Don’t let time run out on your dreams
So, you have either fully recovered or partly recovered from the COVID-19 hangover. Congratulations. It’s right about now that your New Year’s resolutions are probably feeling more like foggy dreams than realistic goals. It’s almost half a year gone! It’s like that moment when you go to eat that last square of chocolate but suddenly it’s gone — how dare someone sneak off with that last tasty bite.
As we all gradually emerge from hibernation it’s a good time to think about how to prioritise our time. I’m not talking about goal-setting, I am talking about creating space for what you already know you care about.
Why is it that most people don’t go for their dreams? Maybe they can’t be bothered, or they don’t think their dreams are actually very realistic. I would say many haven’t sat down to determine how much time it’ll actually take to achieve their dreams. Perhaps just waiting for that rainy day. Well that rainy day has come and gone so what next?
I love my father’s wisdom. A few moons ago, he suggested to his idealistic dreamer of a daughter to work up a time budget for the projects and hobbies she wanted to pick up.
It was an easy formula — start by calculating (in hours) how long something will take you (internet has some crazy good estimates), add a buffer (10–20%), and then decide if you can (and want) to make it work.
I admit, hearing this wasn’t fun. It meant I had to choose. For those dreamers out there, learning to be disciplined with your time can feel exhausting. But when you realise you’re not getting any younger you start getting better fast. Or you don’t. But when you realise you’ll never be as young as you are now, that saggy butt gets a whole lot more motivated to get off the couch.
Realistically, none of us knows how much time we have in this life. And when someone you care about dies, you’re reminded of this in a big way. Bottom line, you have to choose what you do with your time otherwise the clock will make the choice for you. So the question is who or what in your life should get the biggest portion of your time. Before making a commitment, why not work up the time cost to see if you can afford it. And if you can’t, be OK with that and go for something you can.
Learning languages is often on people’s bucket lists. Usually one that stays in the bucket though. I’m beginning to realise why. Right now I’m studying Japanese full time. Over the last three years, I’ve spent approximately 1,700 hours learning Japanese. Why so much? Well, I am choosing to invest because Japan is a country I care a lot about and it’s a language I enjoy. Could I have spent that time dabbling in Bitcoin buys, reading up on the Middle East Peace Process and learning to cook Greek food? Yes, probably all of those things and a bit more. But that’s the choice I made.
This brings me to my next point. Budgets are only powerful and effective if you stick to them. Now becoming fluent in Japanese feels near impossible. Many claim it’s a mountain you’ll be climbing for the rest of your life. So how long should I continue climbing? Should I keep moving the goal posts each time I realise my Japanese is not as awesome as I the person next to me? NO!!! Budgets are only powerful and effective if you stick to them. So for me, I’m giving myself 2020 to study Japanese. I’ll keep maintenance classes up after that, but that’ll be a few hours max a week.
Drawing a line on how much time you’ll give something is empowering. Trust me, it’ll make you doubly efficient in the time you devote to the dream because when the deadline is up, you’ll already have made the commitment to move on to something else. Now I won’t lie. This isn’t an easy process at first, but it’s incredibly refreshing and rewarding! Especially in a world where we blur our timelines ALL the time. How long have you been scrolling on Instagram or Facebook right about now?
Creating space for what you care about means being able to say no to other things for awhile. Yes, it’s tough but if it were easy, we’d all be doing it. Be different, cross stuff off your bucket list now. It’s fun and it’ll make you a heck of a lot more disciplined with the rest of your life.