Everyone at some point experiences the panic of racing against the clock. Whether to finish that report, be ready to give a presentation, or even just to eat breakfast before needing to be out the door in the morning. Time can your friend and your enemy at the same time. What do I mean by this?
Time in a practical sense is a constant. Just ignore the Einstein for a moment. Each day you have 24 hrs. With between 5 and 9 hours (the more the better) dedicated to sleep that leaves you with between 15 and 19 hours awake. How can we make the most of those 15-19 hours? Let’s first consider time as a friend.
Make time your friend. I can sit passively and do nothing with any particular purpose. Or. I can use my time to pursue something of value and excitement. Leave room for flexibility but take control of the majority your time and make most of it. Time is your friend because without it’s parameters it each day would be formless and the days would bleed together. The concept of productivity is possible explicitly because of the implications of time. Don’t let time become something overly constrictive, but attempt to engage it well. Marry your work, passions, and relationships with time. This joining of creating and distinct moments will result in increase quality and satisfaction in the creation.
It is important not to overlook that time is limited. As stated, these limitations are the very thing that allow productivity to be something that is measurable. Here is where the friend-time and enemy-time enter into contest with each other. This contest is critical to successfully utilizing time.
Make time your enemy. Time is short, limited, and uncertain for the individual. You only have the time you’ve spent and you cannot get that time back. This understanding is what give time its preciousness and why, one must not shy away from embracing it’s friend/enemy characteristics. Time is an enemy, a relentless enemy. This is especially evident in Western culture where we are continually working against the perception that we are behind. This has created an environment where productivity is high and upheld as valuable. Although, whether that productivity is always producing high quality product can be questionable at times.
The past two years I have lived in a big house with some of my best friends from college. In less than two months, our lease will be up and we will all be heading our separate ways. Some will be getting married, others going on to grad school, while others are moving to new places or back to their previous locations. Although it is an exciting time of change, it is sad as well. This time is coming to a close. Living together in our pseudo frat house has been as fun as it has been hard in ways. Time has been our friend and our enemy. It has allowed ‘this’ time to be characteristically different and special from other times in our lives. But it has gone as quickly as it appears. Time spent never to be again held other than in memories. Make time count. Be productive but don’t neglect to really settle in and enjoy it!
Adding to the Noise 