“I didn’t have time.”
“I ran out of time.”
We’ve all heard these complaints. We’ve all made these complaints. The problem with these complaints is the attitude behind them: that we’re victims of a clock, or somehow the responsibility lies outside of ourselves. It’s a lot more comfortable to believe that it’s not our fault. 
The truth is that your circumstances may be out of your control. But how you respond? That’s a power that no one can take from you. So how do we normally respond when we’re too busy? By getting organized and making lists. By reading a book on productivity. By trying to figure out a way to do more with the same amount of time.
The reason that this will always fall short is that it hinges on the idea that the amount of time you spend on a task is out of your control.
It isn’t. You get to decide how much time to spend. What’s the decision based on? Your values. The importance of the task. The level of quality you hope to achieve. Your own abilities to produce work of a certain caliber in a certain amount of time.
Deciding the time you’ll give a task up front empowers you. When you reach the time you budgeted for a task, stop.
It’s been a while since I felt out of control.
If you’d like to finally feel the clarity that comes from being in charge of your time, you should join the Intentional Academy. I’m building a community to help people like you manage their tim, get control of their money, and launch their careers. Find out more at www.tonyferrar.com
How does this work with having children? I can’t ignore them to do homework. If I did…well I’d feel like a bad parent.
That’s a great question! I think this comes down to creating some time to get things done. I have a friend who is a full-time parent but uses part-time daycare to buy herself some time during the week to work on her business. Alternatively, you could do what I do: I run this site (and most of my social media posts) when my family is asleep, especially in the early morning.
There’s nothing easy about being a parent and a student – you should be proud of any version of balance that you achieve. Hang in there!
Keep in mind that time invested in school pays off for everyone in your household.