Time – it is your most fundamental resource for just about everything. Which explains why the whole world is crying out for “More time!” – particularly when “there isn’t any.” Every strategy for success – whether in sports, science, or anywhere else – sooner or later catches a case of “We need more time,” “Give me just a minute,” “There’s not enough time,” “We just don’t have the time (for this),” “Time is running out,” “Can we have more time?”
Man’s Search For More
Man’s search for more time has resulted in an entire industry of time keeping and time management. Time “keeping“? Are reports of “more time” myth or fact? The answer is at the same time “Yes” and “No” – which can be confusing. Yes, you can experience time more. No, there is no such thing as more time. You already have all the time there is. No-one has yet figured out a way to manufacture time (or to keep it).
Because time is so fundamental, it is sometimes overlooked and under-appreciated (not unlike the air we breathe). If it didn’t exist, it would need to be created. But time being a most democratic and fair institution that benefits everyone in equal measure, regardless of geography, age, gender, possessions, IQ, religious and political views, lifestyle, merit or nationality, it makes you wonder whether it could be done. It would have to overcome ridicule and opposition, to say the least. Fortunately, time doesn’t require our consent and is faithfully there for us to receive each new day.
Does Time Really Fly?
Time is frequently described along the lines of wasted, lost, found and saved. “Time flies” and “I don’t have the time” – how many times have you heard it said, or said it yourself? This language would have you believe time is a commodity that can be stored, kept, transferred, set aside, bought and sold. Nothing could be farther from the truth. We have arrived at this curious view of time by our habit of chopping time into chunks of time – years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, seconds and fractions of seconds. The smaller the amount of time, the more precious or important it becomes. It’s the old forest & trees thing all over again. We don’t see the forest for all the trees. We don’t see time for all the chunks of time. There will never be enough time to do everything, but there’s always enough to do the most important.
Curse Or Gift?
Is time a curse, or a gift? How you view it doesn’t impact time itself, but it significantly impacts you and your quality of life.
My own views of time changed radically during my early travels in Africa. I was waiting at a bus stop for a bus that was several hours late. I was upset, angry, impatient and stressed. Everyone else had a smile on their face, in conversation, reading or writing or otherwise “busy.” It was my first inkling of time beyond society’s attempt to manage, control and own it. It took many more years to truly experience the gift of time. The more you experience time as a gift, the more will be gifted to you. For extra inspiration I recommend the exquisite short movie at http://www.thetimemovie.com/
Time is perceived as to exist in three dimensions – the past, the present and the future. To access the past we use our memory, the present opens through knowledge, and the key to the future is our imagination. (You remember breathing yesterday, you know about breathing now, and you imagine about breathing tomorrow). A first step to experience more time is recognizing there exist different modalities to access time, and to choose wisely. To remember the past and imagine the future can only be done at the expense of the present. For more time, spend more time in the present, less in the future, much less in the past.
On a lighter note, time is simply nature’s device to keep everything from happening at once. Is it not cool that we receive time in a neat succession of new mornings!
True Time Management Equals Value Management
In truth, time management is value management. The door to more time is more time for the things that are truly important, to you. Traditional-conventional time management is all about getting more done in less time. The rush for getting more done in less time, pushed by multi-tasking to new heights of sometimes grotesque outcomes, mainly blurs the distinction between the efficient and effective and between the urgent and the important. You could be super-efficient urgently running South, but it would not be effective if your life’s purpose is North. As surprisingly as it may sound, the key to more time is less time management. The way to more time is through the experience of time – which can only happen in the now. Make the focus of your time management to spend more time in the present – on people and things present.
5 Easy Steps For More Time
- Don’t do well what needn’t be done at all.
- Spend your time on love – things you do with love, or love to do, or for people and things you love, etc.
- Live consciously in the present time, as often as possible.
- Add a sense of urgency to everything you do. Time is infinite, but there is no way of knowing when your time is up. Do not move along as if time were not a factor. You will be amazed at how much you can accomplish in a short time, if that’s all you have.
- “What is the most valuable use of my time?” Stop and ask the question several times a day (or several times a week). It may be your best question ever.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Excellent post Beat! I especially agree with the third step you outlined for having more time – living consciously in the present moment. When we do that we can accomplish twice as much in a shorter period of time because of the focus and clarity we have when in the present moment. I am learning to be present as much as possible. Sometimes it is hard, but with practice I am able to do for longer and longer periods.
Lana – Dreamfollowers Blog´s last blog ..How To Stop Making Decisions Based On Fear
More from author
Beattitudes 3 – Time To Talk About Time http://bte.tc/4Ce #RTW
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
More from author