Time Flies

Time Flies

This past week, while talking with a patient, the 13 year old seventh grader made a very interesting and insightful comment. He said – and I am paraphrasing – “School used to be so much easier. But now it seems like time goes by so fast that I can’t keep up with everything.”

As we discussed his observation, I could not help but think that many of us experience this. One minute it is the dreaded Monday morning, the next, you are writing a blog post at 6:30 on Saturday morning. How does this happen?!? How is it that so much of our time passes by so quickly?

There are a number of reasons why this happens, but two come to mind immediately: Busyness and Anticipation.

Busyness

We live busy lives. Most of us are running from the time we wake up, until the time we pass out later in the evening. The clock is constantly running and we are speeding from one event to the next. We get our kids up and ready for school, rush to work, accomplish as much as we can before 5:00 pm, at which time we rush home, pick up our kids for their after school activities, cook dinner, help with homework, prepare for bed, and perhaps enjoy 15 minutes of quite time before going to sleep to refresh yourself ahead of starting all over again the next morning.

As busy as we are, our kids are equally pressed for time. They are hurriedly shuttled from one activity to another, from one location to the next. Every minute of our kids’ days are filled.

The busier we are, the faster time passes. When we are actively meeting various demands, we are focused on the demand and not attending to other things happening in our lives. At times this is appropriate. After all, when you are working on a project for work, or when your child is finishing up his homework, you (and your child) need to be focused directly on that task.

Unfortunately, this happens with other activities as well. How many times have you sat in front of the TV, “binge watching” an entire series on Netflix? How many times has your child sat down with his Xbox and played for hours? The phenomenon is the same. When you are so consumed with an activity, time passes faster than you realize. It is not that you or your child sit down to “kill a few hours,” it just… happens.

Anticipation

Another thing that makes time seem to fly by is our anticipation for the future. What is the first thing we say on Monday morning? “I can’t wait until Friday!”

So often we wish our lives away. We look forward to the weekend or the next holiday or the next big event. And that anticipation makes today… well… less significant. Less important.

We look forward to Friday so much, that Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are overlooked. We go through the motions, but the anticipation of Friday is the primary focus.

Unfortunately, we teach our children this from early in their lives. We do not do any “fun things” during the week, because of our various obligations. We cannot have too much fun on a school night, because we have homework and need to study for upcoming tests.

We also notice this as an issue when students are assigned homework or projects over the weekend. It is almost seen as sacrilegious to consider doing work over the weekend or during a holiday. Why? Why do we – and by default, our children – place so much emphasis on this time? Sure we have fewer obligations, sure it is a time to relax a little and spend time with friends and family; but shouldn’t we be working toward some of our goals (i.e., doing well in school, succeeding at work, etc.) every day?

The bottom line, though, is that when we hold the weekends and other “obligation-breaks” with such anticipation, we tend to try ways to bypass all of the time in between. Again, wishing our lives away.

Is There a Remedy?

Lately I have found myself encouraging friends, family, and patients to find some way to be creative every day. Creativity, producing something,  brings value, meaning, and quality to the day. We can sit back and say, “This is what I accomplished today! Today mattered.”

Creativity takes different forms. For me, and many others, writing is a creative outlet that brings meaning. For others, creating YouTube videos may be the creative outlet that adds value to each day. Sure you may not create a new video every day, but if you are doing a little work on a video everyday, that could be enough.

Creativity, of course, also includes various forms of visual and performing art. I know of many people who spend a little time dancing every day. They do so in their room, where no one else sees them, but they LOVE IT!

Whether it is cooking, exercising, or podcasting, finding a way to creatively express yourself is a great way to make today matter.

So tomorrow morning, when you wake up, instead of thinking about all that you have to do for the day or how there is only one day left before Monday, consider what you can accomplish that will bring you pleasure. What can you produce today that will give you some creative energy. What can you do to express yourself in a way that will make today matter? Because when today matters, when your time matters, we do not see it as flying by. We see it as well used.