No time for coaching. Why you're lying to yourself (and what the real reason is)

You know you should change something. You actually want to change something. Your job is getting on your nerves, it drains your energy, and if you're honest, you haven't been truly happy there for a long time.

And yet... nothing happens.

Why? Because you tell yourself: "I'd love to, but I just really don't have the time right now."

That sentence comes so quickly and so automatically that you barely even hear it anymore. It feels like a neutral statement, the same way you'd say "it's raining" or "the train is delayed." Just an external condition you can't do anything about right now. And at the same time, it's so cleverly worded that it does two things at once: it signals that you basically know you should change something. And it makes sure you don't actually have to.mistake.

How we trick ourselves. The art of procrastination

You're actually pretty good at procrastinating. You have an important task to get done. It's urgent and it matters, but somehow you just can't find a way to start. Instead you clean the apartment, put away laundry, or watch something on YouTube, and before you know it a surprising amount of time has gone by. In the evening you'd rather watch a series or tell yourself "tomorrow works too," while the thought of your career development is quietly stressing you out.

Your life is already full anyway. An endless to-do list, a thousand meetings at work, household stuff, relationships, family, friends, exercise, hobbies. You have no idea how you're supposed to fit it all in.

But "no time" is often just an excuse. Because if we're honest, lack of time is rarely the real problem. For friends, hobbies, or leisure activities, we always find the time. For our own goals and priorities, somehow we don't.

Procrastination isn't a time problem. It's a focus and priorities problem. And even if this sounds a little harsh: if you really want something, you find a way. If you don't, you find an excuse.

What you're not admitting to yourself

There's a type of person, and I suspect you might recognize yourself here, who basically always tries to solve everything on their own. Maybe it's hard for you to accept help. Maybe you're just used to managing everything yourself. Or maybe it simply feels right to think things through independently, analyze them, and somehow figure it out. You're the kind of person who builds IKEA furniture and actually has no screws left over at the end. Who thinks through problems until a solution appears. Who doesn't give up easily.

Somewhere in the back of your mind sits the idea that you should be able to figure this out on your own too, your next career step included. That getting support would somehow be a defeat. Or at least a sign that you're not as capable as you appear to others. Nobody says that out loud, of course, because it sounds strange the moment you do. And so "no time" can end up being a much more comfortable explanation than the real one.

What happens If you keep waiting

Probably not much, at first. There's no big dramatic moment that forces you to finally make a change. At least not right away. What happens is far less spectacular: the basement really needs to be tidied up. Work is exhausting right now. And first things first, let's get through the holiday, there's still time after that. There's always something that feels more urgent, and the whole topic quietly drifts further into the background.

Sometimes "no time" is just a more elegant way of saying "I'm scared to deal with this." Because if you actually sit down and start figuring out what you want professionally, you might find something out. Something that forces you to act. Something that means leaving your comfort zone, making decisions, and changing things you've probably known for a long time but haven't been ready to face. And that's uncomfortable.

There's a third version too, and I'll say it a little provocatively because it's true: sometimes people have gotten quite comfortable in their frustration. You know your job frustration inside and out. You know exactly how it feels, what it does to you, when it gets worse. And as strange as it sounds, that has something familiar to it. Something safe. Change, on the other hand, is unknown. It's scary. So you stay unhappy and tell yourself: I just don't have time to deal with this right now

When Do you make yourself the priority?

Coaching isn't another item on your to-do list that you'll get to when things finally calm down. It shouldn't feel like an annoying obligation either. It should be something you actually want to do, because the more you put in, the more you'll get out of it.

If you genuinely decide to take yourself and your professional life seriously, coaching can be exactly the lever that makes it possible. And no, I won't be handing you answers on a silver platter. What I will do is walk alongside you while you find your own

The hardest truth at the end

"No time" usually means nothing more than: it's not important enough to me right now. And if you know that and are at peace with it, that's completely fine.

But if you feel like you want more. If there's something that won't let itself be ignored, no matter how full your days are, then stop putting yourself off with excuses. A career change doesn't happen someday on its own. It happens when you decide to finally make yourself a priority.

That's the only moment that actually counts.