Average Says 'I Don't Have Time' (But Has 5+ Hours of Daily Scroll)

The problem isn't time. It's the decision.

Last Monday I was talking with a colleague and mentioned I'd run my 19th marathon a month ago:

"Pablo, it's easy for you. You probably don't have kids."

Max (4 years old) was literally sitting at my desk while I replied to that message.

Mía (almost 2) was crying with mom because she didn't want to get dressed for daycare.

I had a meeting with Germany in 15 minutes.

And I'd already had 2 hours of work done and had run the 12km on the training plan for that day…

How did I manage all that? I started before 5am.

Like always.

The Statistic: The "I Don't Have Time" Lie

Average says they don't have time.

But the data says they have, on average, 5 hours and 40 minutes daily for this:

2h 23m on Social Media: The DataReportal Digital 2024 report confirms it. Time that goes on reactive scrolling. Watching how other people live.
3h 17m on TV/Streaming: Average time spent watching screens. Almost never learning something new.

Average has almost 6 hours of "dead time" per day.

Average says "I don't have time" 12 times a week while looking at their phone.

Me:

Max and Mía (4 and almost 2)
Full-time work (leading global teams)
6 weekly training sessions (5-6am)
19 marathons completed
20+ books per year
~15 minutes of TV
~60 minutes of social media (some IG and LinkedIn)

Not because I'm special.

Because I eliminated "I don't have time" years ago.

The Truth Nobody Tells You

"I don't have time" isn't a time problem.

It's a decision problem.

Every morning, Average wakes up and starts deciding:

Do I get up or 5 more minutes?
What clothes do I put on to train?
Do I train today or tomorrow?
What do I do first when I get to work?
Do I answer this email or that one?

300+ decisions before noon.

Each decision consumes energy (it's called decision fatigue).

Each decision is an opportunity to procrastinate.

Average improvises every day.

Above Average eliminated trivial decisions years ago (or starts today).

The System: How I Have Time for (Almost) Everything

RULE #1: I DON'T MANAGE TIME. I ELIMINATE DECISIONS.

Average: "Tomorrow I'll see if I train."

Me:

Alarm at 4:50am (6 days a week, non-negotiable)
Running clothes next to the bed (prepared the night before)
Out of the house in less than 15 minutes
Same route, follow the plan
0 decisions between the alarm and the first kilometer

Result: 1,000+ consecutive days training before 6:00 am.

Not because I have motivation.

Because there's no decision to make.

RULE #2: FLEXIBLE ARCHITECTURE, NOT "LET'S SEE WHAT HAPPENS"

My week isn't flexible. It's architecture.

This is the blueprint for my ideal day:

5:00-6:30am: Training
7:00-8:00am: Breakfast with Max and Mía (non-negotiable)
8:00-12:00pm: Work I (pending objectives + meetings)
12:00-1:00pm: Lunch
1:00-3:00pm: Work II (light, new things)
3:00-5:00pm: Deep Work (do not disturb)
5:00-6:00pm: Above Average (this project)
6:00-9:00pm: Family (non-negotiable)
9:00-9:30pm: Reading (10-15 pages minimum)
9:30pm: Sleep

Sounds utopian. And sometimes it is.

As the great Mike Tyson said:

"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face."

99% of the time the plan fails because of things we can't control.

Average uses the first punch as an excuse to abandon the day.

Above Average knows the architecture isn't concrete. It's Legos.

A recurring example: kids got sick, bad night.

Average says: "Didn't sleep, won't train. The day is ruined."

I prefer to eat quickly in front of the computer than arrive at night knowing I didn't honor my priority.

The trick is not losing your priorities while solving the unexpected.

Intelligence is defined as the ability to face uncertainty.

This is where we stand out — being resilient and executing the system as best we can.

RULE #3: PRIORITY VS. URGENCY (THE DAILY BATTLE)

Every morning before opening the inbox:

I write 3 priorities: 1. 2. 3.

EVERYTHING else is noise.

Urgent emails, MS Teams, last-minute meetings, "just 5 minutes."

I know, it sounds utopian, but you have to stick to that as much as possible for it to succeed and for your time to be respected.

Average opens the inbox and reacts.

I open the inbox after completing priority #1.

Result: 90% of my days I complete the 3 priorities before dark.

Average ends the day without having done what was important.

RULE #4: BATCHING (GROUPING = EFFICIENCY)

Average:

Checks email 30+ times a day
Switches tasks ("context switching") every 10 minutes
Believes they're "multitasking" (spoiler: it doesn't exist)

The science is clear: "Context switching" destroys your productivity. American Psychological Association research shows it can cost up to 40% of your productive time. It costs energy and time (up to 23 minutes) to refocus.

Me:

Email: 2-3 times a day (e.g., 11am and 4pm). 30-min blocks. The rest of the time, the tab is CLOSED.
Meetings: Grouped. I try to have them only on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I say "no" to ones without an agenda or where I don't add value.
Deep Work: 90-120 minute blocks. No phone. No Teams/Slack notifications.

It's not magic. It's design. It's avoiding the cost of the switch.

The Secret Nobody Mentions

Average looks for "balance."

I don't look for balance. I look for seasons.

January-March: Marathon season (minimum training volume)
April-June: Recovery + family (medium volume, focus on home)
July-September: Build-up (maximum volume, focus on work and maybe another marathon)
October-December: Peak + work projects (controlled volume, focus on closing the year)

I can't be 100% in everything, all the time.

But I can be 100% in 1-2 things per season.

Average tries to do everything, all the time. Ends up doing nothing well.

What doesn't work (and why I learned it)

"I'll get up early tomorrow" → Failed a thousand times until I eliminated the decision.
"I'll train when I have time" → There's never time. There are priorities.
"I need to be motivated" → Motivation lasts 3 days. Systems last years.
"I'll do inbox zero" → The inbox never ends. Priorities do.
"I need more hours in the day" → You don't need more time. You need fewer decisions.

The Action (for this week)

Don't try to copy my complete system — each life and routine is different.

But you can start with this TODAY:

STEP 1: ELIMINATE ONE DAILY DECISION

Choose ONE thing you want to do consistently:

If you want to train:

Clothes ready the night before (next to the bed).
Alarm far from reach.
Sneakers at the door.

If you want to read:

Book on the nightstand (open to the current page).
If the book gets dense, find another — no prizes for finishing something you don't enjoy.
Phone in another room.
10 pages before closing your eyes.

If you want to work better:

Write 3 priorities on paper before opening the laptop.
Block (if possible) the first 2 hours of the day (no meetings, no messages) — or mid-shift.
Inbox only after priority #1 is completed.

STEP 2: MEASURE

Average assumes. Above Average measures.

This week:

How many days did you execute ONE thing without deciding?
How many times did you say "I don't have time" (and what were you doing)?
How many hours did you waste on scroll/TV? (Do the real math.)

You can't improve what you don't measure. It's impossible.

The Final Truth

Tomorrow Max is going to wake up at 7:00am.

He'll come running in and ask: "Dad, did you already run?"

I'm not going to tell him "I didn't have time."

He's learning that "I don't have time" is a decision, not a destiny.

And when he's 20+ and life tells him "you don't have time for your dreams" —

He'll remember that his dad never had time.

But he had systems. And he executed them. Every day. For years.

Average waits for the perfect moment (spoiler: it never comes).

Above Average starts imperfect and adjusts along the way.

Pablo