We all wish we had more time to do wonderful things and visit all the places we’ve dreamed of. Sadly there is not a concept of “more time in a day”. Because of this, the only thing we can do is to prioritize what we’re doing in the present to pave the way for our future.

You are great at filling time, but are you great at making sure you are filling time with the right things? What you do everyday represents what you believe is important to you. Every action defines your priorities in life. This is a harsh reality check, but nothing can hide the truth.

To make time for what matters, you need to get used to saying “No” to majority of the things you want to do, to make room for the things that you need to do. Every time you say “Yes” to something, you are committing a block of time to it. These items stack up very quickly if you’re not careful. Soon enough you’ll have a busy schedule, but you won’t feel productive. Over time you’ll be questioning why you’re not on the right path, and that’s because you said “Yes” to too many things.

Auditing your time is a great way to understand where you stand today. Just like we do with our budgets, we want to see where all of our time is being spent each day, week, month, and year. We don’t want to keep any lingering commitments if they do not serve our goals in life.

Start Saying No

Take a look at your next month worth of commitments. Ask yourself whether each commitment is serving it’s purpose to your life goals. Seek clarity in what you want to accomplish in life. Do not spread yourself too thin with your commitments. You should default to saying “No”.

Yes fills time. No makes time.

You may feel a sense of guilt when saying No to a friend or loved one. You need to think to yourself who you’d rather disappoint more, your friend/loved one, or yourself. Future you may regret the abundance of “Yes” to commitments that don’t serve your end goals.

But what about quality time?

You are not saying No to quality time. You are setting blocks of time to find your personal balance of life.

Whenever a new opportunity is presented that you may say “Yes” to, ask yourself the following questions:

• Am I spending enough time with myself?
• Am I spending enough time with my significant other?
• Am I spending enough time with my children?
• Am I spending enough time with my family and friends?

If you can answer “No” to any of these questions, you should be saying “No” to any new opportunities until they are a “Yes”.