One of the basketball leagues I play in is about an hour from my house. I don’t mind the long drive. I love basketball. And I also get two hours in the car to listen to audiobooks.

I have curly hair that takes a long time to wash and keep healthy. So I use a waterproof speaker in the shower and listen to books and podcasts. That gives me another hour a few times a week.

I don’t like going to the gym. Lifting weights doesn’t excite me. But I do love reading and learning… way more than working out.

So I trick myself. I go to the gym to listen to a book. The workout becomes an excuse to do something else I actually enjoy.

A friend told me they had a rule: they could only watch TV while walking on a treadmill. They lost a lot of weight by watching a lot of TV.

People think time hides close by… in little breaks, tighter schedules, or being more disciplined.

But I’ve found it lives far away. In the car. On the road. In the quiet.

Sometimes I fill that time with books. Other times, I don’t. I just drive, think, and let my mind wander. It’s not about using every minute. It’s about using the things I have to do to help me do the things I want to do.

When I leave my house, I leave behind the noise, the pings, the distractions. And what I find instead is open, quiet time.

We all have time. We just don’t have enough to do everything. So we try to choose what matters most. But that’s not easy.

I make it easier by building forcing functions into my life. When I drive an hour to play basketball, I can’t multitask. When I’m in the shower, I can’t scroll. The distance helps me focus.

A friend once told me they wrote a book by buying train tickets to small towns two hours away. They’d write for two hours on the way out, explore, eat lunch, then write again on the way back. The travel wasn’t just part of the plan; it was the reason they got it done.

When someone asks me where they can find the time, I give them my best recommendation:

Far away.