How frequently have you heard the following, or something very much like it? “Sorry, I didn’t have the time to finish that.” “I’d love to, but I don’t have time to take that on.” “I don’t have the time to put that on my plate right now.” Perhaps the better question is to ask yourself how often are you the one saying it?

We are all much busier than we used to be, especially with both work and social demands coming in faster and asking more of us from day to day and week to week. And it’s natural to want to agree to many of these requests, especially ones we imagine to be important, fun, and/or fulfilling. But do we have the time to do it? To say “yes” and feel good about it?

The saying that “we all have the same 24 hours in a day,” while a bit trite, is still fundamentally true. But “having time,” or even “finding time,” isn’t what’s really going on here. In fact, I’d suggest that time as in actual clock minutes is the least relevant factor. So given that we all start with the same amount each day, how come some people always seem to be short on it while others aren’t?

To begin, in my opinion, a more helpful take on it all is to view time as something we fundamentally create, not a commodity we just have lying around to be grabbed when needed. This shift in perspective helps illustrate where we have more power here than might first appear. Beyond just checking to see if you happen to have an open slot on your schedule is to remember that you have the ability to move things around to make an opening, an important consideration. So next time you are asked to do something, try to move the internal reflection from “Do I have time for this?” over to “Am I able to create time for this?” This first move of ownership is a powerful tool for better time management.

The second, and more powerful move, is a taking a deeper look at another factor – your actual priorities. Having a clear sense of your priority list, and actively checking in with it as opportunities (and demands) come across your dashboard, is one of the strongest moves you can make to more effectively manage your time and commitments. Time is much easier made for things that rank near the top of our list, and being clear about the relative ranking of things also makes it easier to pass on or let go of the low end offers. So let’s further shift our internal debate from “Am I able to create time for this?” over to “Am I willing to create time for this?”

So next time you get asked if you “have the time” for something, check in with yourself for a few moments before replying. Take ownership of your schedule and ability to make time. Then take a look at your priorities and see where this request fits in, or even it if fits in at all. Now the real question becomes clear – “Are you willing to create time for this?” Hopefully the answer that follows comes from a place of fully Owning Your Time and taking responsibility for how you spend it.