Wednesday, May 6, 2009

The Master of Time, I am not.

When asked by a college professor, why I did not wear a watch, I told her that I thought time was a man-made construct created for the sake of keeping me down. She stared at me and not missing a beat, told me to get over myself. Harsh, but years later (many, many years later) as I continue to struggle with time and all its rules, I am finally ready to get over myself.

My constant struggle with time has made me weary while my many experiences with time have made me wise. All leading to the inevitable conclusion, that when it comes to time, you can either be its master, or its bitch. Harsh, but the fact is that the truth often sounds harsh when you have been in denial for years.

Over the years time has taught me the following lessons and now I am ready to put them into practice:

1. There is a reason; there is not enough time to do everything. Because if you are trying to do everything, you need to stop…now!
2. If you do not make time for the things that are important to you, than whose fault is that?
3. If you have time to worry about something, you have time to do something about it.
4. When it feels like time is fighting against you, consistency can be your greatest ally.
5. Watches and calendars are just tools, their usefulness or lack there of, are totally the responsibility of the user.
6. Lying about your age does not make you younger, it makes you a liar.
7. Your time is extremely valuable, so assign it a $ amount and spend it accordingly.
8. When it comes to navigating your time, let your priorities and goals be your guide.
9. Everyone has a 24 hour day, it is not the amount of time, but how you use it that matters.
10. Children and animals know more about the proper usage of time than just about every adult on the planet.

1 comment:

Patricia, Brownies for dinner said...

Yes! I love your list. It's all so very true... I'm still learning how to manage my time and how to stop trying to do everything. And also to stop doing things that make me unhappy because nothing wastes time like doing things that make you unhappy.

Btw - it was great meeting you this weekend at ifbc. And I will be sending you a chess pie recipe later this evening.