I Wish I Had The Time

By Rachel Hoeing

“I wish I had the time.”

This is one of the phrases I loathe most in all of the English language. It usually comes into a conversation like this:

Friend #1: “Last night while I was watching TV, I noticed …”

Friend #2: “Oh, I wish I had the time to watch TV!”

Or

Friend #1: “Yesterday when I had my manicure…”

Friend #2: “I wish I had the time to get a manicure!”

Or the usual phrases like, “I wish I could join Facebook to keep up with friends but I just don’t have the time,” or “I wish I had the time to chat on the phone but my life is just too crazy.”

These phrases always seem to rub me the wrong way. I think it is because I feel like “busy-ness” is way overrated. I feel like people often make these comments to make the other person feel like their life must be a snooze-fest in comparison to these extremely important and busy people, who don’t even have time to return a phone call.

Does this bother anyone else?

I also firmly believe that people make time for what they want to make time for. If someone is so consumed by after-school activities, volunteering at the school, and lunch dates, they should at least enjoy it since they personally signed up for all of it, right? Some people enjoy being busy, and that is great, but why complain about it? On the other hand, if your busy schedule is full of doctor’s appointments, work-related items, etc. Then yes, complain all you want because those cannot be avoided.

Now, as with any generalization, there are exceptions. If you are a single mom, working full time, who comes home to a child with special needs and baby … you are right, you probably don’t have the time. If you are running your own business while in the midst of a divorce and also moving your parents into assisted living … you are right, you probably don’t have the time.

But the majority of us who are not in the midst of a life crisis probably do have time on our hands and just need to prioritize how we want to spend it. You can do this ladies! Time well spent is in the eye of the beholder. If you are happy with the way you spend your time, fantastic, but after you read this blog if it is starting to occur to you that you have complained about being busy lately and it is something you can change … make the change!

So before you claim that you don’t have the time, why not rethink your priorities? If you really want to attend a yoga class at the Y, I bet you can figure out how to fit it in one day. If you want to watch TV, try doing so while you fold laundry, snuggle with your little one, or exercise. If you want to spend more time with your kids, just choose one after-school activity this season instead of three. If you miss your girlfriends, meet at the park while the kids play, or plan a working lunch where one of you can bring food to your friend’s office.

So what is it that you don’t have time for? And what is holding you back from making it happen???

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