FREE PRACTICE
I do not have time.
A journaling practice for discovering what deserves a place in the life you are building.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
“I do not have time” may be true. It may also mean your time no longer reflects what matters most.
This practice will not ask you to neglect your responsibilities or invent spare hours. It will help you identify what requires your time, make room for what matters, and move priorities from someday into your calendar.
Have ready
- notebook, or piece of paper
- pen
- timer
- calendar.
The first step takes two minutes. Continue for as long as you need.
STEP 1
Two minutes
Set your timer for two minutes.
Write at the top of the page:
I do not have time for…
Write every answer that appears, one beneath another. Use single words or short phrases.
Do not organise the list or decide whether an answer is sensible, important or realistic. Include responsibilities, interests, wishes, people, experiences and anything you keep postponing.
Keep writing until the timer rings.
STEP 2
What needs to be done?
Read through your list.
Underline everything that needs to be done
Responsibilities, decisions and unfinished tasks that will continue to require your attention whether you want to do them or not.
You can do tasks which take less than five minutes right after you finish this exercise.
Give each task a place
Open your calendar and reserve time for every underlined item.
Do not simply add a deadline. Schedule the time you will need to do the task. If it cannot be completed in one sitting, schedule its first concrete step.
When every underlined item has a place, return to the words that remain.
STEP 3
What remains?
Write each remaining word or phrase separately.
First, give it a number from 1–10:
How important is this to me?
1 means it carries very little importance.
10 means it matters deeply.
Then answer:
What happens if I do not do it?
What happens if I do it?
When you have answered both questions, look at your original number again.
If you see its importance differently now, write a new number beside the first one. Do not erase the original. The change is part of what you are discovering.
Continue with every word or phrase that remains. Something that appeared unimportant at first may reveal itself differently once you consider both possible futures.
STEP 4
Choose what comes first
Read through the words you explored and their final numbers.
Choose the one that matters most to you now.
Define the first step
What is the first concrete action that would move this from intention into reality?
Do not try to complete the entire ambition. Define only the step that begins it.
Make it specific enough that you will know when it has been done.
Put it in your calendar
Schedule this first step in the same way you would schedule a date with someone you admire.
Choose a date and reserve the time. Treat the appointment with the same attention and respect.
THIS IS A DATE WITH YOUR FUTURE SELF
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DID THIS HELP?
There is more where this came from.
The free NOVALISM Circle is where I share daily thoughts, questions and journaling practices for recognising what matters before it disappears beneath habit and responsibility.
There is no programme to complete and no requirement to share what you write. Bring your notebook, use what speaks to you and return whenever you are ready for another question.
