The Best Time Management Strategy: Don’t Find the Time, Find the Why

Over the past few months, I’ve been interviewing people for my upcoming book on dream jobs. Many of the people I’ve talked to are really busy—they’ve found or created their dream job, but they also tend to do a lot of other stuff as well. Some of them have side businesses or run ultramarathons on the weekends. Some of them have active family lives and spend a lot of time running around to kids’ sporting events or other activities. Some of them do all those things… and more.

I don’t always ask the same questions of interviewees, but one tends to come up pretty often: “How do you find the time?”

I liked this answer I heard yesterday:

“It’s less about how do I find time and more about why do I find time. You’ll always find time for things that have a strong enough why.”

Isn’t that good? You’ve probably heard the one about how to get something done, ask a busy person—but this feels even better, because it’s not just about getting things done.

Maybe the best time management strategy is to find your why. Once you have something to work toward, it’s much easier to find the time.

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Image: Cyndy