Time is a resource that cannot be replenished. So why do I waste so much of it?
I think I’m not as intentional about using my time as befits its value. And I spend too much of my time maintaining past decisions. So between not paying attention as the minutes and hours and days go by and having to spend minutes and hours and days doing things past choices obligate me to address, I despair.
I don’t have time!
The solution is simple, though not at all easy.
The first part is addressed with discipline. Simply making a plan and sticking to it. Being mindful. Choosing how I spend my time instead of letting one game on TV blend into another, hanging out for an extra hour or two when I meant to go to the gym, napping for ninety minutes when I intended a catnap. I need to do better at time-bounding my activities before I start them, and then honor the deadline. Like many, I struggle with transitions, so perhaps it will help to set expectations with myself that I will move to the next activity when my allotted time ends. And if I feel compelled to continue, then I must do so consciously, with an explicit recognition that I’m sacrificing what I had intended to do with that next block of time.
Easier said than done. I have many times during the day when I stay on Facebook or watch the post-game show when I intended to do something else. My lack of resolve shames me.
The second part is also straightforward: live simply. Everything I add to my life must be maintained. Floors need to be swept, dishes and clothes washed, furniture dusted, computers and phones charged and updated, cars gassed and serviced. I must show up for my engagements on time, presentable, and I have to do my work to expectations. So whenever I add something to my life I should ask many questions. Do I really want this? Can I afford it? How quickly will I tire of it? How much time will I need to devote to this? What will I be sacrificing because of the time I need to spend keeping this up?
We value different things. We value the same things differently. But I think the questions pertain to all of us. Each of us has the same 24 hours in a day to use. And maybe it’s human nature to be satisfied only with something more than we currently have.
I have made strides. I buy only clothes that can be machine-washed. I make meals with five or fewer ingredients. I love fitness though, and I will spend hours every week either working out or reading about it. You may like fashion and be willing to handwash or dry-clean clothes. You may like to cook, and relish preparing intricate dishes. And you may not want to know a thing about exercise. But we all get the same 24 hours. Shouldn’t be strive to spend as much of that time as possible doing what we love most?
If we are diligent and intentional in our decisions, and then disciplined in our behavior, I think we’ll feel that we have enough time to do what we want. I’m not sure we’d still be human at that point though. . . .