We all know that one of the core pillars of reaching any goal you want is simple:
You have to put time into it.
But time feels like the luxury item that most of us believe we can’t really afford.
Think about this:
When you want something so bad, but it’s really out of your budget, you will save for it penny by penny, right?
Time works in the same way. You have 24 hours a day – the equivalent to 24$ – and you have to be wise how to spend it.
So, I’m going to show you that even when you think you don’t have time, you can create it.
1. The Hidden Minutes You’re Not Noticing
A lot of moments that happen in our lives we can call the “in-between” moments. The tiny slices of time that don’t look like much but add up. Like:
- Waiting for the bus
- Sitting in a taxi
- Waiting for someone in a café
- A short break at work
Instead of seeing these as dead zones, turn them into micro-action windows. Even if all you have is your phone. Examples of how I use this:
- Drafting an article on my bus ride to and from work
- Brainstorming ideas in a café while waiting for a friend
- Planning my next weekly schedule during a break
These actions don’t feel big, but they stack.
2. Cross-Device Productivity
If your work exists only on one device, you lose hours of potential creative time.
Remember how many times you really felt like getting some work done, but you didn’t have your laptop, or couldn’t access a document sitting on another device.
That’s why cross-device tools matter, they work for you and not the other way around.
This is why I love the Apple ecosystem so much (even if they empty my wallet sometimes). I work seamlessly across my laptop, iPad, and phone.
But you don’t need Apple to do this. Here are some tools that sync everywhere:
- Notion
- Google Docs
- Canva
- Google drive / OneDrive
- Notes apps with cloud sync
3. The Truth: You Do Have Time – But It Comes Unexpectedly
Most people have random pockets of free time that appear during the day. You know them well. These are the moments where you:
- Scroll for 45 minutes
- Take a nap “because there is nothing better to do”
- Sit and wait for something to happen!
Because these pockets are short and unplanned, we tend to fill them with easy dopamine.
There is nothing wrong with scrolling or relaxing – but in moderation. It always depends on how much you value your time.
The key is awareness.
4. The Moment Of Choice
Here’s the real turning point: you have to stop yourself right before you decide to waste time.
Like I said in the previous point, we waste our time because we don’t know how to spend it.
Follow this small ritual to become intentional:
- Pause. When you’re about to do something out of pure boredom, ask yourself: “Will this benefit me in any way?”
- If the answer is no, switch. Make a conscious switch to a more meaningful task. Choose a micro-task: reply to an email, brainstorm an idea, clean a small area, read a page.
- Always tell yourself: “It’s not about how big the win is, it’s about the habit of choosing better.”
Even 5 minutes of intentional work is more energizing than 30 minutes of mindless consumption.
5. Identify Your Free Blocks And Protect Them
There is always a part of your week that life can’t take from you.
That’s your free block.
Find the time you have when nothing unexpected happens. It could be:
- Weekend mornings or evenings
- Weekday nights
- Extra hours during leave days or holidays
- An uninterrupted hour when the house is quiet
These blocks should be reserved for deep work. The time you have to put into your goal that requires focus and presence.
Examples of deep work:
- Studying
- Long writing sessions
- Content creation
- Working on your side hustle
Treat these blocks like real appointments, because they are.
They are appointments for you to work on yourself, and not anyone else.
That means no last-minute plans, no “one extra episode”, and no bailing.
6. Cut The Time Thieves
Your time is a currency you trade every day, and not all trades are good ones.
There are 10 types of value you get from the time you invest:
- Financial value – earning money, improving professional skills, building future income
- Emotional value – peace, joy, healing, clarity
- Social value – meaningful relationships, strengthening connections
- Physical value – health, energy, strength
- Intellectual value – knowledge, perspectives, smart decision-making
- Creative value – ideas, self-expression, building things
- Spiritual value – grounding, meaning, reflection
- Career/future value – positioning yourself for tomorrow
- Restorative value – rest, sleep, recovery
- Lifestyle value – cleaning, errands, transport, daily maintenance
You have to identify if what you’re planning to do satisfies any of the values mentioned above. It’s easy to trick ourselves into thinking that it does.
Examples:
- Saying yes to every last-minute plan is not social value.
- Sleeping in because you’re lazy (not tired) is not restorative value.
- Running errands inefficiently is not good lifestyle value.
You don’t need to remove everything – only the unaligned, the draining, and the unnecessary.
And once you do, you will feel the difference immediately.
Closing Thought
Time doesn’t magically appear when life gets easier.
It appears when you start choosing intentionally.
You don’t need more hours.
You need more awareness, more boundaries, and more moments claimed instead of wasted.
