Issue #1: Finding time for things that matter
We need to start asking ourselves how we're spending our most finite resource.
This is officially the first issue of my newsletter. I’m calling it The Smile Lifestyle. These issues will be emailed once a week, so you’ll get consistency from me. It will include:
something to read,
something to do,
something to think about.
My goal is to help you on your wellness journey. To introduce thought, ideas, and action in the simplest way possible.
The newsletter issues are separate from posts that will be available to the general public or only to paid subscribers. Aside from this first issue available to all, future issues will be behind the wall.
Okay, with that said, let’s get started.
Something to read
Do you really have the time?
Time to do things that matter. Time to do things you enjoy. Time for the fun stuff. And time for, well, downtime, to relax.
When someone tells me they don’t have the time to do what they want, I stop replying with inspirational and motivational words.
Simply repeating the idea that “if you really want what you say you want, you’ll find the time” can prove to be challenging.
Doing so denies the reality many people face that takes up their time. Things like work and child raising or (fill in the blank).
So, where do you find time between work, sleep, commute, chores, and caring for loved ones? Where can you cut back? What can you let go?
The answer, of course, will vary for each and every single one of us. I simply cannot reply with “find the time.”
Although our time commitments vary, I do stand with a quote I wrote in one of my books (I might be misquoting myself): “We all have the same 24 hours in a day.”
And how those 24 hours in a day are used is made up of external circumstances and personal choices. So we have some control.
Now, I can’t tell you what to cut out. I will share how you can uncover some lost time.
Something I want you to do
It’s possible you (like I was) could be habitually spending hours each day on distractions instead of investing hours on the things, projects, and people you say matter most.
So, I want you to do this:
Go to your phone’s settings.
Then, click on Screen Time (iPhones) or Digital Wellbeing (Android).
Look at how many hours you spend on your phone and which apps are used most.
For me, I was shocked. I spent 8 hours on socials a week. Now, this might be related to my work, but who am I kidding? There’s a lot of mindless scrolling and some entertaining time-wasters.
The action steps I shared create awareness.
Enough of an awareness that it made me do this: I hid social media apps from my home screen. That alone created enough of a barrier (having to type to search for the app) to lower my usage time. Eventually, I broke the habit of clicking on social media, which resulted in “finding time” for other things.
Something I want you to think about
Here’s a thought: social media entrepreneurs understand how valuable your time is, so much so, they built platforms to harness each second of your life to become billionaires.
Thanks again for reading.
This newsletter will evolve. I want your feedback, so share your thoughts. My goal isn’t to write into the void but to share things truly worthy of your time.
Please consider sharing the newsletter with just one other person today.
Check out the posts this week: