Are you feeling pressed for time? Does your To Do list feel overwhelming? Do you wish you had more time to just chill with your family this summer?
In the process of writing my keynote for this past year’s BABA Summit, I spent some time researching how we can all create some margin in our lives.
Margin for reading. Margin for enjoying sunsets. Margin for digging into a deep conversation. Margin for doing work that matters. Margin for just catching your breath.
Some of these numbers blew me away.
- The average American spends 4.9 hours a day watching TV. And we watch reality TV garbage like Selling Sunset as opposed to watching something inspiring, educational, or redeeming in any way.
- Americans spend almost 4.5 hours a day on their mobile devices.
- In contract — Americans spend 15.6 minutes a day reading, 14 minutes a day exercising, and only sleep 6.8 hours.
- We spend less than 8% of our time outdoors and a whopping 37 minutes of quality time with our family a day.
I’m not suggesting you stop watching TV or smash your cell phone and I’m guessing most of you live a life that’s more balanced than these stats would suggest. But when someone tells me there’s not enough time in the day and they can’t possibly accomplish all they want to do — I have to call foul.
Our lives are a collection of our habits. Which of your habits are serving you? Which help you be the best version of yourself? Which feeds your soul, your mind, your creativity, and your body?
Here’s my challenge for you. First — if you magically had an extra hour a day, how would you spend it? Where would you invest that precious hour?
Second — find an hour. Just one hour a day. If you can’t find an hour, start with 30 minutes.
And then spend it wisely.
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