The Value of Time

Time is a relative, linear thing. It can go fast or slow depending on my perception of it at the time (haha- could not help the pun!). It can be spent in fun (going out for a walk in the local forest) or spent in gloom (lockdowns- horrible but necessary to protect those we care about) or spent efficiently (at work) or spent inefficiently (being late through oversleeping).

There is a form of poem called a Grook, that a Danish polymath called Piet Hein wrote. He wrote many, but here's one to do with time:

Time is a constant but it is how you use it that's important. In my earlier blog post, I said Time Management is Personal Management.

How you manage your time at home should, in my opinion, be similar to how you manage your time at work. If you are always on time at work, what is there to stop you being on time to a friend's get-together or some other event important to others or to you? What excuse do you have for wasting time?

When you are young, you wish for time to make you older and help you do all those things that are taboo to you as a minor. As you get older, you realise how valuable time is as you approach the unknown date of your death. A morbid subject but one that everyone goes through.

You are born, you live, you die. 

Quality of time spent is important. Time could mean money (job related) but time can also mean spending time with loved ones (priceless). 

Giving your time instead of a present is more valuable for someone like a kid, or your grandparents, or your parents and siblings, who, if you have a good relationship with them, will always appreciate that time you give, however limited it is, because it is infused with love.

You could give a present too, which in such a case is a bonus! But if you give a present instead of your time, it's a poor substitute, however expensive the present is!

If you can manage your time in the way you want, that's great. However, if you manage time into a form of procrastination, what are you doing to help yourself progress in life? Do you want to reach eighty and think I could have done that but just didn't get around to doing it?

I feel guilty looking back at all the things I could have done that I didn't, or the amount of time I wasted being late to events like birthdays. However, time moves on, and as I stroll along my life's path, I use those little steps of experience to help me figure out my path in time so I can manage it better. 

I can only ever improve, and whenever I can, I share what I have learnt which is (and yes, I will reiterate it again here):

TIME MANAGEMENT IS PERSONAL MANAGEMENT

Tick tock, tick tock, tick…