October 18, 2011 98 Comments

Haven’t Had Time to Blog

People say the strangest things to me.

I met with someone yesterday who said to me that he didn’t have any time to blog. Moments later, he told me what was happening on “Ice Loves Coco.” Earlier in the day, a woman explained that she didn’t really have the time for another social network, and then she explained how she volunteers for six different organizations in her town for various purposes.

I also met with the talented Deirdre Breakenridge, who told me about how strong her business is getting, and what 2012 holds. I met with Jay Baer and heard some of what’s got him occupied, including a huge tour for the book he wrote with Amber Naslund. I spoke with Jason Sprenger, who works for a big company by day, but blogs passionately about the intersection of sports and PR, too.

We Choose Our Own Adventures

We pick our paths. We decide what we make time to do. We choose our own adventures every single day. Each and every day, we have the chance to make choices.

Parents complain that they can’t work when their kids are home, and so I ask about what they do with the few hours the kids are at school, and/or what happens after the kids go to bed? Employees complain that they just don’t want to look at a screen after a long day at work, and so they prefer to take a break and… look at a screen.

We have time to do what we want to do. Tomorrow, I will have time to go to the gym in this hotel, and I will have time to find somewhere good to run. I signed up for CrossFit classes for the next four months, and so I will have time for those. I’m making more time for my kids in and around my business work. I have time to work with Julien Smith on our new book.

I want to do those things, so I will find the time.

What do you not have time to do? My guess? You could answer in the comments with three things you commit to stopping so that you’d find the time you want. What do you think?

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  • http://resumecvservice.com/ resume writing service

    very nice post! thanks alot for sharing! i liked it!

  • http://twitter.com/AnnThaxton Ann Thaxton

    My last blog post was in April. My blog is still live. Sad. If I stopped surfing and reading this post…sorry… I would have the time to write my client’s website content, schedule SM posts, write blog posts AND be a stay at home mom. 
    Focus…that’s my problem…

  • http://www.ricardobueno.com Ricardo Bueno

    I hit the gym every day for the last 14-15 days. 2-3 miles a day then a few full-court pick-up games. Some days, I really didn’t want to (at all). But I opted out of Netflix and a beer, and stuck to the plan. I hit the gym instead. 

    Proud of my progress. All it took was deciding, this is what I want to do NOW because it’s going to reward me later. 

  • Jason Sprenger

    Agreed, Chris. I re-launched my blog quite simply because I wanted to…and I cared about doing it enough to prioritize it.  I’ve struggled a lot with making time for my priorities, having two young kids and a busy job, but there comes a point where I think we have to just do it.  Great to meet you as well, and thanks for checking out the blog.
    –Jason Sprenger, @JasonSprenger

  • Terry Wilhite

    Chris, I’ve read your blog religiously for three or four years and just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your talk at the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) conference in Orlando a few days ago. Thanks for being real! You did a great job. Your advice is always invaluable.

  • http://twitter.com/danortegaPR Daniel Ortega

    Unfortunately I have tried to use these common excuses before, but I always have the overlying guilt that I should be blogging. Thank you for this post it will be used a motivational tool for me to just do it.

  • Anonymous

    The same is true about networking and investing time in cultivating relationships.  People tell me all the time they do not have time to participate in industry trade groups or attend events.  These are the same people who say others are “lucky” who get big career opportunities.

    It is not luck when you find success, if it most often the product of the choices we have made along the way.  The best thing I think you ever wrote was your series on being an “Overnight Success”– as it was not overnight for you or anyone else!!!

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  • Nick

    Hi Chris,

    I truely believe that when someone says “they don`t have time” what they really mean is they don`t know what to blog about!!!!!!

    Someone like you will always find the time because you have a long, long list of ideas to blog about so you find time to share them!

    Thank you,
    Nick

  • Whitney

    “Time is a created thing. To say ‘I don’t have time,’ is like saying, ‘I don’t want to.’”— Lao-Tzu

  • http://twitter.com/CloseToHomeMD Alice Ackerman, MD,

    Great post, Chris
    Time is always a difficult commodity to measure or control. I blog because I want to, and make time for what I want to do. We can not control how others spend their time. One of the most difficult things we try to do is to decide that we can make decisions about how others should spend their time. Let me explain. 

    Your readers have undoubtedly heard about the work hour restrictions that have been placed on residents in postgraduate medical training programs. In comparison to the unlimited hours that many of us spent in training programs when “I was a resident” the residents are now limited to work no more than 80 hours a week, and the first year residents cannot work more than 16 hours in any 24 hour period. Supposedly, this leaves them more time to read and study, as well as to sleep. But guess what? They don’t read more. In fact, I think they read quite a bit less. Nonetheless, many of them find time to blog, be on Twitter, Facebook or make U-tube videos. But they don’t have time to read. Ask me, and I would say its more important for our future physicians to be learning but they say they don’t have time. And some people say they don’t have time to blog.

  • Dave Atkins

    I wish it were as easy as just finding time, but it’s also about motivation. Sure, I can get up at 4am and write a blog post or run 2 hours to train for a marathon. I’ve done that when I was motivated. But there are times in your life when just keeping the things you have to keep moving going leaves you too burnt out to tap into the creative energy you wish you could summon. Then comments like this are about all I can muster.

  • http://www.alspaulding.com AL Spaulding

    In a nutshell. If you want something you will make the time. Period. Great Post Chris.

  • Paul Jun

    I usually found myself saying I didn’t have time to blog, and it was because I never made time. I never treated it like a full-time job and then some.

    Once I got my priorities straight blogging became something more than a full-time job or a hobby.

    Like many said: we have to find the time to do the things we want. Most of the time we’re just making up excuses or distracted.

  • Anonymous

    my classmate’s sister-in-law makes $84 hourly on the laptop. She has been fired for 7 months but last month her income was $9078 just working on the laptop for a few hours. Go to this site NuttyRich.cöm

  • http://www.secretaffiliatebook.com/ super affiliate

    well, I allways have time to blog :)

  • http://twitter.com/AspirationINK Sheri Bambrough

    I have time, I want to take the time, but I struggle to find the niche, the interesting post ideas. Writing I love, yet the direction is not so clear. 

  • http://www.voyances.fr Voyance en directe

    I really loved your blog:) I wish you good luck:)

  • Anonymous

    so true… as James Allen says in his book As A Man Thinketh – “Man is made or unmade by himself; in the armory of thought he forges the weapons by which he destroys himself; he also fashions the tools with which he builds for himself heavenly mansions of joy and strength and peace.”

    You are what you think you are

  • http://www.clickandinc.com/blog Sarah

    Thanks for the refreshing kick in the pants!

  • Matt

    Yup, it comes down to what is a MUST for you. If it’s a must, you’ll do it. If you just wish you’d do something, you won’t.

    By the way, that’s a very cool sand castle :)

    Cheers,
    Matt

  • http://twitter.com/KimberlyPeek Kimberly Peek

    Social media guru, blogger, runner AND Crossfitter? Aw… I might be in
    love! :-) Great post. It’s true. We find time for the things we find
    important.

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