Time Well Wasted?
I love that slogan from the Comedy Network, but in all honesty, it's almost become a reality for me. As I grow older and older, time becomes more of an issue, more of a commodity, more of a focus, and less of an intangible, taken-for-granted...thing. How the heck do you define time, really?
All I know is that the more intrusive it is, the more it pisses me off.
I used to sleep in until 12:00, 1:00 on the weekend, and never think twice - I mean, come on, I have all day, all weekend, right? I feel guilty if I sleep past 9:00 now. Lame. If I'm not productive in some way during the day, haven't made efficient use of TIME, I feel like it's been a wasted day. I didn't make TIME for exercise today? Wow, I'm a bad person. I was sick today, but had to get online halfway through the day and work, so that I accomplished something with my TIME.
It gets worse.
Even within blocks of TIME that I'm doing things, whether it's working, relaxing, whatever, if I don't accomplish certain things, it's been a waste of TIME. I only got so many errands done while I was out today, I didn't do as many exercises or ride as long as I should have, I didn't freakin' level my character high enough during this video-game session. If only I had more TIME.
Don't get me wrong, this isn't a stress thing - I never feel stressed out about TIME. I barely ever get what I'd call stressed anymore. It's a guilt thing, which I hate even more. Guilty over time? C'mon. What's my friggin' rush? Honestly, I don't know what other things this whole growing up crap comes with, but if they suck as much as being constrained by TIME, I'm looking for Neverland starting tomorrow.
This is a pretty bare-bones, simplistic rant-barf, but that's where I'm at - TIME just keeps speeding up on me, weeks are blurring, and I'll be 29 before I know it. There was a lot I wanted to do by now, and while I know I've still got lots of time and that ultimately what I DO doesn't matter, every day seems to increase the imperative that SOMETHING happen.
Thoughts? Not just on my specific thoughts or situation, but on the utter evil of TIME.
posted by Hooper @ 11:56 a.m.
5 Comments:
Geoff, I have nothing clever to add, except for self-reflective sharing: For me, the guilt is a panic---that I didn't arrive where I was supposed to within society's appointed window of time and now I have lost my chance at the earthly happiness and respect that others seem to enjoy. So, I try harder now at not wasting time; my motivation being that I don't want to miss out on more, or that "maybe, just maybe, I can catch up." It is a futile, haunting, and incessant battle. Anyway, I hear ya. Happy happy joy joy.
Dude, I know exactly what you mean. Working 2 or 3 jobs makes it harder, especially when there are things I'd love to do outside of work as well. It's hard to balance life sometimes, to decide when to do what and when to work and when to relax. It sucks. I'm not really good at time management, either, so that doesn't help much.
Wives and babies (I have one of each) only confound the scarcity of time. (also my laziness, that is all)
i'll tell you what gets me. when the "experts" talk about managing time. last time i checked i couldn't slow down the cosmos. or making time. again a physical impossibility. taking time. can't be done. part of this problem is that time and money are linked. if i take the time i won't have the money to do what i want. in order to have the money i sacrifice the time. rossy
Jo, please don't discredit your responses, even though I'm guilty of doing the same thing - like I said, I like the sense of level-headedness you bring to discussions. That being said, if you WANT to be clever, don't feel you can't be :). And I know what you mean about the catch up thing - it's something you can't understand until you're in the position, I think.
Rossy, I join you in your hatred of the "time management experts". I always justify that hate by remembering that these are the same individuals getting paid horrifying amounts of money to peddle common sense, and as such, don't need to worry so much about time, due to the time/money corollary(sp?) you pointed out.
I found a whole new way to feel like I'm wasting time last night, too. I suffer from slight (and by slight I mean fiendishly annoying) bouts of insomnia. When I can't get to sleep until 5 in the morning FOR NO GOOD REASON, it feels like a total waste of time just lying there, but if I get up and DO something instead, it feels like I'm wasting the time I should be using to rest and rejuvenate so that I can be more efficient with my time the next day.
If I'm not rich by the time I'm 40, I swear I'm totally going monk.
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