How I Make Time For Everything (Even With a Full Time Job)

When I was working full time in my first job after graduation, my days. kind of just blurred together. would work, eat, sleep, and then repeat. But deep down, I knew I wanted more. I want to build something on my own. Spend time. with people that I love and create a life that I'm excited to wake up to. But honestly, everything that happened in my life. since then was because of making time work for me. And through these five strategies that I really want to share with you today. in this video, and one of them only took me less than 20 minutes a day.

But all led to massive changes in my life, which really surprised me. And the first thing I realized is that not all time is created equal. So some of us are time poor and others are time rich. And what is time poor and time rich? Really mean? So for me, time poor is not about how busy your calendar is packed. It's not how your time gets spent without you knowing. And being time rich is the opposite to me, is that you get the same hours. as everyone else, but with different choices. and how you spend your time and you decide on what matters today,

and you end the day, or the week, or even the year. Being proud about what you done and you feel really fulfilled. And what really hit me hard was that realizing. you can always earn more money, but you can never earn back time. the thing is, how do we know where all of our time is going? And I always get into conversations with either colleagues or work. or friends and family and everyone saying. how quickly the day with a year or the week is going by. And for me, this is why I think it's really important to do a time.

audit of where your time is going to at the moment in your everyday life. You can either write this down in a notebook or paper, or do the calculations in the notepad on your phone. Let's just first find out how much time you're spending on your non-negotiables. So these are things that you need to do no matter what. We all need to work, sleep, commute. And that's if you're not remote working and also eat. And first of all, if you are in the 9 to 5 job, that's at least 40 hours a week that you be working full time. That's a given. And then keep a time journal during the week of where you can track.

how long it took you to commute to and back from work, and how long. it took you to cook your meals and then clean up afterwards. Then track how long you typically sleep at night. Some of us, we need a full eight hours. I'm definitely one of them. And some of us, we sleep much less and feel okay about it. So for me, this really change over time as well. because as someone who's a parent now to a young daughter, I know that. eight hours of sleep with a family and a young child is probably a distant dream.

Excuse the pun here, but for the example, just stick with me here. if you go to the gym regularly, how long does it take. for you to work out the gym and to get there and back? So at the end of every typical week, just add all of these up. and subtract it from the 168 hours that we all get every single week. And that should give you a rough idea of how much free time that you have left. So when I first did this exercise, I was really surprised that when I calculated all of my hours, I realized I was spending over 14 hours a week just scrolling through my phone.

And for me, that was how some of my time disappeared without even realizing it. And I was doing these things that did nothing to help me to get to what. I want to achieve, which was to build a business outside of my full time job. At the time. Become a better public speaker and also build a personal brand online. via my YouTube channel. And the time was just gone without me even realizing it. And when you do this exercise, you might be surprised at how something. so trivial you're doing daily can eat up so much of your spare time. And again, I'm not saying that you can't relax.

We take time off to do what you want to do. It really depends on your goals. Which made me really think about the spare time that I did have. How can I use them really well? So this is where I decided. to get super clear on what it is that I'm optimizing my time towards. And that is knowing how to optimize your time towards what you want. If you're still watching, there's a reason that you're watching this. is that you want to spend your time outside of work better. But why? And on what? I asked myself this back then. What do I actually want to achieve?

Why am I going to give up my spare time? That could be watching TV, scrolling for TikTok, having nights out for something that's meaningful to me. I to really dig deeper, to understand myself. and to help myself make the choices that matter more to me. And the question that worked really well for me was to ask myself this. What do I keep saying that I don't have time for because of my job right now? And this is probably one. the most important work that you can do on yourself today. And for me, it was training my speaking skills, building my business, but also personal brand online through YouTube.

And the thing about time that I realize is, if you don't make sacrifice. for what you want, what you want becomes a sacrifice. And all of us, we have different excuses for why we can't make the time. I definitely did. I was always too busy doing things that were disguised as busywork, or wasting time on things that didn't matter to me. And what you do every day is what you actually value. in your life, and sacrifices and excuses are completely different things. You can make excuses and stay in the comfort zone.

or make sacrifices for what matters to you. Only one of these choices will actually build a meaningful life, so when you're clear on what you're optimizing your time for. How do we know how to protect our time and energy? Especially when you feel so zapped from working full time? This is why I find it really useful to make it difficult to be distracted. and find your best energy. So during this period when I was trying to figure out my life. and how I want to build a life that I want outside of my job, I came across a book called Essentialism by Greg McEwen,

and this book really changed the way I think about how we can decide. on what actually earns our time and also attention every single day. Because if you want to move your life forward, focus is a choice. And sometimes one big yes, the one thing that you know you need to do. It requires a thousand small no's, which are all the distractions. that are pretending to be urgent or need you right now. And how do you find your focus and make it difficult to be distracted? So I found the 90% rule to be really powerful here.

And basically, this rule means that looking back. to everything you tracked during your time, all that and then circle. anything that you were doing that you rate as nine on a ten. on the importance scale of moving towards your goals outside of work. So anything that doesn't make. this cut is basically a distraction that's stealing your time. And once you identify those high value activities, create a very specific plan. to schedule them regularly in your daily life outside of work. And this consistent focus for me is what really made a difference in the long term.

Because the thing is, I kept asking myself, what do you do when you feel absolutely exhausted from your job? I have no energy left to do what you need to do. So I looked at all the things that I didn't circle on my time. tracking, and I wrote down three things that I would not do. Which is your kill list or not To do list? And for me, these were one. No doomscrolling on my phone and two no scheduling meetings without agenda. And then number three is no checking emails before breakfast, because I found that doing these things really zapped my energy.

before the day even starts. and let me tell you, one thing that used to bug me. a lot is being in endless, unproductive meetings. When they're good, they push projects forward. But most of the time, if there were no agenda, no clear outcomes. and I just leave the meeting wondering, okay, so what happens next? Then the follow up meeting will be just as unclear. And that's why I want to share a really useful tool that I found. for personal and work meetings called Granola AI. because unlike other tools, It doesn't send a bot into your call.

It just transcribes your computer's audio directly in the background. So it basically works with any platform. And the best part I like is that after the meeting, granola automatically organizes the transcripts into really clear notes. for myself and highlights any key decisions. that were made during the call and lays out any next steps. and everything's searchable later, so I can literally ask it. What were the key action items from that call? They will actually pull up for me instantly. So if you want to stop wasting time on repeat meetings.

and actually move ideas forward, check out granola in the link in the description. And for me, learning to say no in the right way, both in my personal life. and also at work, that really helped me to manage my distractions. and protect my energy to do my best work, both at work, but also outside in my own personal projects. But the thing is, what about your energy? When are you most productive? And I found out that there are typically three Chronotypes of energy. that you might fall under. So first there is the morning lark. People who are most energetic from 7 to 10 a.m..

And I found this category. And I found that waking up earlier to spend maybe 30 minutes to 45 minutes. planning my videos or creating presentations, that really helped me to set up a very productive day ahead. And then there are those evening owls. We all have those friends who work best from 6 p.m. onwards. And for them, sketching. time after dinner to work on side projects really makes sense. And then there are the midday beers. These are a bit more rare who focus best around 12 noon to three.

And their lunch hour could be their unfair advantage. So knowing your chronotype by simply tracking when you work best, that will help. you figure out how to make the time work for you outside of work as well. But what if your current job isn't. what you thought it would be when you first joined? And how can you get the most value from your current 95 without feeling drained? When it's time to work on your outside interests? And for me, this is one of my biggest mindset shifts I had when I was working in my full time. job, was to think about what I would spend 40 hours a week on in a different way.

So if I treat my job as purely a place I didn't want to be, or I feel negatively about it, then I'd be spending 40 hours a week. really feeling miserable and stuck. But if I shift my perspective and I see my job as a stepping stone to. I want to be next, I start looking for opportunities in. different ways that I can get the most value from what I'm working on right now. And I get to learn from on the job to translate that to I'm building as well. It help me to advance in my own career, get promotions while also building a life.

I love outside of work by doing it step by step. There's so much glamor. right in the media that showcases teenagers and young college dropouts. who never worked a day in their life and then built a seven figure business. Now that's all really great, and I love seeing those stories as well. But what I also love is the grit and the training that I got. from the last ten years of having worked in the very structured. corporate environment, which helped me to train my communication and management skills,

and it really taught me the selling skills to sell my ideas to my boss. And then working with people across different departments. to make the vision happen. and through these jobs, I had the opportunity to also attend events, sign up to courses. and conferences that I went to to build my personal brand outside of my job. While I was working. And I honestly think all of this made me into. a much more well-rounded person, but also a well-rounded entrepreneur. Eventually, when I started my business outside of work. So do you really need to leave your job to go own on your big idea or passion.

to make it work? And the answer might really surprise you. So here's the mindset shift that surprise me about those. who build a successful life and work outside of their 9 to 5. Adam Braun highlight this perfectly in his book originals, and he research entrepreneurs like the founders of Warby Parker. Who kept their day jobs while launching what became $1 billion eyewear company. And Adam said that most successful people didn't take massive risks, like. quitting their jobs to dive headfirst into building a business or side projects.

Instead, they took very calculated risk. using their steady jobs to fund their dreams on the side. And I think doing it this way let you test your ideas. without the pressure to make that immediate success and really help. you develop your concept with the security of having a regular paycheck. At the same time, you get to learn valuable skills from your current job. That really helps your next idea. the thing is, if you dedicate to your job. and want to build something that matters to you on the side,

how do you then use the time you have left well, so you can get the rest. you need, while also pushing forward on what you want to do? And this is something that I struggle with for the longest time. And this is where I learn how to use my weekends wisely. While I think the weekends are great for recovery from work. They're also this amazing opportunity of two full days to design the life you want. And I once heard this beautiful quote is that the life you want. is built in the margins of the life you already have. and I found this perspective to be really transformative in my own life. Instead of seeing weekends is just time off work to escape from a life.

I didn't want, I started seeing weekends as this opportunity. to work on what matters most to me. So this one amazing, simple idea I want to share with you. that change how I approach using my time is what I call the rule of 100. So if you spend just 18 minutes a day learning and processing a skill. which roughly as of two about 100 hours in a year, you literally become better than 95% of people in any industry. Think about it. Most people give up after a few attempts of trying something,

and then maybe sporadically learning something here and there. I mean, look at the online courses industry. Most of these courses have a completion rate of 3 to 5%. But if you stick with spending time on this daily, what's amazing is that. that consistent daily practice, it compounds you so much in a year. And let's say you want to learn coding or let's say vibe coding to create a new app. or master a new language to open up some international opportunities. or build a business from scratch.

These are all skills that you can literally develop in. less than 20 minutes a day in the margins of your life. And this small daily time investment can really compound into expertise. that most people never achieve because they aren't willing to be consistent. And even the weekends or evenings in the margins of my daily working life, I can always find those 18 minutes somewhere. in my schedule to really help me maintain this momentum. And don't get me wrong, there were definitely sacrifices. So instead of going out drinking with friends,

I chose to go to a group, catch up over dinner or lunches during the week. And I used both weekend days as a work day for building my little solo business. And on Saturdays, I would have sales calls with potential clients. who were interested in my freelance services at the time. Or maybe shoot a YouTube video for my channel, or plant my many. startup ideas, So some of which worked and some of which failed. But weekends were how I was able to test things out and experiment, and where I had the most growth in my own journey outside of work.

So I also dedicated 1 or 2 hours every Sunday to plan the upcoming week. I would think about what specific actions that would drive me closer to my goals. And I wasn't trying to be productive with every moment I had spare. on the weekend, but it was really about identifying. the highest leverage activities with the highest value. activities that will create momentum in what I'm doing right now. and the really powerful realization for me was that to make. transformation in your life, you don't require massive life changes.

You don't need to quit your job. Were moved to Bali to make these changes. So small, consistent actions. in the margins of your current life and your current job in those and hours. That's really where the magic happens. So these are the five simple strategies that completely change how I make time. for and move my life forward to create the life that I have now. We all have the same 168 hours every week. The difference between feeling. time poor and time rich isn't about having more time. For me, it's about how we use the time that we have.

And I hope this video gave you some ideas and directions. If you're in a similar place in life as well, You might also find this next video here helpful to get you started. On this channel, I share practical ideas and tips. I learned the last decade of building my own life and work, and how you can create a life you're excited to wake up to, and becoming your best self. So if you like more content like these, make sure to subscribe And thank you so much for watching! I'll see you the next video.

When I was. working full time in my first job after graduation. My days just learned together. I would work, eat, sleep, and then repeat. But deep down, I knew I wanted more. I want to build something my own. Spend time with the people that I love and create a life. I'm excited to wake up to. And honestly,

everything that happened in my life since then was because of making time work. for me through these five strategies that I want to share with you in this video. And one of them only took me less than 20 minutes a day. But it all led to massive changes in my life, which really surprised me. And the first thing I realize is that not all time is created equal. So some of us are time poor, while others are time rich. So what is time poor and time rich really mean?

Time poor is not about how busy your calendar is parked. But I think it's about how your time gets spent without you knowing where all goes. And being time rich is exactly opposite. You get the same hours as everyone else, but with different choices. on how you spend your time. So you decide what matters today, and you get to end the week, or the day or the year. Being proud about what you done and you feel really fulfilled. and what really hit me hard was that you can always earn more money,

but you can't always earn back time. So the first thing that I realized is that not all time is created equal, and some of us were either time poor while others or time rich. And well, it's time poor and time rich really mean. So time poor is not about how busy your calendar is packed. It's really about how your time gets spent without you knowing where all goes.

And being time rich is exactly opposite. You get the same hours as everyone else, but. with different choices on how you want to spend your time. You decide on what matters today, and you end the day, or the week, or even the year. Being really proud about what you done and you feel very fulfilled. So what really hit me hard was that you can always earn. more money, but you can't never turn back time. But you can never earn back time.

But the thing. is, how do we know where all of our time is going? And I always get into conversations with either colleagues or friends. or even family members, and they all say how quickly the day. or the week or year is going by. And this is why. I think it's really important to do a time audit. of where your time is going to at the moment in your everyday life.

So you can either write this down in a notebook or paper. or do the calculation on your phone. And let's first find out how much time you're spending. on your non-negotiables. So these are things that you need to do no matter what. And we all need to work. Sleep. Commute. And that's you if you're not remote working. Of course. And also eat. And first of all, if you're in the 9 to 5 job, that's at least. 40 hours a week that you'll be working full time. And that's a given. And then keep a time journal during the week.

where you can track how long it took you to commute to and back from work. And then how long it took you. to cook your meals for your family and then clean up afterwards. Check how long you typically sleep at night. So some of us, we need the full eight hours and I'm one of them. And some of us sleep much less than that and feel okay about it. So for me, this really change over time. So as someone who became a parent to my young daughter, I know that. eight hours of sleep with a family and a young child is probably a distant dream.

So excuse the pun here, but for the example to stick with me here. If you exercise regularly, how long does it take. for you to work out and then get to your gym there and back? So at the. end of your typical week, just add all these up. and then subtract that from the 168 hours that we all get given every single week. And that should give you a rough idea of how much free time. that you have left.

So at the end of your typical week, just add these up and then. And when I first did this tracking exercise, when I calculated. all of my hours, I realized that I was spending over. 14 hours a week just scrolling through my phone. And for me, that was how some of my time disappeared.

without really realizing it. And doing these things did nothing to help me. to get to what I want to achieve, which at the time was to build. a business outside of work to build my speaking skills. And also create a personal brand online. That's also building a channel through YouTube.