Everything you know about TIME is wrong.

at least, everything you VALUE about TIME is wrong.

And it’s all because of something this guy once said.

I reveal why soon. Although first I need to share a story from my world.

These last few months, boy-oh-boy what a whirlwind.

It began in November 2023. It was already a busy period, what with plans for buying our first house and Vee and me getting married. That, along with raising two kids and generally keeping up with the day-to-day… well, it was busy. 

Made busier when the opportunity to become the Director of Content for this company came about. Excited? You bet. Ready for the new challenge? Oh yes.

Yet I knew inviting new change like this into an already busy period would create chaos, and that it wouldn’t only affect me, but all those I love.

Still, it felt right… and so, the day before I got married — yes, the day before — I shook this guy’s hand and literally stepped into a new chapter of my life. 

New job. New wife. Soon to be new house… leaps, not steps.

Ever since I’ve been spinning plates and juggling balls and adapting to this and that, and it’s all *this* that led me to think deeply about TIME and indeed how me and we tend to think about it.

It’s all rather backward and flawed, which brings us to that guy, Einstein, and his infamous line, “Time is Relative.”

how to manage a very busy schedule

Now, Mr Einstein wasn’t wrong, of course, and I’m hardly someone who can argue with a genius mind like his. Yet it’s important to appreciate that science is rooted in logic and us humans simply are not.

Time may be relative out there in space; it may be relative at the minute level of quantum physics; it may be relative and fascinating to see it as such, and as a thought experiment, philosophical or otherwise.

But here on this planet, in the sense of how we live life, it’s not relative.

It is finite and abundantly simple.

Seconds followed by seconds, each one arriving and then disappearing into the ether. Since reading this, you’ve lost hundreds of them.

And as this day continues, you’ll lose thousands more — 36,000 thousand to be precise, over the next ten hours.

Here, and then not.

All you’ve done your entire life is let seconds slip through your fingertips.

It isn’t relative, depending on how you see it. All you do is observe time in this state; this state here on this planet, rooted in our laws and dynamics.

Physical and societal.

Here, and then not; tick, tock, tick tick tock…

In recent weeks, this has all been top of mind because:

1: I am trying to keep up and on top, adjust to this period, be as productive as possible, and 

2: Not lose myself to the “hustle and grind” because 1) I run the [no hustle] so it would be hypocritical of me to do so, and 2) I’ve lived the *hustle* and know how much fun it is not.

I don’t want it… and so, I’ve been working hard to not fall into “the trap”.

Yet in doing so, I have not been working smart.

And that is because I have lost sight of, as many of us so often do, the reality of time and our relationship with it.

Although reminding myself of something has helped me get back on the right track, and it’s a quick, simple, utterly simplistic reminder that will help you too.

the harsh reminder of your relationship with time

Each week, you’re given a fresh batch of 10,080 minutes.

Each day, you wake up to 1,440 of them.

Yet it isn’t that simple because you use a large chunk of this asleep, and even if you only sleep six hours per night, it still vanishes 360 from your total, leaving you with just 1,080 each day to play with.

(or 7,560 each week)

This is what I mean about the finite nature of time; or should I say, your personal, finite relationship with time. It’s fragile and fleeting.

And one day, you’ll enter a new week under the assumption you’ll be given 10,080 fresh new minutes, yet you won’t make it to that week’s finish line.

That is both humbling and terrifying, and it’s something I’ve been trying to wrap my head around in recent weeks as I strive to NOT slip into the hustle and bustle and get pulled in all directions.

I’ve learned something important, although the answer may surprise you.

the inevitably of hustle?

Like Thanos, *The Hustle* is inevitable.

I know, hardly makes sense when the channel is called [no hustle].

Yet it’s true. The hustle is all around you and nothing you can do changes this fact. Because time isn’t relative to you, it ticks and it tocks and it vanishes.

Each day, bringing you closer to your end of days.

And because you have responsibilities and dreams and ambitions and the rest, you will enter certain chapters of life that require more of YOU than others.

as that chapter I am currently in perfectly represents.

New job. New house. Young family. My health. The math has got to math, and the time only spreads so thin. I have to prioritize, of course, but even then I still have responsibilities. So, like it or not, I have to work harder and/or longer than I would ideally like; spend more time “switched on” and connected to… *all of it*.

This is life. This is the nature of life as it ebbs and flows, no two chapters the same and each one requiring you to step into it differently.

And you know something? This is okay. 

It is okay to step into the *hustle* from time to time because you only get one life and you need to make sure you give it your all.

BUT … this only makes sense if you remember this one important step.

Which is… 

don’t stay here indefinitely.

You are part of a busy world, and your life ebbs and flows.

Some chapters are easier than others, and some take on intense forms that result in you having to step up, work hard, ground the gears, etc etc…

It sucks, and as I talked about in this video, it’s a chapter I’m currently in.

For a while, I resisted it, trying to math the math even though it don’t.

I’m no longer doing that. Instead, I am accepting the chapter I am in and committing to what’s in front of me as best as I can.

It’s amazing what happens when you LET GO like this.

You release control over something you have no control over.

BUT … *this* only works if you do this one important thing, and that is to NOT stay in this place indefinitely.

Because bursts of “hustle” are fine, if not far from ideal.

What isn’t fine is when *the hustle* becomes your default state.

That is when you lose control, not only of the things you have no control over but also that in which you do.

There are three steps to ensure this doesn’t happen.

And the third one… well, it is so important and it’s the one almost everyone loses sight of. If you do, good luck with life; you’ll need it.

But if you remain rooted to this *one thing*, well, you’ll do just fine.

Stick around to uncover what it is, although, before that, we have two other steps you need to take – starting with the first:

give yourself permission.

The first hurdle you need to overcome is yourself.

Chances are, you are your biggest critic. Your inner voice puts you down. You hold yourself to some standard you cannot attain.

or maybe it’s a standard you could attain, but no longer can in this current chapter that requires you to work harder, longer, etc.

I’ve struggled with this in the period leading up to this article.

As someone who talks about how bad “the hustle” is, I felt guilty at the mere thought of succumbing to it. Yet as I spoke about earlier, this is the chapter of life I’m currently in.

I can fight it, but to what avail and to which point?

I realized I held myself back; held myself to a standard that isn’t possible right now. It’s been me holding ME back. Not my partner or family or friends or colleagues or anyone else. It was me and that inner voice of mine.

I couldn’t take any further steps until I first allowed myself to be imperfect; to give myself the permission to adapt and commit to the steps in front of me.

How you do this? There is no secret to it…

Just sit with your thoughts and question that nagging voice and put it in its place. Say, “I am giving myself permission to commit to this current chapter of my life.”

You are enough and you are worthy and you are going to do just fine.

and when you falter and that voice takes over, repeat the process.

Keep forgiving yourself, and keep being kind to yourself, and keep…

filling your cup, daily.

Just because life gets busy doesn’t mean you have to disregard your needs.

You remain important, and although you may not have the time you desire to do all you desire, you DO have at least some time, each day, to fill your cup.

Mind. Body. Spirit.

And if you can’t do it every day, fine… do it every other day. 

or bundle it all together into one afternoon each week.

The specifics don’t matter, so long as you keep fueling YOU.

and the only specifics that do matter are those that work for you.

Me… I’m one of those introverted types who likes time to myself. Being around people — even those I love — drains me. And so, I need to take time each day to be with my thoughts.

• waking up a little earlier so I can enjoy a lonesome coffee…
• a bath in the evening, the door locked…
• maybe a quick walk or run in the afternoon to get some fresh air…

Each day, little pockets here and there are available to you. Take them. Treasure them – and then, when you need more, give yourself permission to take it.

For me, that’s a weekend where I binge on movies or go for a long run or walk in nature on my own or whatever else I deem to need.

Can I do this every weekend? No. Not even close.

Yet am I able to do it every now and again? Yes, and it makes a huge difference.

What you need, well that’s for you to decide.

Think about it today and make a list of things that

1. Fuel your mind
2. Fuels your body
3. Fills your soul

Reading. Music. Walking. Working out. Spending time with others. Writing. Painting. The list of potential items is endless. Yet only a few will work for you.

What are they?

Once you hone in, you’re ready for the third and final step… the one I mentioned earlier that most people lose sight of, and the *one thing* you absolutely cannot.

reflect: often & honesty.

This one is the difference between “the hustle” remaining a temporary blip and transforming into your default setting.

and let’s be clear and realistic upfront and accept the fact that you are not set up for success in this regard.

Because when life gets busy and you enter a hectic chapter, the very nature of it consumes you. Days bleed into one another. A week, and then another. Whole months pass by, and you hardly get a chance to stop and think.

Before long, it’s got you… and it doesn’t like to let go.

It is on you to fight back. You have to place breaks in your diary, be it daily, weekly, or monthly, to step back and reflect on where you are.

… how you feel.

… what is going on inside you.

You see, “the hustle” is fine so long as it’s temporary. Yet it doesn’t want to have a fling with you. It desires to consume you; all of you; all of you always!

So you have to give your venture into “hustle” a timeframe and build guardrails around it. You have to say, “I succumb to you for now, but only until [X].”

and then, you have to check in with yourself.

Often!

Honestly question your reality and give even more honest answers.

By doing so, you can adapt and take breaks and give yourself what you need. 

It also helps you make tough decisions and figure out if you’ve bitten off more than you can chew. 

Maybe, in the beginning, you thought it was just a “short-term” grind. 

But then, after a while, you realize this is simply “it”.

You get to decide then… am I okay with this or do I need to make changes?

Yet this only happens when you regularly check in and reflect, ask those tough questions, and permit yourself to provide tough, raw answers.

final thoughts on how to manage a very busy schedule

The reality is, certain chapters of your life WILL get busy.

You can avoid this to an extent, but only to an extent.

When the busy times arrive, you get to choose to fight or surrender.

and although it may seem worthwhile to fight, often it is not.

At least, not to the extent that you are trying to control that which you cannot.

Let go. Focus on what you can control. Own what you need to and give it your all. Don’t try to balance everything, but rather integrate the aspects that matter the most as best as you can.

If that means stepping into the hustle for a while, so be it.

Just make sure you don’t stay there for long.

Thanks for reading, and be sure to watch the videos that accompany this article above — if you like them, you can subscribe here for more.

hi, i’m turndog and I wrote this article … i am a writer, ghostwriter, anti-hustler & a guy on a mission to ensure you too escape the hustle — come be part of the [no hustle] movement

hi, i’m turndog and I wrote this article … i am a writer, ghostwriter, anti-hustler & a guy on a mission to ensure you too escape the hustle — come be part of the [no hustle] movement