“But I don’t have time to…” = Worst. Excuse. Ever.

Posted on May 12, 2008

“I don’t have time” has to be one of the most common excuses ever.

You know, it’s just not true.

If you don’t have time, you just don’t want it badly enough. If it really matters to you, you’ll find time somewhere in your schedule, you’ll trim something else out, something less important.

When you say “I don’ have time”, acknowledge, if only to yourself, that what you really mean is “Other things are more important to me than this is”.

There’s nothing wrong with that.

One of the concepts that really stuck with me from studying economics was the idea of ‘opportunity cost’. The cost of doing one thing is not doing something else. The cost of spending $20 on a DVD is not spending that same $20 on going to see a movie. The cost of spending the day surfing is that you’re not spending the day rock climbing.

“I didn’t have time” is an excuse I’m trying to eliminate from my life. “I was doing [other task] instead” is far more honest and accurate. Even better, it’s not an excuse. When dealing with my boss, it gives him a chance to adjust my priorities to match his own (something he’s not always the best at communicating).

Now, I would write another post, but it’s time for my regularly scheduled Warcraft session… and frankly, I choose to do that instead. See? It’s easy!

Comments

Add New Comment

Subscribe:  This Thread

Go to:  My Comments ·  Community Page

Thanks. Your comment is awaiting approval by a moderator.

Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.

 

Add New Comment

Trackbacks

(Trackback URL)

• Recent Posts

  • Continuance, and the dangers of mono-focus.
  • The Pizza model of living.
  • Living the life you want - your way
  • Change
  • Is it an excuse or a reason?
• [Disclosure: I might get a small amount of money if you buy something from here. But I have read every one of these books, more than once, and I recommend them based on the value I believe they will provide to you, not the income they may provide to me.]

• About

  Sometimes, less is more. I firmly believe that you can improve your quality of life by carefully limiting what's included in it.
  
  This site is about living without certain things, either permanently or as an experiment. It's based in part on my own experiences and experiments, and partly on the experiences of others that I read about.
  
  It's also about things your life should not be without, those things that enhance the quality of your life.
  
  I hope you find value in what you read here, and that you're inspired to Live Without in order to live a little more.
• Search for: