“All we have to decide is what to do with the time given to us.”

-- J.R.R. Tolkien, Fellowship of the Ring.

Last month I wrote about making improvements to my running performance. I had to make the time for more strength training required to boost my speed, and strength overall. Fortunately, I had some established tools and habits I could lean on to help me, but before we get into them, what does defending your time mean?

Defending your time consists of three things:

1. Deciding how you use your time
2. Making Time
3. Following through

Step 1

The easiest of the three. What do you want to do? What are your goals, hobbies, projects, and things you need to take care of? People you want to see? Write them down and prioritize them by importance.

Step 2

Where can you fit these into your schedule? Is there anything you’re doing that is taking time away from the things you want to do? This is where I'd start to examine things that aren't providing value. Scrolling on social media is an easy example from my own experience. A few years ago I realized that I had a habit of going to Facebook when opening a browser. It was bad - I mean I wasn't even thinking about it. I had no intention of being on Facebook yet I would ask myself after scrolling for a minute or two or ten "How the hell did I get here? What did I mean to do or look up?". Deactivating my account was the first step and found that this simple step broke my habit and made time for more meaningful things in my life. Last year I deleted my data and account altogether.

Making time and Finding time do not mean the same thing. Making time puts you in control of your intentions and how to use your time. Finding time for things gives away your control and forces you to fit stuff in. The day or week isn’t going to go perfectly, things are going to happen that are out of your control and you’ll find that time will fly by and your endeavor will go with it. Making the time is a simple reframing that gives you agency and permission to say no to things that don't matter.

Step 3

Stick to the plan. This is the hard part. This is where “defending” comes in. A few examples:

• Let’s say you want to start running. You make a goal that you’re going to get up early and go run. You said you were going to run at 6:30 AM. It's 6:15 are you going to stay in bed or go get your run in?
• Let’s say you decide you want better sleep. It’s 10:30 pm and you have already watched an episode of your favorite show. Are you going to bed now or watching another one? Which do you choose?

Who’s in charge in these situations? The simple answer is YOU.

Tools

Defending your time is hard and doesn't get easier the more responsibilities you take on, but there are simple tools and habits that can help you.

The main two tools I use are simple: My calendar and my journal.

Calendar

My digital calendar is by far the most used and easiest to use to make time. It keeps me accountable and sets others' expectations of my availability. I described my main blocks down below.

Journal

This is relatively new. I’ve tried journaling on and off for years but last year I committed to Bullet Journaling and found it worked well for me. It gave me enough structure but also flexibility to make it my own.

Besides day-to-day tasks and reminders, I use it for quotes, notes, random thoughts, and doodles. It’s nice to go back and look at them too. I went back and found my son’s diaper and feeding log when he was first born.

Handwriting is therapeutic too. When life gets busy it's easy to get overwhelmed. Writing my thoughts, notes and reminders gets it out of my head, and relieves some stress. I also love the satisfaction of checking off tasks from my to-do list.

My Everyday Time Blocks

Scheduling the time in the calendar is one thing but having a purpose for each block is another. I've made a habit of scheduling key parts of my day. These are my most used and recurring. Occasionally they’ll need to shift around but the important thing is the time block moves, but is NOT deleted.

Focus Time

This is recurring every day and happens first. I get a cup of coffee and head to my office. Cracking open my journal, I reflect on the day before. I like reflecting on the previous day in the morning. Usually, a night's rest helps filter out a lot of the noise and I can think about only what's most important. Occasionally I’ll reflect in the evening too, just depends on the day.

I grab two books - the Daily Dad and the Daily Stoic. I read the passage for the day from each and jot down my reflection. These ground me and help me focus on what’s most important in my life.

After my daily reflections, I list and prioritize the tasks for the day. Once complete I’m ready to start my work. Morning won!

Lunch/Workout

This is the critical one for me. All the other time blocks are important but this one is thee block. It’s the first thing I put on any shared or digital calendar. I get a notification when it's about time to get going. I wrap up whatever I’m doing and get outside. To make it easier to get going I often will get ready for a workout or a run beforehand. My shoes, hat, water and other gear are all prepped so there is nothing else to do but get it on and go.

Wrap-Up Time/Logoff

Typically, this is the last thirty minutes of the work day. I wrap up the day with notes which I keep in an electronic format. They are very specific to what I’m working on and most easily referenced that way. The tool doesn’t matter but currently, my go-to is OneNote. I reflect on questions like:

• How did the day go?
• What Happened? (What did I do today?)
• What’s Left to do?
• What do I need to follow up on?

It’s not super formal but I try to keep it organized by day or topic and include important technical notes and questions to follow up on etc.

Study Time (Power Hour)

A few nights a week, after the kids are in bed, I work on a personal project, study up on something new, or write a blog post…I’m in this time block right now!

I plan the time and decide the purpose for this time block in the morning. On average I get about an hour for this block if and when it happens. So I need to get going. If I want to maximize the time the last thing I want to do is try to figure out what I want or need to do with this time. That’s a surefire way to waste it.

Other Focused Time Blocks

If there are tasks that require some intense focus I create similar Power Hours during the day to get the uninterrupted time I need. I’m not shy about reflecting it in my instant messenger status either. I put up a “Do Not Disturb” ⛔ or “Focus” with 🎧, and I’ll typically turn off notifications and close my email app. Most coworkers and teammates respect it, and don’t expect an immediate response. I’m mindful that I’m part of a team and larger organization, so I do resurface at the end of the block to respond to emails and messages I miss.

It’s taken time to get here

Getting to this routine involved, burn-out, trial and error, breaking bad habits, and building the confidence to really take charge of my time. I hope some of the tactics I've implemented inspire you to examine where you're spending time and use it intentionally.

Start small and experiment. Focus on one thing you want to do. Does it fit into your life? If so, build up the habit of doing whatever it is little by little on a regular sustainable schedule. I saw a post the other day where someone was talking about building a habit of reading by reading 5 minutes a day. She found the time for 5 minutes and did it. She even gamified it and tries to keep the streak going.

If your thing doesn’t fit into your life? Ask yourself why? What’s something you can let go? Odds are there is something you’re going to have to say “no” to, to fit this new thing in. This goes back to step one in defending your time. Here are the steps again:

1. Prioritize what you’re doing daily. Physically write it down and order it.
2. Put it in front of your face, on your calendar, anywhere you'll see it to remind you to do it.
3. You've already thought about it now go do it.

You can do it I believe in you. ❤

Books

Here are some references that have helped me.

• Atomic Habits by James Clear
• First Things First by Stephen Covey
• Daily Dad by Ryan Holiday
• Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday
• Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
• The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll