I blinked—and suddenly it was July 1st! Didn’t we just celebrate Easter? Time, it seems, is in fast-forward. When you hear “time flies,” it’s so true. When all three of my children were in high school, I felt like I never had enough time and was just running from event to event. They were all involved in sports, and there were times when I was running from basketball games to swim meets to football games to cross country meets………it was non-stop!
When they all left for college, I thought things would slow down; but the older I get, it seems like time is going faster. It’s a common perception that time seems to move faster as we get older. This feeling is likely due to a combination of factors related to how our brain processes information and the nature of our experiences. Essentially, the older we get, the fewer new experiences our brains process, making time feel like it’s accelerating.
Can you slow down time? No! But there are certain things you can let go of to make better use of your time. How about distractions? Have you ever jumped on social media and went down the rabbit hole? You look up and see you have been scrolling on Facebook for two hours. Have you gained anything? Have you learned anything? Social media can be a huge distraction and very time consuming.
Everything in moderation is good. Slow down time by focusing on the now. Use your senses: go barefoot and linger in the feeling of grass on your soles, describe your surroundings vividly in your mind, breathe in deeply and scrutinize the scent.
Embrace the present and let go of rigid expectations. Holding on to expectations for how life should unfold can prevent you from seeing what’s happening in the present, and you may miss the beauty of something that did happen.
Living internally distracted also makes time pass more quickly. Slow down time by designating blocks of time where you practice dropping your expectations. Become the observer. Open yourself up and be ready for whatever life brings your way. Take time to breathe and remember your time is precious – your time is valuable. Cherish the little things and live each day fully.
What it all boils down to is that you don’t need more time, you need more presence. Let go of the race, lean into the moment, and make your minutes count.
- Write down all your tasks
- Decide which tasks are most important
- Schedule time for each task
- Tackle the most important tasks first
- Focus on one task at a time
Another thing that helped me organize my time is setting a timer. If I had a scheduled call, I would set a timer. As the call started, I would even mention I have 20 minutes. Your time is valuable. Your time matters. Your time is precious.
When we look at our time from a bigger picture, how we spend our days shows us exactly how we invest in ourselves.
Make your time a priority!
