Tick, tock
I know I’m not alone in feeling like I've got too much to do and not enough time in which to do it. A definite drawback of living in the Age of Opportunity.
Several years ago, in an attempt to discover why time feels so illusory and yet so solidly finite, I tried to read A Brief History of Time. But I never did get through it. (Not because I didn’t have enough time, but because this shit is complicated.)
I do like to think about how time is an illusion and is different depending on where you are in the universe relative to anywhere else - isn't that kind of the Theory of Relativity?
Let’s just see.
Wikipedia has this to say about everyone’s favorite theory (and yes, I get that Wikipedia is not exactly the Holy Grail of scientific clarification but, you know, whatever):
The Theory of Relativity introduced concepts including 4-dimensional spacetime as a unified entity of space and time, relativity of simultaneity, kinematic and gravitational time dilation, and length contraction.
🙀🙀
This probably explains why I didn’t finish that book. Anyway, time is what we make of it and everyone knows that some hours pass more quickly than others and time speeds up as you age. I mean, FACTS.
Add to that that we have a limited amount of time here on earth and I think we've got a nice big conundrum on our hands.
We have enough time, we have limited time, we have to spend time on tasks and projects we don't particularly enjoy, and we have what might amount to a moral obligation to spend our time wisely (or at least enjoyably) if we're able.
Not everyone gets enough of it, and not everyone has a lot of choice about what they get to do with it.
I once taught a class on decluttering your life, and one of the lessons was about decluttering your calendar. I.e., taking a good look at the things you spend time on and whether you're actually getting anything out of those activities.
For some reason I always use book clubs as an example.
Now, I know there are plenty of people who are engaged in really fantastic book clubs, but for some reason I've never found one that works for me. It just added a layer of obligation to a thing I enjoy, and that made it less enjoyable.
(We can talk about my need to not be told what to do in another chapter entitled Life As The Youngest Sibling.)
Thank goodness I don't really do social media. And I've recognized that if I want to get to sleep at a decent hour I can't turn on the tv. Which, of course, does not always stop me. 😬
Is there an answer to the Not Enough Time dilemma? Maybe not. Although one strategy is to do less, starting with stuff you don't really like to do.
I have a friend who keeps her house really, really clean. It's definitely where you'd want to be if you have to perform an emergency appendectomy. You know, like during the apocalypse?
Several years ago this friend confided that when she and her husband go to other people's houses they notice that no one else maintains the same level of cleanliness. Because yeah, no one else wants to spend all their time cleaning!
Most of us are willing to live with a few dust bunnies or even dust buffalo in order to spend time doing other stuff. But what does it look like to really free up your time? What can you let go of?
Here are a few things I do not do, which theoretically gives me more time to other things:
*Spend time on social media. Though I worry that that could change if I'm not careful.
*Clean my house! Haha - I've outsourced it.
*Run errands. This has not been a great strategy, honestly, except in cases in which I can convince someone else to do them for me.
*Shopping of all kinds. I really hate shopping for anything that is not a plant. It helps my time bank and my money bank, both.
*Personal grooming. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I bathe. But I’ve never done a lot of girly stuff like makeup or hair styling. And while I may be 60, I am still not ready for a 10 step (or even 5 step) skin routine.
*Crossword puzzles. I hate them!
*Cooking. I wish I were spending more time doing this, but I have just not mastered the whole cooking-for-one thing.
On the other hand, I do spend an inordinate amount of time playing spider solitaire, picking leaves out of the garden one by one, and worrying about my children's future happiness. So I guess we’re kind of damned if we do, damned if we do something else.
These are all my messy thoughts about time and how you might spend it to your advantage but really I guess I’m saying that we should value our time as we value anything else of importance and make the most of it. I’m pretty sure we can’t buy more.
Ok, love you, bye!
Julia
Recommendation!
Books and movies about time travel. They're endlessly fascinating and also make your head spin.
Interstellar is one of my favorite time-bending movies. It's got a star-studded cast, interesting premise, terrific level of physical drama and interpersonal complications. In fact I think I'm ready to see it again.
Travelers is a time and space bending tv series. Sadly it was cancelled after three seasons, so prepare to be irate. But still watch it!
It is literally impossible for me to choose a favorite time travel book, but here are three that I've loved:
The Time Travelers Wife (*affiliate link) A gorgeously written novel, this one is unique in that only one of the characters does any time travel. Turns out it makes interpersonal relationships challenging! This one stayed with me for weeks and still pokes me at times.
The Ministry of Time (*affiliate link) This one came out just a couple of years ago, but reads like a cold war spy novel. In it the British government is dabbling in time travel. Ethics and justice are sacrificed. Fantastic read.
Children of Time (*affiliate link) This is one of my all-time favorite books. In fact, I think it's landed in my recommendations before. One thing I love about it is that human hubris accidentally leads to incredible and wonderful outcomes. And the way the author plays with time is both mind-bending and poignant.
*if you purchase a book using this link, I will receive a small commission, and a portion of the price will go towards supporting local bookstores.
Simon & Garfunkel know the value of your time, and so does this email. Forward it to someone who eschews calendars.