We all have the same 24 hours in a day.
Um…no. We do not. We all have 24 hours in a day, but they’re not the same. My friend, let me explain something that’s not quite brain surgery – but I can see how it would be difficult for some to understand – my 24 hours looks nothing like your 24 hours. End of story.
Let me give you an example.
Person A has 2 kids.
Person B has 2 kids.
Person A and Person B are equally successful business owners.
Person A is fit, gets more sleep, and spends ample time enjoying leisure hobbies and activities.
Person B doesn’t have a lot of time to get to the gym, doesn’t get enough sleep most nights, and rarely gets to enjoy leisure hobbies and activities. It sounds a lot like Person A is living the life and Person B is a mess, right?
Maybe.
But maybe not.
Person A has ample time to golf and enjoy ample sleep because Person A’s spouse is the one taking both kids to and from school, all practices, and games. Person A shows up in time for the game, but drives separately because Person A is not getting there an hour early just because one of Person A’s children has to be there early to warm-up. Person A has a spouse who cooks, cleans, raises the children with little to no help from their spouse, and who is responsible for everything outside of Person A’s immediate desires. Person B’s spouse is overwhelmed, overworked, and always unhappy and Person A’s kids are always acting out.
On the flip side, Person B rides with the family and sits in the stands for the extra hour before the game and spends that extra time with their spouse and kids. Person B drives half the kids to school every morning and picks them up every afternoon. Person B is at every game, every practice, and every school event. Person B shares in household tasks such as cooking, cleaning, and everything else that needs to be done. Person B is tired and doesn’t have nearly as much time to hit the gym or the course, but Person B has a happy spouse and kids who are well-behaved and easygoing.
Person A and Person B don’t have the same 24 hours in their day because they take exceptionally different roles in their own lives – and they both prefer their own way of life to the others. Person A doesn’t want to do more than is necessary with the family or the home considering Person A is already running a successful business and providing for the family. Person B wouldn’t even think of putting their own needs, wants, or desires above that of their family despite the fact that Person B is running a successful business and providing for the family.
Person A likes to use their 24 hours to live their life. Person B likes to use their 24 hours to make their family happy.
We don’t all have the same 24 hours in a day.
I certainly don’t have the same 24 hours in my day that I did when I hadn’t any children. Or even one child. Or even two children. Believe it or not, I actually have far fewer of my 24 hours now that my four kids are older because their lives are all-encompassing for me as a parent. When you become a parent, or a business owner, or whatever – you don’t have the same 24 hours as everyone else.
If I were to break it down, I think my 24 hours is like 90 minutes, to be honest. So many of my hours belong to my kids and to our family. And that’s all right. It’s not about having the same 24 hours as everyone else – because I don’t. It’s about what I do with those hours when I have them.
Mindless scrolling, taking naps, reading, working on my brand and my business, helping others…how I spend my hours matters. The mindless scrolling hours aren’t productive, but reading hours are…do you see what I mean?
Not everyone has the same goal with their time. But not everyone uses their time wisely, and that’s where learning to use your time wisely comes into play. You may not get the same 24 hours as everyone else – but you can certainly buy back some of your own time.
- Hire a housekeeper
- Hire a lawn service
- Hire a car detailer
- Hire a chef
- Hire an assistant
It’s not always easy to find the time to do it all, but it’s easy to find more time to do more. If you’re willing to buy back your time, you’re willing to add more hours to your day – which means maybe you can be the best parent and spouse possible AND have a little time left over for a morning run.
Time is money – except unlike money, you can’t get back your time once you’ve used it.
Tiffany Raiford 