I know what you’re thinking. This isn’t a financial blog; it’s a blog about writing.

“Jeeze, Sara,” you might be thinking right now. “I know you had a rough week, but can’t you keep track of what you’re supposed to be blogging about?”

Don’t worry, guys. The long work week hasn’t made my brain complete mush.

I’ve got some news for you:

You only have a finite number of resources.

Be it money, food, or time – you only have what you’re given. It’s why I want to pursue this so badly. I know my days on this earth are counted; I will not live forever. I can’t take a single breath for granted.

Guess what? Neither can you.

Whoa, sorry. That was a bit harsh, but it’s the truth.

And when you have a finite number of resources, you have to make the best of them. My husband and I sit down weekly to review our finances and balance the budget. We make sure that every dollar is accounted for.

In the same vein, I ensure that the food I buy has a purpose so that I’m not wasting it – and the money I budgeted for groceries.

The one thing I can’t budget well? Time.

The dreaded time-sink

Back in college, I would tell myself that I would start studying at 10:30 AM. I would tool around on Facebook, notice it was 10:32 AM, and think to myself, “Oh, missed that one. I’ll just start at 11.”

And so on until I was pounding back Starbucks Doubleshots+Energy to pull an all-nighter for an Organic Chemistry final.

Once I finally fell asleep, I fell hard y’all.

I still find myself falling into that trap. At work, I plan my days easily. X items get done by mid-morning, then Y until lunch… that sort of thing. But once I get home and I kick off my shoes? The next thing I know, it’s 9 o’clock, and my watch tells me it’s time for bed. And I get home at 5 PM.

Four hours of doing absolutely nothing productive.

Granted, everyone needs a bit of relaxation time built into their day. (After the week I had, I need a spa vacation and a stiff drink, but that’s neither here nor there.) But I know I have to be careful that my fifteen minutes to breathe don’t turn into four hours of nothing but watching videos on Facebook.

We make time for The critical items

Real talk – I have a pile of laundry that needs to be put away, but I haven’t done it yet because it’s not essential to me. I know it should be, but it isn’t. Other things just take precedence.

My husband mentioned the laundry this morning as I rifled through the pile to find a camisole. When I reminded him of our weekly budget meeting, he sighed. “We have a lot to do.”

I offered to give up writing. Not because I want to (see the last blog post if you have any doubt), but because I didn’t think he would think it was necessary. Even if he doesn’t, he knows it’s important to me. He shot down my offer with a resounding no.

While I was at lunch today – two hours late, I might add – I made a list of things that take up my precious time. Facebook, Twitter, that stupid game I downloaded on my phone a few weeks ago –  they all eat up those minutes that could be used for other things.

Budget time

I won’t sit down and plan out all 86,400 seconds of my day. It’s not even going to be down to the minute. But I can design a flexible plan and avoid time sinks; I can easily find extra time in the day.

Last week I pushed off writing off because I “didn’t have time.” I want to have at least one hour of writing time each day. I might have to start small – after all, I can get a lot done in 20 minutes if I focus.

I will not achieve my goals if I don’t make the time to work on them.

And neither will you.

What is keeping you from accomplishing your goals or conquering your to-do list? How do you plan on eliminating those sinks? And if you are the master of time, impart some of your wisdom in the comments below!