I realized I had been in a negative relationship with TIME, until now. I was always catching up, falling behind, stressed, and challenged with the ticking of the clock. Time was always running out, and I was always trying to slow it down. Time always had the upper hand, and I felt inferior.
I have read many articles, and listened to many lectures about time, and how we have limited time–only 525,600 minutes in a day or 8,760 hours in a year, etc. Comments such as either “manage time or it manages you” were my mantra for years. However, I was in a losing battle, as time was always managing me! No matter how many time management tools I used and how precise my calendar was, I was always chasing time.
A typical image of time management on any stock photo site shows frustrated, desperate, and frazzled individuals. That used to be me as well until I read Gay Hendricks’ book The Big Leap.
That’s when I decided I’d had enough. No more being the victim of time. It was time to change my negative relationship with time!
In his book, Hendricks describes the concept of Newtonian time vs. Einstein time.
Newtonian time is the concept of time where time is finite, and it will run out. We either have time or we don’t. This is very much the notion of time most prevalent in society and in business. He says “ The Newtonian paradigm assumes that there’s a scarcity of time, which leads to an uncomfortable feeling on time urgency inside us.”
Einstein time, as Hendricks explains, is the notion that we are time…and we make time. We make time for things that are important, that have meaning or that we must focus on. He says “Take ownership of time, and it will stop owning you”.
He suggests going on a time diet, which I have been practicing as of late.
This move requires a complete end to complaining about time and moving away from the victim mindset as it pertains to time. Start by paying attention to how often you are playing time-catch-up and saying the following:
- Where did time go?
- There simply isn’t enough hours in a day
- I don’t have time right now to…..
- I wish I had time to…..
Eliminate the above phrases from your daily conversation. Time is not a pressure from outside as Hendrick states..it’s one that we place on ourselves.
Instead, focus on what you want to focus on, and do what you love to do. Focus on your passions, and your creativity and your loved ones and the career you love.
It’s a notion that is simple to grasp—perhaps not as easy to do unless we shift our perception of time entirely.
I now spend each day with an intention and focus to make time for what is a priority for me. If I veer off course, I come back to my intention. My colleague Jen introduced me to the concept of saying a time-mantra “I Am Now” as in “I am now doing xyz”. This time mindfulness has allowed me to make time.
And I discovered that by making time for what I love doing, I have more time for everything else.
Happy time-making!
~ Katty Douraghy
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