Time - there is never enough of it. I don’t think anyone will disagree with me. It’s something that’s always said. I’ve always said it.

I wish I could take back every time I said it. I never knew what I was talking about… until now.

When I say it now there’s an edge of desperation, panic even in my head, if not also seeping through in my voice.
I always feel behind… behind with my family, behind at home, behind at work. I’ve never felt this far behind before. The reason: life – a baby, growing stepsons, a move to another part of the city, a job that continues to develop, shift and expand.

I find myself thinking daily, “What is my time worth to me?”

I’ve actually started paying for my time, and also getting an extra health benefit.

In moving to the opposite end of the city – but no further away from work – my drive time doubled. Actually I’m lucky if the time is only doubled. Depending on what time I leave for work the drive time can almost triple to what it used to be.
Now that I’m counting every minute sitting in traffic is not worth my time. 

My work has a workout facility with locker rooms (lucky!)  I realized that I could get out of bed, go straight to work, exercise and get showered and dressed in the same amount of time that it would take if I got ready for work at home and then sat in traffic. So while I complain about the traffic, I guess I have to say thank you. Thank you congested highways and side streets for giving me a whole different motivation to exercise.

However there are days that I just can’t go straight to work. There are days that I literally get two hours or less with my children. Even a few minutes with them in the morning is worth dealing with bumper to bumper traffic.

After the third night in a row with very little time with my kids I asked myself if I was willing to pay for my time. The next morning I took the toll road.

I rarely ever took the toll road, and if I did it was mostly the HOV lanes with a car full of people. I always said the traffic didn’t bother me and said it just gave me more time to listen to a good audio book or good radio channel. Now when I’m counting every minute, I don’t have the extra minutes to spare.

I realized I am willing to pay for my time. It’s not in our budget for me just to add toll fees to it. I’ve made cuts other places… going out to lunch, a manicure, switching to a less expensive brand, etc.  All of that is worth it to me to have a few more minutes back in my life.

What have you done to get back minutes in your day?

I was asked to write about saving time. I accepted because of how precious and filled my time has become. I absolutely related to the request. I did not and will not accept any gifts, trials or compensation for my writing. That’s not how I operate. However, if you’d like to accept a 3-month FREE trial of CLEAR, please do.

Thank you for spending some of your precious time reading my thoughts.

This blog post has been sponsored by CLEAR, the service that speeds you through airport security. CLEAR members save so much time at the airport, it's like having Daylight Savings every time you travel! CLEAR, the (self-proclaimed) Official Sponsor of Daylight Saving Time, is celebrating the extra hour we get on Nov 6th with a series of travel and time-savings posts on their blog - and here, on my blog too.

To help you see what CLEAR is all about, they are offering my readers a special 3-month FREE trial! Don't settle for just one extra hour this Daylight Savings. No need to deal with unpredictable security lines, the stress of rushing to your gate, or the time you waste getting to DEN extra early. Click here to get your pass and try CLEAR's enhanced travel experience for yourself. Just enter my code (CMNDST05) in the promo code field on the payment page.


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