“I Don’t Have Time” is BS. Here’s Why…

Photo by Shubhendu Mohanty on Unsplash

Have you ever made the "I don't have time" excuse? Or have you ever heard someone else make it?

It's a common excuse people make. I call this the "I don't have time fallacy."

While most people are indeed busy, they can almost always squeeze in a task if necessary. They just don’t want to do it. So they make excuses instead. 

Let’s dive into why saying “I don’t have time” is BS:

Excuses, excuses

This excuse is like any other excuse. People make this excuse when they don't want to do something. Plain and simple.

It's their justification for avoiding the thing they don't want to do. And it's total BS.

Nearly everyone has time to spend... Even if you're working long hours.

Let's face it: How much of your time is spent doing things you're required to do? How much of your time is spent doing things you should but are not required to do?

Think about it…

You HAVE the time. You just don't MAKE the time.

You say “I don’t have time” to things you don’t want to do. You don’t want to spend the time doing them. Even if they are things you need to do or should do.

If you're reading this blog, you've got time to spend.

Chances are that the thing you say you "don't have time" for doesn't take long. Or they aren’t as difficult and unenjoyable as you think. Your mind likes to make new things seem unenjoyable and even scary. It’s a defense mechanism your brain uses to keep you in your comfort zone.

You could likely do these unenjoyable tasks you don’t want to do while you're doing another activity. For example, you can do some house cleaning (what you don't want to do) while you're watching your evening TV (what you do want to do). It may not be ideal, but you can do it.

Pair an undesirable task with an enjoyable task to encourage you to do the undesirable task. This is an excellent strategy that makes it easier for you to start doing these tasks.

Wrapping up

Saying you "don't have time" is an overused BS excuse.

Most of the people who use it are lying... Myself included, which is why I've promised myself to stop using this excuse. I’m tired of using and hearing this excuse. I hope you are tired of it too.

This excuse makes it sound like you're busy and have important things going on all day (which may be true). But it's really used to weasel your way out of doing things you don't want to do.

If you don't want to do something, own it.

Own the fact that you don't want to do something that could improve your life. Own the fact you don't want to do a favor for a friend. Own the fact that you’re not prioritizing what’s important. And so on.

Excuses don’t defend you against doing things you don’t want to do. They just let people (including yourself) down.

Don't hide behind excuses, they hurt everyone... including you.

Just be honest.