Have a lot of hobbies but no time to do them? Use the 3 Sacred Hours Rule!!

Do your days feel incomplete?

I am asking this question because for many days that’s how I felt. I felt like I wasn’t doing the things that mattered most to me. Even on the days when I was very productive, I was often fulfilling outside obligations, instead of walking my own path.

So, I started to ask myself. What could I do in a day that would stop this inner whining about fulfillment?

Well, it took a while, but I got answers.

I listed 7 activities that, if done daily, will greatly aid in my cause and leave me feeling satisfied.

They were- Posting in my blog, practicing Python, studying finance, reading financial news, learning German, writing fiction and making YouTube videos.

Whoa! That’s a long list!

Well, I did feel intimidated at first, but then I started to assign how much time I would need for each of them.

The new list looked like this-

Python- 25 mins

Blog post- 25 mins

Studying finance – 25 mins

German – 25 mins

News- 25 mins

YouTube -2 hrs

Well as you probably noticed, all of them, except making a YouTube video, needs only 25 mins daily. And if I add 5 mins break between each activity, then all of them should take only 3 hours to complete (again, except YouTube).

As I stated in an earlier post, I have stopped all slot machine type apps. I put my phone away from me as soon as I wake up. Thus, I have cleared up a lot of free time. Its entirely possible for me now to spend 3 extra hours each day.

I named this the 3 sacred hours.

As soon as my day starts, I start my 25 min pomodoro session, and start an activity from the list. I work for 5 to 8 each morning and thus get the tasks dearest to me done regularly, without fail.

Even if my whole day is a mess, I am at a peace, as I know I have completed the most important tasks of the day.

This idea of having 3 or 4 sacred hours is nothing new.

Apparently, Jordan Peterson used to isolate himself in a room for 3 hours everyday to write his first book.

 

 

Steven Pressfield also employs a similar tactic.

 

 

Stephen king once told George RR Martin that he writes 6 pages every day. I guess in his case it’s 6 sacred pages! 😉

 

 

 

Neil Gaiman also shares how he isolated himself when he needs to write. I discussed about his technique here.

 

 

So, what are the most vital tasks for your cause? Can they be done in 3 ours? Would you be willing to stop the trivial to make space for the meaningful?