You Don’t Need More Time, You Need More Intention

The Myth of Waiting Until I Have Time

"I'll do that when I have more time." Honestly, this might be my life's unofficial slogan!

Learn a new skill? When I have more time.

Take a long walk through the woods? When I have more time.

Take the dogs swimming at the pond? When I have more time.

Read the book that's been sitting on my nightstand collecting enough dust to qualify as home decor? Yep... when I have more time.

Apparently, I've been waiting for this magical unicorn of a day where work is completely caught up, my laundry folds itself, the house cleans itself, my inbox magically reaches zero, and someone else figures out what's for dinner.

I'm beginning to suspect that day is a myth!

The funny thing is, life doesn't really get less busy. It just gets...different busy. One project wraps up, another begins. The calendar somehow fills itself. The dogs still want to go outside. The dishes continue their mysterious ability to reproduce overnight. (Seriously...how?)

And if I'm being really honest, I don't stop moving!

I'm always checking something off the list, thinking about what's next, planning tomorrow before I've even finished today. Even on Sundays, when I'm doing laundry or running to the grocery store, my brain is already ten steps ahead. Even when I'm working late because I genuinely want to do the best job I can, I'm often so focused on the finish line that I forget to appreciate the work I'm doing along the way.

It's like I've convinced myself that once I finish this one thing, then I'll finally slow down. Except, there's always another "one thing." Does this sound like you, too?

For the longest time, I convinced myself that learning something new required giant chunks of uninterrupted time. Like I needed to wake up one weekday with nothing on my calendar, no notifications, no chores waiting for me at home, and enough mental energy to actually focus.

Turns out, I was making things way harder than what it needed to be.

This summer, I made a point to be a little more intentional with my time. Instead of waiting for the "perfect" moment, I started setting aside small pockets of my week to invest in my own growth. It wasn't anything huge, but those little moments added up. Here is what I did and what I learned from it.

I've completed short e-learning courses like Goal Setting, Prioritize with Purpose, and Foundations of Effective Communication, along with many more; and what surprised me most is that they didn't just teach me how to be better at work. By just carving out a short 20 minutes in my day I was able to focus on my development and take advantage of a learning opportunity.

They taught me how to be more intentional.

The Goal Setting course reminded me that progress doesn't happen by accident. Prioritize with Purpose challenged me to stop confusing "busy" with "productive." And Foundations of Effective Communication wasn't just about conversations at work; it made me think about how I show up for the people around me every day.

What's funny is that I started these courses hoping to become a better employee, but somewhere along the way they started making me a better person.

Some days that looked like completing a quick e-learning or listening to a podcast over coffee. Other days, it was reading an article or social post before bed instead of scrolling social media until I forgot why I picked up my phone in the first place.

None of those moments feel monumental, but they count! In fact, they've taught me something I probably should have realized years ago:

Waiting until I "have time" has kept me from more than just professional development. It's kept me from some of the things I love most.

I've postponed peaceful walks through the woods because I was waiting for the perfect afternoon. I've told myself I'd take the dogs swimming once life slowed down.

But what if slowing down isn't something that happens to us? What if it's something we choose?

Maybe it's finding satisfaction in folding laundry because it means home is full of life. Maybe it's giving your full attention to the project you're working on late to finish instead of already worrying about tomorrow's to-do list. Maybe it's taking the dogs to the pond on a random Tuesday evening because you've realized the dishes can wait another hour.

The same goes for learning!

Professional growth doesn't happen because one day our schedules suddenly clear up. It happens because we decide that 10 or 15 minutes is enough to make progress. Enough to get curious. Enough to become just a little bit better than we were yesterday.

Ironically, the more I've invested in those little learning moments, the more I've realized they actually help me enjoy the rest of my life. Learning how to set better goals, prioritize what matters, and communicate more intentionally hasn't just made me better professionally; it has helped me become more present.

And maybe that's been the biggest lesson of all. So now, instead of asking myself, "When will I have time?" I ask, "How can I make this moment count?"

Sometimes the answer is opening a 10-minute course or taking a walk in the woods. Sometimes it's throwing a frisbee into the pond for two very happy dogs.

Because maybe we don't need more time!

Maybe we just need to be fully present in the time we've already been given.

And if you need me, I'll be at the pond, or rocking on the porch listening to music while reading an article or tromping through the woods...because I've officially stopped waiting for the perfect day!