We often say things like “I don’t have time for that” or “I can’t, I’m too busy” when the reality is we just aren’t making the time for it.

We choose our priorities with our schedule. Try replacing “I don’t have time for that” with “That’s not a high enough priority for me” and see how it feels. When your kid wants you to read to them and you say you don’t have time for it – you’re really saying it doesn’t matter enough for me to make the time. You’re choosing whatever else you’re doing – cleaning up or finishing work or scrolling on your phone – over that time with your child. No judgment, just make sure that’s intentional.

All those things you’re putting off – going to the gym, making the dentist appointment, doing your taxes, paying your bills, calling your loved ones – you could find time in your schedule if those things were high enough priorities. You are choosing not to make your health, your financial well-being, and your relationships a priority in your life. You are making your job or your laundry or TV your priority.

Don’t get me wrong, there are 100% times when I ignore all the valuable things I should be doing with my time and just binge-watch a show. But the important part is whether that is an intentional choice or just habit or momentum. If I know I need to call my mom but decide today just isn’t a good day for it, that’s fine. But if I just avoid it altogether because I can’t be bothered, that’s a problem.

Time is a choice. It’s absolutely your choice how you spend your time. The point is ensuring that it is an intentional choice. The point is to choose rather than to drift.

Make the things that are priorities be actual priorities. Make the time for the things that matter. Make sure the things you’re making time for are actually the things that matter.

Make your choice how you spend your time. If you don’t like the choices you’ve been making, figure out what you can change to allocate your time better.

How you spend your time is a choice. Make sure you’re choosing right for you.