I think we can all agree that one of the most frustrating things in life is time management. If time was for sale, we’d all be penny less trying to buy more of it. We want more time with our families, more time to work out or eat healthier, to sleep or work on our dream job. We constantly feel like we are stuck in a hamster wheel always living the same day or week mostly filled with work. 

Does any of this sound familiar? 

Hannah and I definitely felt caught in the cycle of “not enough.” We were dissatisfied by the amount of time we had to focus on our business when we discovered quite the amazing time management book that totally flipped that idea on its head.

Enter 168 Hours by Laura Vanderkam. 

This lovely lady did her research on the time management of extremely successful people. I won’t spoil the whole book, but one of the major points of the book is…

It’s not that you don’t have time to do that thing you’ve been wanting or should be doing, you aren’t making that thing a priority.

This idea can sting a little bit when you try it on for size. For example, 

The excuse: “I don’t have enough time to workout during the week.” 

The underlying message: “Working out during the week isn’t a priority for me.” 

Or 

The excuse: “I don’t have time to work on our business during the week.”

The underlying message: “Our business isn’t a priority for me during that week.” 

Ouch. That’s a little slap in the face, right? 

Well, Hannah and I were fully aware of this concept one day we went to church and our pastor explained that the church was going to do a 21 day fast starting January 1st. To be honest we weren’t very interested in fasting food, but instead we decided we could fast something that kept each of us from fully committing to our business during the work week: watching television. We decided we’d fast TV completely for 21 days. 

Here’s how it went down…

Let’s be honest the first few days were hard, especially since those few days were the perfect cold, rainy winter days where all you want to do is watch a movie! Luckily, we powered through with the help of our laptops. I’m telling you the truth, we’ve gotten more work done in these few weeks than I could have imagined! 

I’ve walked my dog more. I’ve read more. I’ve slept more. I’ve cleaned and organized my whole house. Basically, I’m crushing the whole no TV thing. I see what Chip and Jo are talking about!

Now, let’s be perfectly clear, that doesn’t mean that I’m going to rush and delete the embarrassing amount of TV apps I pay for. I mean you have to binge watch a show every now and then to be in the 21st century. But, it does mean that I’m going to be much more conscious of how I’m breaking up my time in order of the real priorities in my life. 

If you want to stay up to date with our mental state with this change, check in with us on Instagram: @chelseachaycarter and @hannahvirginiasmith.