Precious Time

Time is impartial. Each of us has the same number of hours each day to invest ourselves in what we value as important. According to historian Daniel Boorstin in his book The Discoverers, the first mechanical clocks invented over 700 years ago were “designed not to show time but to sound it. The first true clocks were alarms.”  They were originally created to put monks on a schedule. I share this historical nugget because it leads me to some questions. Are your time commitments an alarming adversary that keep you frazzled, frustrated and spent, or do you make room for life enriching pursuits? Is your time mainly spent reacting, managing the alarms of constant schedules and deadlines, or is it also invested in creative thinking, possibilities for innovation and developing relationships? Most of us spend a great deal of life fighting the pressures of time, but we don’t have to be slaves to schedules. Understanding the value of time is about identifying purposeful priorities, what the obstacles or pressure points are that stand in the way, and investing the effort to engage life where it’s important. A daily calendar filled with scheduled activities doesn’t necessarily mean we are living well, but it keeps us busy. How often in your tightly wound day have you stopped and asked yourself “why am I doing this (fill in the blank )”?!  Is it really necessary or worth it?

Time is more than money, it’s a stewardship. It’s a resource and asset that can’t be reclaimed once it’s gone. The tyranny of the urgent shouldn’t prevent pursuing activities and interactions that can have life affirming impact on those around us.  The challenge for each of us is managing our time well and investing it in the right places.