Next Level University

It’s Not That You Don’t Have Enough Time… (2125)

• Kevin Palmieri and Alan Lazaros

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In today’s straight-shooting episode of Next Level University, hosts Kevin Palmieri and Alan Lazaros challenge the idea that there’s never enough time. With real talk, personal stories, and eye-opening stats, they reveal how our time gets eaten up by low-priority habits and how to take back control. You’ll learn how to spot time-wasters, shift your mindset, and use simple prioritization to move your life and goals forward. If you're feeling stuck, scattered, or overwhelmed, this one’s for you.

Learn more about:


Free 30-minute Business Breakthrough Session with Alan -
https://calendly.com/alanlazaros/30-minute-free-breakthrough-session?month=2025-04
Free 30-Minute Podcast Breakthrough Session with Kevin -
https://calendly.com/kevinpalmieri/free-30-minute-podcast-breakthrough-session-with-kevin

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NLU is not just a podcast; it’s a gateway to a wealth of resources designed to help you achieve your goals and dreams. From our Next Level Dreamliner to our Group Coaching, we offer a variety of tools and communities to support your personal development journey.

For more information, please check out our website at the link below. 👇

Website 💻  http://www.nextleveluniverse.com

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We love connecting with you guys! Reach out on Instagram, Facebook, or via email. We’re here to support you in your personal and professional development journey.

Instagram 📷
Kevin: https://www.instagram.com/neverquitkid/
Alan: https://www.instagram.com/alazaros88/

Facebook ✍
Alan: https://www.facebook.com/alan.lazaros
Kevin: https://www.facebook.com/kevin.palmieri.90/

Email 💬
Kevin@nextleveluniverse.com
Alan@nextleveluniverse.com

LinkedIn ✍
Kevin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-palmieri-5b7736160/
Alan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanlazarosllc/

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Show notes:
(2:55) Why prioritization changes everything
(4:10) The hidden cost of social media
(6:29) Time, effort, and money: your only resources
(8:16) You can’t be great at everything
(10:50) Meet your people. Chase your dreams. Level up your life with Next Level Group Coaching. https://www.nextleveluniverse.com/group
(13:43) Are you building or just consuming?
(16:04) Success is bu

Send a text to Kevin and Alan!

🎙️ Hosted by Kevin Palmieri and Alan Lazaros

Next Level University is a top-ranked daily podcast for dream chasers and self-improvement lovers. With over 2,100 episodes, we help you level up in life, love, health, and wealth one day at a time. Subscribe for real, honest, no-fluff growth every single day.

Kevin Palmieri

(0:00) I have tried to be very honest with myself lately, and Taryn actually said something to me the other day. (0:06) She said, why haven't you done that yet? (0:08) And I said, I haven't had time yet.(0:10) And I said, ah, that's, that's bullshit. (0:12) It's not a priority. (0:13) Honestly, it's not that big of a priority.(0:16) I have other things that I have to get done first. (0:18) And I think that level of ownership is going to help you unlock a piece of yourself.

Alan Lazaros

(0:23) When you free yourself from trying to do everything, you'll be able to do the right things, the important things, the urgent things, the significant things, the meaningful things, and be on point with those.

Kevin Palmieri

(0:35) Welcome to Next Level University. (0:37) I'm your host, Kevin Palmieri. (0:39) And I'm your co-host, Alan Lazarus.(0:42) At NLU, we believe in a heart-driven but no BS approach to holistic self-improvement for dream chasers.

Alan Lazaros

(0:49) Our goal with every episode is to help you level up your life, love, health, and wealth.

Kevin Palmieri

(0:55) We bring you a new episode every single day on topics like confidence, self-belief, self-worth, self-awareness, relationships, boundaries, consistency, habits, and defining your own unique version of success.

Alan Lazaros

(1:11) Self-improvement, in your pocket, every day, from anywhere, completely free. (1:17) Welcome to Next Level University.

Kevin Palmieri

(1:23) Next Level Nation today for episode number 2,125. (1:27) It's not that you don't have enough time. (1:31) We, as I mentioned in the previous episode, group 19 of the Next Level Podcast Accelerator started, and I went to bed at, I worked until nine o'clock the night before, and then I woke up at 6.45 and got right to work, and I skipped the gym. (1:48) Did I skip the gym because I did not have enough time to go to the gym? (1:52) No, I could have gone to the gym. (1:54) I 100% could have gone to the gym.(1:56) I skipped the gym because it was not and should not have been as big a priority as making sure group coaching was ready to go. (2:04) That has been an unlock for me because I was always the person who said, well, I don't have enough time, I don't have enough time, I don't have enough time. (2:10) The truth is, there are things that just aren't that big of priorities, and I think owning that and admitting that can unlock you to a degree.(2:24) It's not going to fix everything, but everything is essentially a trade-off. (2:29) I mean, you could do, okay, I didn't have enough time to go to the gym today. (2:37) Okay, well, is your two hours of R&R tonight more of a priority than the gym?(2:42) Because if not, you could go to the gym tonight instead of the two hours. (2:47) Or you could take the two hours and break it into one hour of the gym and then one hour of R&R. (2:52) So I think there's always a way to do it as long as you're willing to prioritize it.(2:55) But again, easier said than done. (2:57) I'm not saying this is easy, but I think it's just a unique mindset shift.

Alan Lazaros

(3:02) I was smiling earlier because we're doing an episode on it's not that you don't have the time and we both don't have the time. (3:11) We have to get four more episodes done in less than an hour.

Kevin Palmieri

(3:14) Yeah, no, that's fair. (3:16) Well, that's because our priorities were all over the place this week. (3:18) That's all it is.

Alan Lazaros

(3:19) That's an absolute fact. (3:20) Globally, people spend approximately two hours and 30 minutes per day on social media on average. (3:27) Here's a breakdown of the various studies.(3:29) We're not going to do that. (3:30) Okay, two hours and 30 minutes. (3:33) That is 60 times two plus 30.(3:36) That's 150 minutes per day. (3:38) That's the average. (3:40) That means a lot of people are way above that and a lot of people are way below that.(3:43) Okay, 150 minutes a day for 365 days is 54,750 minutes per year. (3:51) Divide that bad boy by 60. (3:53) That's 912 hours.(3:55) That is 114 eight-hour shifts. (3:59) It's 114 eight-hour shifts.

Kevin Palmieri

(4:05) So that's four months.

Alan Lazaros

(4:10) No, 22 weeks of work. (4:13) That's wild. (4:14) That's 22 full-time.(4:15) 22 weeks of full-time work. (4:17) That's wild. (4:18) The people who are spending that time are the ones who are saying, I don't have the time.(4:23) Unfortunately. (4:24) I want to be really very honest about this. (4:28) I understand why some people from my past are upset with me that I can't be at their wedding or I can't be at XYZ.(4:35) I do and I'm Now, do I think that they understand what I'm trying to do in the world and how busy my life is and how challenging it is to do what I do? (4:45) No, I don't. (4:46) I don't think so.(4:46) There's apparently five levels of compassion and one of them is understanding the other one's experiencing and they haven't experienced what we're doing. (4:55) They're not podcasters. (4:56) They're not business owners.(4:57) It's all fine. (4:58) And that's why I think business owners understand us better. (5:01) Makes And they get it.(5:03) They're like, yeah, no, I get it. (5:05) I can't fucking go either. (5:07) You know, uh, how come your business doesn't run itself yet?(5:11) I'm 36. (5:13) I'm 36 years old. (5:15) When am I supposed to work exactly?(5:17) It's hilarious, man. (5:18) Name me someone in their mid thirties who doesn't work.

Kevin Palmieri

(5:24) There are no retired 36 year olds. (5:26) No, but people see them. (5:28) People see it on Instagram land and they think that's the way it's brutal.(5:32) There's also people on Instagram land that like hang out with tigers and shit. (5:35) Like that's not, that's so statistically rare. (5:38) You know how many people, you know, like handle tigers for a living go on Instagram.(5:42) It's like every other person that's not in real life though.

Alan Lazaros

(5:46) So 22 full weeks of 40 hours a week, full-time work. (5:53) And people are saying they don't have the time or they don't have the money. (5:55) Well, you probably could do something productive with your time and effort.(6:00) So again, at the end of the day, I am on social media. (6:03) I use social media every single day. (6:05) I watch Netflix.(6:06) I watch Disney plus. (6:08) I love movies. (6:10) I'm not saying not to use it.(6:12) I'm saying if you don't have the time to go to the gym, that means you are prioritizing social media more. (6:20) If you're in that category of the two hours and 30 minutes per day. (6:24) And I think that at the end of the day, that's why I love numbers is because the truth is right there.(6:29) As much as it sucks. (6:30) As much as it sucks. (6:31) Yeah.(6:31) The truth is right there. (6:32) You can't complain to me. (6:34) If you want to complain about not having enough money while also being on social media for the amount of time that it takes two hours and 30 minutes a day, that's 22 weeks of full-time work.(6:47) It's well, you probably could find a way to generate some kind of income. (6:51) There's ways to add value. (6:52) You can mow lawns, you can walk dogs, you can house sit, you can babysit, you can cut hair.(6:58) I mean, there's a million ways that you can make money. (7:01) You can clean houses. (7:02) I'm, we're considering Emilie and I finding someone to cook so that we can, we did an episode recently about so that her and I can work.(7:10) We're not trying to hang out, have someone else cook for us while we hang out. (7:13) We're trying to both work and grow our businesses, but there's a million ways to make money and it depends where you live. (7:22) I understand.(7:23) Okay. (7:23) I do. (7:23) I understand.(7:24) But at the end of the day, I don't have the time. (7:27) I don't have the money. (7:27) I don't have the effort.(7:29) The only three resources we have are time, effort, money. (7:33) There is a way to reprioritize to make your life better. (7:37) That's actually a big part of what I do in my coaching is these short episodes are hard for me because I don't know how to, how to communicate what's in my brain in a short amount of time.(7:49) It's so brutal, dude. (7:52) You can't be successful at 50 things. (7:55) You can't, neither can I.(7:57) You can be really good at a couple though. (8:00) I was on with a client yesterday and I, we do the P3 target priority one, priority two, priority three. (8:06) He's going to crush it in those three areas.(8:08) He's going to probably not do so well in the others. (8:10) That is, yeah, that is a productivity thing. (8:16) We talked about this recently, how Microsoft and Apple, they are tech companies and how when Circuit City bought CarMax, that was when it was, obviously they're spreading themselves too thin.(8:30) How Tesla shouldn't sell energy drinks and Red Bull shouldn't sell cars. (8:34) We all need to prioritize our lives, especially in the 21st century when you could literally be doing anything. (8:42) You could be watching anything.(8:44) YouTube has, dude, back in our day, there was what, 100 channels, maybe 50 channels?

Kevin Palmieri

(8:50) I have no idea. (8:51) It's wild now. (8:52) There's so, and there's so much really good, high production quality content.(8:57) There's, Tara and I were watching something the other day. (9:00) It was like, this is better than movies I used to watch. (9:03) This is just somebody with their iPhone.(9:04) This is fucking crazy to me. (9:06) I know.

Alan Lazaros

(9:06) Crazy to me.

Kevin Palmieri

(9:07) Yeah. (9:08) And there's infinite options. (9:11) But I think it's- You can watch almost anything.(9:13) I think it's a principle thing. (9:15) I think that's, because I understand to your point, yeah, it depends on where you live and there's a lot of circumstances. (9:22) And again, we always talk about that and we're not lessening that, but I think it's the principle of if you haven't really sat down and said, all right, let me look at my time.(9:33) Let me look at my time. (9:35) Where am I at? (9:36) Where am I wasting time?(9:37) Where am I investing the most time? (9:39) Where am I getting the least return on my time? (9:41) If you haven't sat down, then you might not know what you're prioritizing.(9:44) And if you don't use your calendar as much as you could, maybe you don't know what you're prioritizing. (9:49) This is a really rough week for me in terms of this conversation because I'm prioritizing going away. (9:54) That's why I can't record tomorrow or Friday or because we like to record in the studio.(10:00) I don't want to record somewhere else. (10:02) It doesn't work. (10:04) All right.(10:04) It doesn't work. (10:05) Is that going to be that way forever? (10:07) I don't know.(10:09) I mean, we haven't had that conversation, but you're going to want to travel in the future and I'm going to want to travel.

Alan Lazaros

(10:15) I don't know.

Kevin Palmieri

(10:17) It's becoming more impossible than I thought, but that makes me nervous. (10:22) It makes me nervous a little bit I don't ever want to prioritize stuff over this. (10:25) I don't.(10:26) I don't. (10:27) And sometimes it does happen. (10:30) It does.(10:30) And just like sometimes things get prioritized over my fitness. (10:34) Sometimes things get prioritized over my relationship. (10:37) Sometimes things get prioritized over my friends and my friendships.(10:41) It happens. (10:43) It's not always going to go one way. (10:46) I don't think it really can go just one way.(10:51) Next level nation. (10:52) What is happening? (10:54) If you've thought to yourself, I want to try coaching, but you don't really know where to start.(10:59) Group coaching would be a wonderful place for you. (11:01) That's really why we created it in the first place. (11:03) We start a new round every 90 days.(11:06) So if you're hearing this, go to the website, nextleveluniverse.com. (11:11) And we have the landing page where you can actually hold your spot right now. (11:14) Even if there's a group going on right now, you can still lock your spot for the next one.(11:19) The biggest thing that we've seen is as we get closer and closer to the date, unfortunately, some people end up missing. (11:26) The group fills up and they can't do it. (11:28) And then they end up regretting that.(11:29) So please head over to the website. (11:31) The link will be in the show notes and we would love to see you there.

Alan Lazaros

(11:35) I think about this a lot. (11:37) What's the best use of my time right now? (11:38) I think we all have a dominant question.(11:40) I'm always thinking, what's the best use of my time right now? (11:48) What's the best use of my time right now? (11:49) Your brain will come up with different answers as the day goes on.(11:54) And if I look at my calendar, I see, okay, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. (11:57) This, this, and this are the most important things. (11:59) I need to make sure I'm on time for those and I'm on point for those.(12:02) These other ones, okay. (12:03) I can slide by that a little bit. (12:05) This, okay.(12:06) And I guess I don't really know what it's like to wake up and not do that.

Kevin Palmieri

(12:17) Oh, I, I, I used to prioritize fun and pleasure.

Alan Lazaros

(12:23) Remember when I, okay, the first gladiator film is one of my favorite movies. (12:30) I took a leadership course during my master's program and they had us watch it from a leadership perspective. (12:36) And Joaquin Phoenix character is the worst leader ever, a manipulative fucking bastard.(12:40) And Russell Crowe's character is a good leader, virtuous leader in that movie. (12:48) When gladiator two came out, I was so fucking excited. (12:51) It's like, this is 20 years later.(12:53) Let's see how this goes. (12:55) And I remember I watched it. (12:58) Emily and I did love it again.(13:00) A lot of people didn't like it. (13:01) We loved it. (13:03) Ridley Scott's legit in terms of filmmaking.(13:06) I don't know him as a guy. (13:11) I couldn't sleep. (13:12) I woke up at like 7am and I spent an hour and a half watching stupid ass interviews about gladiator two and this is a Saturday.(13:23) And I watched interviews of Denzel Washington. (13:25) He's in it and all the actors and the actresses and I fell down the rabbit hole. (13:29) And I just enjoyed myself for an hour and a half.(13:32) Just watching all the interviews about Ridley and about how they made the film and how they had nine cameras and how they did this and how this was supposed to take 22 days and only took 9 days and where they set it and the scenes and the sets and everything. (13:43) And I remember after I got done with that, I went, Alan, you just fucked up bad. (13:49) You fucked up bad.(13:50) You have a lot to get done today. (13:52) And you basically just blew an hour and a half. (13:55) That's very valuable time.(13:57) Anyone out there watching or listening, if you don't have extremely extremely extremely extremely extremely high goals, you can blow an hour and a half on a Saturday morning and it doesn't matter that much. (14:07) But don't get it twisted. (14:09) You're taking that away from something else.(14:11) I wasn't spending time with Emilia. (14:13) I wasn't building this business. (14:14) I wasn't building my body.(14:16) Build the self, build the family, build the business, build the self, build the family, build the business, build the self, build the family, build the business 24 seven 365 at all times. (14:23) That's the life I've chosen to live. (14:25) So no, I can't fuck off and watch an hour and a half of interviews from Gladiator 2.(14:30) It's not R&R for me, right on a Saturday morning. (14:33) And at the end of the day, and I don't mean to be a dick, but the science of achievement doesn't care about your feelings. (14:40) The truth is you have to, you will be successful to the extent that you dial in.(14:46) You just will. (14:47) And some people will be more successful with less effort and some people will be less successful with more effort. (14:51) But at the end of the day, you invest your time and effort into certain persons, places, things and ideas.(14:57) And that is determining your future. (14:59) So when your future is not your dream life, just go back and look at all the times you wasted time and squandered time and squandered your efforts. (15:06) Because one of the things that I regret the most is something that Lucia Seneca has a book, he's a Roman philosopher called On the Shortness of Life and I'll never forget it.(15:16) He warns about the eight things, I've talked about this in the past. (15:19) One of them is self-imposed servitude to thankless people. (15:22) And I'm very guilty of that.(15:24) Self-imposed servitude to thankless people. (15:27) The amount of time and effort that I've poured into people that ended up attacking me or villainizing me or not being kind to me is just insanity. (15:37) So what do I do?(15:38) I learn and I grow and I set boundaries and I understand who is worth it and who's not. (15:42) Everything that you do is investment. (15:47) That was the end?

Kevin Palmieri

(15:49) Yeah. (15:50) It's an abrupt end, I wasn't prepared for that. (15:53) I took a sip of water, I wasn't prepared.

Alan Lazaros

(15:55) I need you to, because you're, you and I are growing a business and if you don't invest our time and effort into building a business.

Kevin Palmieri

(16:01) I have the answer. (16:02) I have the one-liner. (16:03) The one-liner.(16:04) The only reason I'm more successful today than I was in the past is because today I prioritize the things I know I should or the things that I want to do. (16:15) That's pretty much it.

Alan Lazaros

(16:16) I think it's that. (16:17) Over the things you want to do. (16:18) Yes.(16:18) What did I say? (16:19) I think, I don't know. (16:21) I think I said over.(16:22) I don't know if you said over. (16:24) I think I did.

Kevin Palmieri

(16:25) That.

Alan Lazaros

(16:26) I think it's that. (16:26) It's, it's. (16:27) I want you to talk about what it's like because in the beginning, people think, well, fuck that.(16:33) I don't, I want to just enjoy myself. (16:34) That's going to be terrible later on. (16:36) It's eventually, yeah.

Kevin Palmieri

(16:37) It's eventually, it crosses a chasm where it becomes like gluttonous. (16:43) Look, I love pizza. (16:45) Same.(16:45) I can probably eat pizza three, four days in a row. (16:49) After that, we were talking about it recently. (16:53) You were talking about how Emilia was away one time and you were just fucking off.(16:57) When Taryn goes, like, there's a piece of me, I'm so excited when she goes away. (17:01) It's like, fuck yeah. (17:02) I'm going to get whatever, five guys or whatever it is.(17:04) I'm going to watch dumb shit on YouTube and that, that first night when I'm going to bed, I just feel terrible. (17:10) It's like. (17:10) Yeah, it's the worst.(17:12) You're such. (17:12) It's awesome at first. (17:13) You wasted so much time.(17:15) You wasted so much time. (17:17) So we're all guilty of this. (17:19) I'm guilty of this.(17:20) I have time. (17:21) I have, I have days where it's like, I don't have time to do that. (17:23) It's like, well, Kev, you, did you really have to spend an hour at the gym?(17:26) Like you could have probably get out of there a little bit quicker or whatever it is. (17:29) And I think that's why prepping for stuff is so important. (17:32) Because when you prep for something, you're literally saying, I'm prioritizing this.(17:35) I'm trying to do it proactively because I know life is going to try to, to throw me off the rails. (17:39) What is your next level lesson? (17:40) Good sir.(17:41) This morning when I woke up, I prepped for book club this Saturday.

Alan Lazaros

(17:44) That was very proactive. (17:46) Today is Wednesday. (17:46) So yeah, that's very proactive.(17:48) I very easily could have watched interviews about gladiator too, but I want to build a successful business. (17:54) So instead of watching them live out their dreams, I'm going to actually build my own. (17:59) And that is the truth.(18:01) You're listening to us. (18:02) I'm grateful. (18:03) Okay.(18:04) This podcast is designed to help you shut this off when it's done and go and build your life, build your dreams, stop watching everyone else's stats and everyone else's life, living out their dreams and build your own. (18:18) And I'm not saying not to be a consumer. (18:20) I consume too.(18:21) I love film. (18:21) I went and saw the film. (18:22) I paid to see the film.(18:24) I bought the freaking film, but here's the deal. (18:27) I'm making sure I'm living my dreams too. (18:29) I'm not just buying and watching other people's dreams.

Kevin Palmieri

(18:32) And that's a great point. (18:34) My next level lesson would be what I said. (18:36) That's I think the biggest difference.(18:37) The only reason life is different now than it was is number one time. (18:41) That's obviously important. (18:42) And I try to do the things and I try to prioritize the things that I know I should.(18:47) And then the stuff that I want to do gets the leftover time that it used to be. (18:53) I would do what I want to do. (18:55) And then the time remaining, I would do what I knew I was supposed to.(18:57) Now it's just the opposite. (18:58) Nice. (18:59) And I think that's a really, if it's at 50-50, let's do 55-45 in the right direction and just keep working your way.(19:05) And eventually you'll land somewhere and you'll be like, fuck this. (19:08) I don't want to do it this way. (19:09) It's like, all right.(19:09) Maybe that's why we stopped there. (19:11) Stopped there. (19:12) 80-20.(19:13) 80-20. (19:13) Okay. (19:14) Next little nation.(19:15) I don't know where my dream liner went. (19:17) If you are looking for a daily way to track your habits, we talked about habit tracking in the previous episode. (19:23) We have the next level dream liner.(19:25) Achieve your dreams 90 days at a time. (19:28) Link will be in the show notes.

Alan Lazaros

(19:29) Also Book Club, 1230 p.m. Eastern Standard Time every Saturday. (19:33) Join us. (19:34) It is an awesome group of people.(19:36) We read books that will change your life. (19:38) Willpower will change your life. (19:39) It's talking about decision fatigue this week and how by the end of the night, you basically have made so many choices that you're not useless, but next to useless.(19:47) And that's when we order pizza and do stupid shit and waste time. (19:51) Everyone does. (19:52) You're not alone.(19:53) Book Club will show you that you're not alone. (19:55) Everyone thinks I'm so disciplined. (19:57) I fuck up all the time.(19:58) It's just less than I used to. (20:00) So Book Club is going to help. (20:02) Book Club is going to help.(20:03) The link will be in the show notes.

Kevin Palmieri

(20:05) As always, we love you. (20:06) We appreciate you. (20:07) Grateful for each and every one of you at NLU.(20:09) We don't have fans. (20:10) We have family. (20:10) We'll talk to you all tomorrow.

Alan Lazaros

(20:12) Keep it next level. (20:13) Next level nation.

Kevin Palmieri

(20:16) Thanks for joining us for another episode of Next Level University. (20:20) We love connecting with the Next Level family.

Alan Lazaros

(20:22) We mean it when we say family. (20:25) If you ever need anything, please reach out to us directly. (20:28) Everything you need to get a hold of us is in the show notes.(20:31) Thank you again, and we will talk to you tomorrow.

People on this episode

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Alan Lazaros

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Kevin Palmieri

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