.

I hope these tips have got the ideas flowing on how you can make time for what matters most and live a life you love. One full of purpose and intention!