Is your To Do pile growing faster than your To Done pile? Yeah, mine is, too. And if you’re like me, you’re scrambling to cut anything out of your calendar just to put out the latest fire.

The first cut many people make is personal development time. It’s easy to cut out because of the promises you make to yourself:

• “I’ll add it back as soon as I have time.”
• “I’ll get up early starting next week.”
• “I’ll do it over the weekend.”

But how often do those promises work out? Not often. At least not in my world. This has been a common topic among my engineering compadres lately. So where do you find the time? Here are a few techniques that my friends and I are using.

Create a Personal Development Appointment

A friend recommended this last week and I am starting it as of today, November 12, 2018, I now have a standing appointment for the first 15 minutes of every day. I’ll be working through my growing To Read pile. At just 15 minutes per day, I should finish two books per month.

Those first 15 minutes every day are usually lost in idle chatter at the coffee pot (which has its own value but it also occurs all day long,) deleting junk email (I’m setting up rules to help with this,) and reviewing my calendar for the day (necessary but with discipline I can make it less time consuming.) Most days, I look up and half an hour has passed while I “get ready for the day.”

I’ve set this recurring event to happen daily for three months. I’ll let you know how this works out.

Listen & Grow On the Go

For the last couple of years, my primary source of “reading” has come from a combination of audiobooks on Audible and podcasts. The selections are broad and most often very good. I love audiobooks for road trips, flights, working out, and those long weekends of repainting the living room (and then the bedrooms, and then the kitchen.) But it’s also great for shorter events. However, for those (the daily commute, chores around the house, waiting at the doctor’s office,) I usually turn to podcasts. Freakonomics and the Harvard Business Review podcasts are my goto listens. But there are also highly engaging shows that are a little less focused on personal growth. 99% Invisible and the Smart Passive Income show are high on my list, too. And there are great shows focused on industry-specific topics which can help your career.

Do yourself a favor and use that drive time to develop yourself.

Stuff a Book Between the Couch Cushions

Saturday I had breakfast with an engineering student at Texas Tech. Julio is one of the sharpest and most driven young engineers I’ve met. During our conversation, I learned that he always keeps a book stuffed between the cushions of his couch. That way, when he sits down he gets a quick jab in the leg from a book as a reminder to read. Before turning on the television or game console, he goes for his current book.

I keep a book on the side table but don’t open it as often as I should. Julio’s cushion trick might be the reminder I need.

The Final Takeaway

One of my favorite books is Essentialism by Greg McKeown. His message of focusing on the essential reinspires me every time I read it. Personal development time is not one of those things that can be cut. It is absolutely essential. Don’t let it be cut out of your life by the firestorm of emergencies that pop up every day. Invest in yourself first.

Photo by STIL on Unsplash