The Gift of Time!

This topic has been on my “possible post list” for quite some “time”! Isn’t it interesting that the topics or themes that I personally wrestle with the most somehow also seem to be those that struggle to rise to the top of my writing list??

I have been making notes for several months whenever I’ve heard other folks using the word “time” in a wide variety of contexts both in our over-55 community and in countless other situations including markets, department stores, family gatherings, wrestling matches, and worship communities.

The majority of time-related comments I heard reflected folks not having as much time as they wanted or needed. Just a few examples were, “I just need a few more hours in my day”, “Where did the day (week, year) go?”, “Time goes faster the older you get”, “I wish someone could figure out how to put time in a bottle” (this was a new one for me) and one worth reflecting on, “All of these so-called ‘time-saving devices’ don’t seem to do anything except cost us more money!” Actually, it sounds to me like the marketing folks are quite perceptive to capitalize on customers wanting more time!

One friend got tired of hearing a family member constantly complaining about never having enough time so she brought a small jar of thyme seasoning, wrapped it, and gave it to her relative as a birthday present! Now that was creative!

Although the comments regarding having too much time were much less frequent, they were 

equally interesting. For instance, “I realize my spouse was right. I hate to admit it, but my world did totally revolve around my five grandchildren and suddenly they grew up and have lives of their own and I’m stuck with way too much time on my hands, feeling purposeless and depressed!”

No matter which side of the too much/not enough time equation you come down on, I believe developing an action plan is vital for making the most out of the time you have. I clearly fall into the latter camp and at present (though I’m constantly tweaking it), my action plan looks like this:

1) Stop complaining about not having enough time!

2) Keep an updated to-do list

3) Keep an updated wellness list (if you aren’t acquainted with my ten areas of wellness, they are described in detail in posts September 2022 thorough July 2023)

I’m sure you are familiar with to-do lists, even if you don’t keep one yourself. My to-do list seems endless, and it often feels like I’m adding more than I’m checking off! I’ve found that making a to-do list that is actually effective is an art in and of itself. Deciding what goes on the list and in what order is no easy task. Because the list is always so full, new items are only added after much vetting and ongoing dialogue with my amazing partner of over 53 years who helps me stick to what I can realistically accomplish rather than everything I’d like to do! I also make sure not to allow “urgent” items that demand attention NOW to continually overshadow those that may not be time sensitive, but are actually more important.

This is where my wellness list comes in. My ongoing revisiting the ten areas of my wellness program is actually fundamental in my ongoing efforts to appreciate, manage and celebrate the time I have been given and am gifted with each new day! I usually reexamine the 10 areas of wellness each week. All of the ten areas are important and interconnected, but not necessarily “urgent”, so if I don’t continually keep track of them, it is easy to for one or more to fall off the radar entirely! Each week I focus on one or two wellness areas that are getting the least attention and look for ways I can build them into my daily routine.    

Presently my main areas of focus are daily meditation (Spiritual Wellness) and daily exercise (Physical Wellness), both of which require a significant chunk of time. I wish I could report that I am always successful incorporating both into my daily routine but that isn’t always the case!

What I am learning over and over in different ways is what profound impact both of these disciplines have on every other area of my total wellness journey!

My daily meditation time is usually most profound and transformative when I slip out of bed in the early morning and settle into my quiet place before my ADHD mind kicks into gear! It seems a bit easier to both listen to and comprehend what this Sneaky God is attempting to bless me with during the quiet morning hours. However, I am also gradually learning to slow down some and build in some extra meditative time throughout my over-busy day to be more attentive to the various avenues through which this “Very Sneaky God” manages to show up in my hectic, jam-packed life! (That’s yet another post on my growing list.)

My effort to include meaningful exercise (Physical Wellness) into my daily schedule has always been especially challenging. This is partly because I don’t necessarily see the more immediate benefits that I often experience in my daily meditation. In this fast-paced, instant-gratification society, we have become more expectant of immediate returns on our investments!

As with the meditation, I feel I am making progress in this area by trying to be more creative in incorporating short bursts of physical activity into my daily routine even on the days I can’t go to the gym or play pickleball. For instance, making a habit of always using the stairs (our apartment is on the fourth floor) except when I’m carrying heavy or awkward objects that could increase the chances of falling. (I’m also attempting to incorporate some common sense and better judgment into my decision making and action plans in preparation for when I begin to start aging!)

If you struggle with feeling you don’t have enough (or too many!) hours in your day and want to feel more of a sense of control over your time, committing to developing and committing to your own unique action plan is the first step! Your plan will be different from mine. Be patient with yourself, capitalize on your creativity, review your plan often, and celebrate your progress; I promise you, it will be well worth your investment in ways you can’t fully appreciate until you have experienced it!

QUESTIONS FOR DEEPENING THE SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

1. What is your relationship with time? Do you feel you have too little or too much? Do you feel in control of your time?
2. Do you keep an updated to-do list? Is it effective? Do you stick to it?
3. In prioritizing your schedule/to-do list, how do you decide what to bring to the top? Are you able to distinguish between urgent and important items, and make time for both? 
4. Are there items on your to-do list that consistently get put off until later and just never make it to the top of the agenda? Why do you think this is? How might your life change if you were able to complete them?
5. Do you feel good about your engagement with all 10 areas of wellness (spiritual, emotional, mental, physical, relational, vocational, financial, “fun-al” (play), environmental and communal)? How do you think your overall life enjoyment would change if you attended to the areas that are the most challenging/neglected?
6. Do you believe that your spiritual wellness is connected to each of the other nine areas? Why or why not? 

CHALLENGE: Pick one or two items that you feel are important to your overall wellness/life satisfaction even if they do not necessarily produce immediate or obvious “results” and commit to accomplishing them. 

Banner photo by Kevin Ku