Here’s a question that hits close to home for me. My current job is in New York City…where I can’t afford to actually live. That means I spend about 3 hours commuting each day to and from work. My alarm wakes me at 6:00, I’m at work by 8:30, I leave the office at 5:30, and my train doesn’t pull into the station until 7:10. That leaves time for a quick workout, dinner, and a shower before I have to start thinking about getting ready for bed! If I’m not asleep by 10:30 PM at the latest, I’m a zombie the next day and the commute/work day is even more unbearable.

So, no, I do not even have close to the amount of leisure time I’d like. On the weekends I’m usually so exhausted that I can’t stay out very late at night, plus I have to spend some time during the day to do chores that I don’t have time to do during the week. My weekends are mainly a rest and relaxation period rather than a time for new experiences and adventures. This isn’t entirely my job’s fault – I do make a lot of excuses when I have free time. Usually, laziness kicks in and I’d rather relax for a bit than force myself to go out and get active. That’s something I’m trying to overcome, but it’s a bit overwhelming when you’re faced with the prospect of cramming an entire week’s worth of enjoyment into 48 hours.

I think this question is one of the most important ones you can ask yourself. If you don’t have the time to do the things you want to do, you’ve become a slave to the momentum of unimportant things in your life. For most of us, the reason we don’t have enough time is because we think that “we have to work” in order to pay the bills and support a family. This is true, yes, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for compromise. If you value freedom and leisure time, and actually want to pursue the things that are meaningful to you, take action in the present moment to create the future you are committed to. If this means you have to consume less, just do it! If you have to move to a location that has a lower cost of living so you can work less, do it! Are your material possessions and other pursuits worth selling the majority of your time, to the point where you don’t even have any left over to enjoy the things you’ve bought? Obviously not.

My advice would be to take an inventory of your time. See how much time you’re spending on basic things each day and each week. Next, make a list of all the things you want to do, but don’t have enough time for. Be reasonable, and only include the things you are positively dedicated to. Next, take a look at your time survey and see where some wasteful periods could be cut down or cut out entirely. Or, find new uses for time periods you previously wasted. For example, on the hour train ride into New York City each morning, I usually try to sleep. Even on days when I’m successful, the quality of sleep is poor. So instead of forcing myself to try and catch some half-assed z’s, I’ve re-dedicated this wasted period of time to meditation. Now I get an extra 60 minutes of practice every day, which quadruples the amount of time I was putting into the cultivation of the habit beforehand.

Determine what you’re willing to sacrifice in order to gain more time for yourself. If you’re willing to move, to stop eating out, or to abandon your fetishes for new technology and gadgets, you may find that you don’t have to work as much. Or you might be willing to sacrifice some of your limited free time to developing a new source of income that will increase your chances of having more free time in the future. My goal is to reach a balanced point of consumption where I can work from home (or any location connected to the internet), on my own time. What’s yours?

Do you have enough time to do all the things you want to?