Jack Canfield (co-creator of Chicken Soup for the Soul) gives a solo coaching talk on finding more time, energy, and freedom by reorganizing weekly routines. He advises recording one full week in 15-minute increments to see where time goes; identifying "filler" activities (social media, mindless TV, phone games) and replacing them with restorative or growth activities (breathwork, reading, yoga, sleep, learning, connecting with friends); delegating or outsourcing chores (teach kids to make lunches, carpool, hire cleaners, use meal-kit services like HelloFresh/Home Chef/Blue Apron); negotiating remote work or seeking other positions to reduce commuting; and cutting back on nonessential volunteer or community commitments. He stresses self-compassion, asks viewers to commit to one change and share it in the comments, and points to resources on his website (jackcanfield.com).
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Hi there. I'm Jack Canfield, the co creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books and the author of the Success Principles. And I'm glad you clicked on the play button on this video because I have some important tips to share with you today. But first, I have a question. How much free time would you say you have every week? And more specifically, how much time are you able to spend entirely on yourself and pursuing your needs and desires in life? Well, if you're like most people, well, chances are your answer is not nearly enough. Or maybe you're thinking, spend time on myself. How selfish and indulgent. If I want to be a good person, I should be focused on helping others, not myself. But the truth is, focusing on yourself and taking care of your wants and needs isn't selfish or indulgent at all. You've probably heard the phrase, you can't pour from an empty cup. So if you want to be truly helpful to others, you have to make sure you replenish your well first so you eventually have the energy to devote to others. You're doing no one any favors if you constantly deplete yourself and work yourself to the point of exhaustion all the time. So today I'd like to share my top tips on how to create more time and freedom in your schedule so that you have more time and energy to focus on what you want to need to do to show up in the world as your best self and live your best life. Okay, so right now you might be thinking, well, Jack, that sounds all very well and good, but I have a full time job and I have a family to take care of and. And at the end of the day, there's simply no time left over for me to focus on myself. Well, I'm about to prove you wrong. No matter how overwhelming your work and family responsibilities may seem, I guarantee there are ways for you to find more time and freedom in your schedule that you can devote to your own wants and needs. And I guarantee that the people in your life that depend on you will benefit when you do. And the first thing I recommend you do is to spend a few full week recording how you spend your time every day. And the more you can drill down and get really specific with this, the better. I want you to write down the time you wake up, how much time you spend getting ready for work, how long it takes you to get to work if you have to commute to an office, how you spend your hours at work, including your lunchtime, how long it takes you to get home from work how much time you spend cooking dinner, how much time you spend driving your kids to their after school activities, how much time you devote to your family each evening, all the things you do in the hours before you go to bed. And I recommend that you record what you've been doing in 15 minute increments for the whole week. And this will help you get a clear understanding of where your time and your energy is actually currently going. Now the next thing I recommend you do is to identify all of the things that you do during the week that you don't really have to do. I'm talking about what are called brain break or filler activities such as scrolling on Facebook or Instagram, watching mindless TV or videos on YouTube or playing games on your phone. Things that give you a bit of a break from your responsibilities and stress, but that don't really nourish you or replenish you in any real way. Or maybe they even frustrate you like constantly losing it solitaire on your iPhone. And they end up making you feel even more depleted and exhausted. Now add up all the time you spend doing these things and realize that you could be spending that time and in a way that much better serves you. So instead of scrolling on social media, you could be doing some breath focused awareness exercises to de stress yourself and become more aware of your thoughts in the present moment. Or you could be taking a bubble bath or read a book that inspires you. Or you could hit the mat and do some yoga or go for a quick walk outside. So instead of watching mindless TV programs, you can spend that time watching educational videos or learning a new skill. Or you could use it to join a friend for coffee or do a zoom call with someone that you haven't connected with in a while. Or you could even do something really crazy like go to bed earlier and get more sleep. So once you've identified all of the time you spend on activities that don't really serve you or nourish you in any way and have identified some of the ways to spend that time on activities that replenish your energy and create a more positive outlook on life and help you become a better person, the next thing I'd like you to do is is to identify all of the tasks you currently spend time on that you could either delegate to someone else or you could give up doing altogether. For example, let's say you spend 20 minutes making lunch for your kids every day. Maybe it's time to teach them how to make their own lunches. Doing so will not only Liberate some valuable time for you every morning or the night before will also teach your kids independence and a valuable life skill. Or if you spend hours every week driving your kids to their after school event, you could maybe cut that time in half by carpooling with another family and sharing the driving duties. Or if you usually spend an hour every afternoon shopping for dinner and then getting the evening meal ready for the family, maybe it's time to ask your partner or your kids to help with the cooking chores. Or maybe it's time to invest in one of those food home Delivery services like HelloFresh or Home Chef or Blue Apron. It drops off the ingredients at your house and only requires about 320 minutes of your time to prepare the meal. And finally, I encourage you to identify all the tasks and time sucks that you can give up altogether. For example, you may want to look at hiring a cleaner to help you with your household cleaning chores. Doing so doesn't mean you're lazy or not a good homemaker. It just means that you know your time would be better spent on things that are more important to you and you can devote this time instead to working toward your goals and your dreams, or replenishing your energy or spending quality time with your family and friends. You could also hire one of the neighborhood kids to mow your lawn for you. If you spend a lot of time commuting to and from your work, you could approach your manager about spending more time working from home or switching to a position that's entirely remote that will liberate a huge amount of time for you each week. And if your boss says no, maybe it's time you start applying for other positions. Maybe you're an active member in your church or you spend a lot of time volunteering every week. But if this is preventing you from being able to spend valuable time on yourself and what's important to you, I would consider cutting back your hours or maybe giving up that position altogether for the next little bit of time. See, there's a season for everything, and if you're feeling depleted and unable to focus on your dreams, now's the season to focus on what's best for you. And finally, I encourage you to cut yourself some slack. I think everybody is feeling a bit burnt out from everything that's been happening in the world for the past couple of years. So you might find that you don't have as much energy as you normally would, which is why juggling your full time job and your family feels like it's draining you of all your available energy. It's perfectly normal to feel this way. But that's also why it's so important for you to look at your schedule and identify ways to liberate yourself from all of the tasks and time and energy expenditures that are preventing you from being able to give yourself what you need to truly thrive. Because once you start giving yourself what you need, you will be more effective and more impactful in the world, and you will ultimately do a much better job of supporting others and also giving them what they need to thrive. All right, that's it for today. Thanks for watching. And now what I'd love you to do is take a moment to identify one action you're willing to commit to taking to liberate some time in your schedule and then share that action in the comments below. And by stating your intention publicly, you're going to give it more power. And if you found this video helpful, please make sure you like it, share it with a friend who may need it, and subscribe to this channel for more videos like this one, and for some additional tools and videos on how to create more freedom and happiness in your life, be sure to check out the Resources page of my website@jackcampfield.com you'll find there's a lot of great free resources there. So thanks again for watching and have a great day.
