One of the things I have become more conscious of through a variety of sources - the move to New Home 3.0, doing a study of Essentialism, the reality of the passing of my parents, and even just reading on things as varied as sleep and e-mail - is the nature of my time and how I use it.
Time consciousness is something that we as a society seem to both cultivate and completely ignore. One the one hand, ever since the Quality and Productivity movements of the 1950's and 1960's, we have been on a quest to improve how we use our time at work. Technology has assisted us even more in this progress: we now track things down to the second and work to eliminate every obstacle to getting something done as efficiently and quickly as possible, whether through providing a thing "Just-In-Time" or using communication technology to communicate and inform 24/7.
On the other hand, we seem to never train ourselves in the use of time away from that structure environment. We work productively so that we can have more time to ourselves, yet somehow manage to fill that time with things that may or may not be productive. "Productive" is a subjective word to be sure: what may productive to someone by relaxation (for example, sports or movies or on-line games) to me may not resonate at other activities. Yet I suspect that all of us, were we to be honest with ourselves, would find that we are too often letting large swaths of time slip through our fingers.
I had never really thought of the idea of "spending time" before I read the quote above. But that is really the point, is it not? We can use time thoughtlessly or thoughtfully, by wild abandon and laziness or thoughtful planning. Either way the time is gone; it is up to us to determine whether it was well spent.
What is the difference to me? Simply asking the fundamental question of "How am I consciously using my time?" before I being anything. And not just the usual things: sleep, lunch, even writing. "Thoughtfully" is not the same as "productively" per se; for example, I am making an effort to get the 7-9 hours of sleep a night that most adults still need. That may be "thoughtful"; the "productive" part only comes by the benefit of that sleep.
The more I go on this journey, the more I wonder how I have managed to unconsciously go through life.
Just wait TB, that seven to nine hours of sleep nightly becomes a bit harder as the years go by, ask me how I know. Whatever time is spent with Loved Ones is Best Time though, no matter what is being done.
ReplyDeleteNylon12 - It is tough enough already, although doing some reading suggesting that sleep relates directly to Alzheimer's has me paying attention.
DeleteLoved one time is indeed best, although I an shocked in the drop off in the last 12 months.
I don’t worry so much about how I spend my time anymore in retirement. It is only spent productively to me. To anyone else, it probably seems unproductive.
ReplyDeleteBut you are conscious of at least spending it, Ed. So many are not, I fear.
DeleteStill working on the 80/20 thing. Not making a science project of every little project has been a struggle. At 70 and with a weird medical history I'm forced to Waste time, and that is frustrating. So, when I am able to get on a project I try to maximize the amount of progress I can make.
ReplyDeleteBe like water
Bruce said
Damn, of all the talents we saw gone too soon, if I could rewrite history, he's certainly one I would keep with us.
I can imagine, Justin. Even some years behind you, the issue has already started for me.
DeleteLee was a great loss - I, too, wonder what the world would have looked like with him here longer.
I think about what I'm doing with my time a lot, and how inefficient I seem to be at making the most of it. Of course, I don't have the same kind of schedule and deadlines most do, but I still have a lot to do. My to-do list is always longer than my day.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I've been learning how important a mental/emotional reset is for me and not to disparage that time as a waste.
Leigh, I an struggling with this as well - honestly, my biggest struggle is often using my "free time" wisely instead of A) Mindlessly scrolling or watching; or B) somehow convinced giving myself the permission to relax is somehow wasting time.
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