Time
When we’re young, time lasts forever.
As the years pass, we grow busier and short on time.
Upon our deathbeds, moments count.
Meanwhile, time passes by regardless of who or where we are and what we may be doing.
Geoffrey Chaucer, an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for The Canterbury Tales.
When we put off accomplishing something, we feel we’ll have enough time. When the deadline looms near, we’re stressed due to the lack of time.
Time, it’s something we begin to think about as we grow older. We reflect on our past. We consider what lies ahead. We try to live in the present. Unlike during our youth, we value time as an increasingly limited resource.
Yet, we’re all guilty of wasting time. Whether it’s downtime to recover or time that grows into hours of distracted activity. We look back and ask, “Where did the time go?”
The older I grow, the more I value how and where I spend my time. I’ll only work with equally vested clients who value my time and expertise. I volunteer where I believe I can make a meaningful and measurable impact. In between, I fit in as much as I can.
Treasuring Moments of Fleeting Time
Two recent volunteer activities requiring major commitments of my time helped me treasure those brief moments of time.
Grand Jury Service
Grand or Federal Jury Duty is a two-week commitment. Unlike the typical jury service that requires a short drive to the local courthouse, serving on a grand jury—for me—requires a four-hour daily round-trip commute in Los Angeles’ rush-hour traffic.
In order to arrive at the downtown courthouse at 7:45AM per the instructions, I need to leave my home around 5:15AM. This gives me time enough to park at one of two designated locations before walking to the courthouse. Per the instructions, we could expect to finish by 5PM. After a full day it means returning home around 7PM. While I often work 12-hour days, the length of time is not an issue. Commuting, on the other hand, is! It stressful. It is like being on telephone-hold for an hour and then disconnected, a woeful waste of time.
The first week, I was surprised that I didn’t have to report. I treasured that gift of time. I was relieved to be spared the horrendous three to four-hour daily commute, which I had, years earlier.
I gratefully accepted that precious gift of time and made the “stress-free commute” to my home office to dig into the tasks of the day.
The second week our Federal Government didn’t need my services, either. While I got a lot done, my momentum slowed a bit. I was exhausted after the intense pace of the first week.
Red Cross Deployment
Last year, I began volunteering for the Red Cross to complement my long-standing work with CERT (Community Emergency Response Team). Lately, I’ve been doing more work with the Red Cross in the area of sheltering and have been on call or standby from time to time.
After being assured my skills could be used, I agreed to deploy on a humanitarian mission for two weeks.
The best way to get things done is to have a deadline.
I was on standby with a 24-hour notice before departure. I filled those precious hours knowing I would be far away from home working 12-hour days for two weeks.
The Urgency of Limited Time
Being “on-call” creates a sense of urgency. “Oh, let me get this one thing done before I leave.” So does being on one’s deathbed. I have spent many hours with people during their final days and hours. I have learned how important “a few more minutes” are at the end of life.
I often squeeze in small tasks for a minute or even a few seconds. We don’t realize how much time we waste being drawn into hours of videos on our smartphones. Yes, hours. All those minutes add up, quickly. And then I reflect on my experience co-producing and co-hosting two television series. It’s amazing how much I was able to accomplish in one or two minutes during a commercial or sponsor break. Now, while the microwave reheats my coffee, instead of standing there impatiently, I may wash a dish or two. Even having 15 seconds before going live is a valuable stretch of time. Remember, depending on where we are in the cycle of life, seconds count.
When we learn to truly treasure the gift of time, we stop reacting like tethered buoys bobbing near the shore—not going anywhere.
Late last year, I wrote: What is the BEST USE of MY TIME, right now? To stay on track and use my time wisely, I have this question in my Google calendar and ask myself this question multiple times a day. To act upon a task we keep putting off, as this article expands on, we have a choice to use the five-minute Swiss Cheese method or to take two minutes right now.
From The Caregiver’s Voice Newsletter’s opening paragraphs last Spring: Time Moves Quickly.
Bless your heart Brenda for all that you do and have done,