Time is a precious thing. Every day most of us wish we could have more of it. The world we live in seems to be moving faster and faster. Everything is designed to be done faster, and yet the faster things become the more there seems to do.
But time is also a strange thing in how we perceive it passing. Have you ever been in a waiting room with no clock or windows and no way of knowing what the time is? In these circumstances, with no external cues or when we have nothing to do, time seems to pass very slowly. If we are busy or enjoying ourselves time seems to pass very quickly.
It’s not just the amount of time we have that we focus our attention on, but also how we spend it. As we get older or if something significant happens we tend to reflect on how we spent our time and the decisions we made in those precious hours of our lives.
However differently our perception of time is, and however it changes from moment to moment, it’s how we spend it that determines our health and wellbeing and how we feel. So how can we make the most of the time we have in different scenarios?
When we have a little of it
We can’t get away from the reality that life is busy. We all have responsibilities we must fulfil and things we must do, and sometimes – however much we prepare for every eventuality – life happens and crises happen that we need to deal with. Although possible, multitasking is not recommended – our brains were not meant to multitask chronically or for prolonged periods and we increase our risk of burnout and stress.
A better strategy is to focus on prioritising tasks in hand, avoiding the temptation to do the “easy” things first that could wait to avoid doing the harder, more pressing ones. Good, realistic and cohesive preparation helps us to “stretch” time. Categorising types of tasks together can also help us to stay motivated, either doing them as a job lot or mixing them up so we have some variety.
When we have a lot of it
This is probably not a frequent occurrence, but when we do without anything planned we can feel bored. This can happen even when we are busy but not stimulated mentally. Boredom is often a sign that what we are doing isn’t aligned with who we are or what we want in life. Notice boredom and embrace it, because it can give us some really good clues as to what we might want to change in our lives.
In other situations we might find ourselves sitting in a traffic jam or in a queue. These are excellent opportunities to practise mindfulness, which is great for our mental health. Notice your frustration or anger and let it pass through you. Let it go. Realise you are not in control of the situation and you can’t change it, so redirect that energy into noticing what is around you. What can you see, feel, smell, touch and hear?
Try an element of meditation and just appreciate the fact that you’re not able to be “productive”. Just be. Doing so can foster a great habit of more patience, acceptance and really feeling alive.
When we want to use it better
We can’t control time, and although it may seem we can’t create more of it we can make the most of it. It’s a great practice to think to ourselves every morning: “If I only had today, how would I want to spend it? And how would I want to feel?” Although we can’t completely change our day, we can choose to feed of that energy. And we can choose to put everything we have into what we are doing.
At work we can be there fully; when we are with loved ones we can really listen and be with them fully; when we exercise we can really feel our bodies; and when we relax we can truly recharge. In being fully present in everything we do, that’s when we can feel like we’re creating that extra time we all seem to crave.