Protect Your Time

By Amy

What Are You Saving for Later?

One of the most important lessons that I learned in my 60s that I wished I had known when I graduated is that besides your health, time is your most valuable asset. We are given 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 52 weeks in a year. The way you spend your time can make a difference.

Imagine what you would do if you didn’t have all of life’s obligations. What would you do with that time? Could you change the trajectory of your future with a skillset? Could you develop a better relationship with yourself with self development? Could you awaken a hidden talent that you never knew you had? Or would you find a sense of peace knowing that these little pockets of time will be there to just relax.

The Value of Time

I spent most of my time on others. I didn’t understand the real value of TIME. I worked full time and ran a business. I cared for my family. I took my son to various sports and social activities. Weekends and holidays were dedicated to family and friends. I volunteered for overtime at work or to be a cub scout leader. It never occurred to me that I didn’t reserve space for myself.

I remember promising myself when my son goes off to college, I will make time for myself. I had planned on going back to college and getting a degree. When that time came, I found a highly rated college that offered the degree that was exactly what I wanted. I sat there with the application filled out and ready to submit. The application fee had even been waived. All I had to do was press the submit button. Before I could do that, I asked myself if I wanted to take on student loan debt at my age while still working full time. Even with a degree, it would take time to climb the corporate ladder to significantly increase my income. I sat there frozen in place unable to press the button to a potentially better life. Finally, I made the decision to close the browser. Financially, it didn’t make sense for me to take on student loan debt at this stage in my life. I had waited too long for this degree to make good financial sense. In retrospect, I made the right choice.

A few years later, I started into a new romantic relationship with Dave. I was determined to make it as perfect as I could. I poured all that I had into it for a long time. But I had this feeling of dissatisfaction a few years into it. As hard as I worked at it, it didn’t feel perfect or even close to it. I couldn’t put my finger on what the problem was exactly. Resentment boiled below the surface but I still could not identify a cause. It got to the point that it couldn’t be ignored any more. I started asking hard questions. What was causing this feeling of dissatisfaction in an otherwise very good relationship? What was the root of the problem? I did a lot of soul searching and what I discovered was life changing. By putting everything into making the perfect relationship, I left nothing for myself.

I began waking up early to make time for myself. I started to read every day. I came across a book by Brian Tracy that changed my world. I found momentum by writing goals down every morning and the steps needed to get there.

Over time, an idea took root. My happiest years were when I used to have a store. Most of my customers turned into friends because I gave them a safe place to talk and to be open and honest. I didn’t do much really. I just encouraged people to embrace the parts of them that made them feel different and to work on improving things they didn’t like. It was wonderful and I missed that so much. So I set it as a goal.

I sat down every morning and wrote down this goal and how it made me feel and steps that I needed to take to bring this goal into existence. It dawned on me that I could become a life coach. Then ideas really began flowing and a plan began to form.

It took me a year and a half to get my coaching certification, build a website and create the programs. During that time, I learned more about myself and the direction I wanted this business to go. As I began writing consistently, I found out that I am not just writing for the sake of making content, I actually love writing. Much of what I write comes from my own dissatisfaction and soul-searching. As I reviewed my experience, I realize how much I have learned and how far I have come. Sharing it gives me that same feeling I had back in my store. I can help people who face the same unidentifiable dissatisfaction that I had and find their way through it.

And as my goal writing began to evolve from an idea to a plan and to an actual business, I noticed that my relationship with Dave had improved drastically. We weren’t doing anything differently. I was coming from a different place now. I had made space for myself. My resentment had changed to gratitude. In taking time for myself, I found peace and wanted to become a better person. I looked forward to starting my day by feeding my soul before I started giving to everyone else.

Making Space for Yourself

I used to think that being constantly busy meant that I was living life to the fullest. But I have learned that there needs to be a balance. It wasn’t until I made space for myself, that I felt an improvement in my quality of life.

When was the last time that you did something just because it interested you? What is something that you are putting off until life settles down?

You may not have to rearrange your whole life to create this space. You may be able to find spaces within your busy life to take a moment for yourself. When my son was young, I used to read on my lunch breaks. It was only 20 minutes. But I looked forward to that little space in time during the week.

In my Manage Your Money With Intention blog, I ask you to review your income and your expenses to create awareness. By doing something similar with your time, you might be surprised at what you find. Like in your finances, you have the non-negotiables like your job and caring for your children. You also have chores that use up a lot of time like cooking, cleaning and laundry. But if you tracked everything that you did in your waking hours, you would find areas that could be more flexible or even eliminated. Often, we create more unnecessary work for ourselves with choices we make.

I used to have a lot of flower beds. I loved them and I loved working in them. But maintaining all those beds had begun taking more time and energy than I wanted to give. One evening as I wearily headed back to the house after a whole evening weeding and cleaning up the mess, I wondered what would happen if I eliminated this flower bed. So I did. Yes I missed the flowers but the time that I found for other things led me to eliminating all of my flower beds. And as I reviewed my time balance sheet, I found more things that I could eliminate.

I started to pay attention to any ideas that I had that would cause more unnecessary work in the future. I started to declutter my house to make cleaning faster and easier. I got rid of things I didn’t use like books I had already read and knickknacks that require dusting. By eliminating unnecessary work, I found that life felt much lighter.

Time can be found in setting boundaries. That doesn’t mean that you can’t volunteer at your church. Specify the activities or causes you most want to support. It doesn’t mean you won’t babysit your grandchildren, it means that you agree to the amount of time that works for you. You can often find time by setting limits. Remember the old adage that you can’t pour from an empty cup. Protecting your time makes the time you spend helping others more effective.

And there is yet another place in life where you can find more time. That is the time we spend on our phones scrolling, watching TV and socializing. These aren’t bad things. But if it’s just “killing time”, limiting how much of it you do may leave you with some time to work on the “someday” things you had promised yourself.

You don’t need a lot of time. There are no rules to what you do in this time. I will encourage you to be curious. What have you been waiting to give yourself permission to do? What is something that you have wanted to learn? What are some of the “someday” things?

I didn’t decide to become a life coach and start waking early to prepare for it. In fact, I had no intentions other than saving a little time for myself. My curiosity took me down a path that led me to a business that I love. In fact, I like the idea of having no goal in mind for the time you make. Allow your curiosity to open new doors for you. You may want to read or write. You might want to learn how to draw or paint. You could learn a new language or how to play a musical instrument. The fact of the matter is that by making this time for yourself, you may find out more about who you are and hidden skills you never knew were there. You can also use this time to just enjoy the peace and quiet.

How to Begin

To get started, track how you spend time one day. Try to identify areas where you could make some changes.

Where is one place that you could find 15 minutes?

Can you wake up earlier or find time in the evenings?

Is there something you could eliminate that creates unnecessary work?

Do you have a lunch break that you could use?

Can you set a limit on how much time you spend on volunteering?

What would you do with those 15 minutes?

What is something that you have always wanted to learn?

Is there something that you love to do but never have the time?

What are you curious about?

Would something as simple as reading or journaling bring you a sense of peace and renewal?

Do you just need a moment in time to sit outside or to enjoy a cup of coffee?

Take that protected time that you found and quietly use it for yourself.

How did it make you feel afterwards to have those 15 minutes to yourself?

Do you want to do it again tomorrow?

Note: It’s ok if you can’t find 15 minutes. If you are a caregiver or have obligations that are not flexible, please try to find 5 minutes in your day to breathe, pray or just be.

Lessons That I Learned

After so many years of thinking I was doing the best that I could by giving my energy to everyone but me, I learned a few important lessons.

It’s not only ok to say no and to set limitations. It can be mutually beneficial by allowing yourself to renew.

It’s in the silence that you begin to learn about yourself, who you are and who you want to be.

Protecting some time for yourself is not selfish.

When you take a little time for yourself, it can help change your perspective on life.

What’s next?

Once I learned the value of making space for myself, I needed to keep my commitment to use that time. That led me to the next habit – Keep Promises to Yourself.

About the Author

Amy is the founder of Path 2 Epiphany, a personal growth community dedicated to helping people who feel stuck create a life filled with purpose, confidence, and meaning. After transforming her own life through small daily habits, intentional growth, and a commitment to becoming the person she wanted to be, she now helps others navigate their own path to lasting change.

Amy believes that transformation isn’t found in one life-changing moment. It’s built through small, consistent choices made every day. Her mission is to help others discover that meaningful change is possible—one step, one habit, and one day at a time.

If you’d like to continue exploring these ideas, I invite you to visit Path 2 Epiphany, where you’ll find more articles, free resources and practical guidance for creating meaningful change one step at a time.

Take your time. Stay awhile. This journey isn’t about changing your life overnight—it’s about taking the next step.