Temporal Begrudgery
Greetings and Salutations,
We have all said it, I know I have said it, and would be very surprised if you, dear reader, would not have said it yourself many times over: Time flies! Oh why is the weekend so short? And the vacation time over before you’ve properly mentally registered it has even begun? Why does my work-day seem to drag on so very long, and the few hours of down-time slip through my fingers like grains of sand. The tighter you try and hold on to your precious free time, the faster it falls to the floor. Of how we begrudge the temporary nature of freedom we enjoy at the beginning and end of each day.
When time flies as it does, how on earth do we make time for our passions and projects? How does a writer find time to write? Especially if he or she has a family, a job, and heaven forbid a pet or two? The well-meant but worthless retort we might then hear is “make time!” So prithee, make thine way to the minute-manufactory, and churn it until you have time aplenty? If only such a thing would exist. Unfortunately, we cannot simply make time. What we can do, however, is spend our time differently.
Think about your own daily routine. I am positive you will be able to find at least two moments where you spend some idle time idling. I guess that is where the name for it comes from. For some people, but I must be honest, I am most assuredly not one of them, it works very well to put the alarm clock an hour earlier in the morning. So you have more time in the morning, when you’ve just awoken and the rest of the world is still fast asleep, to uninterruptedly pursue your passions. Be it writing, drawing, painting or whatever. I would argue against drumming or playing the bagpipes using this approach, but if you are curious to find out if it is possible, be my guest. Another possible timeslot is the evening. After dinner, and when your children, if applicable, are in their beds, you might feel the urge to let out a big sigh, and drop down on the sofa holding a remote in one hand, and a nice cold one in another. I am not going to argue this is not a wonderful and very important way of spending your time. However, what I am going to say is that if you have a passion you say you do not have time for to exercise, you might want to take one to two hours of that sofa time, and spend it on your projects, before letting out above described sigh. Take it from me, you will feel much more satisfied sitting down after you have spent some time developing yourself and your skills.
If you manage to find an hour in the morning, in the afternoon right after work, instead of napping, or even at night, before your Netflix time begins, and you do this every other day, you would be surprised how much you can achieve in a month, let alone a year. Don’t forget that starting is the most difficult part, and once you’ve got a routine going, it will soon turn into a habit, and you will be all the more happier for it, leading a much more fulfilled life. A life in which you have found the time to work on your passion, and every evening come a step closer to writing your novel, or selling your artwork, or whatever new tune you composed during your early morning back pipe-stint.
As a challenge to wrap this blog up, I would like you to try this approach for yourself. What skill is it that you passionately would like to develop? Find the time, and do it! You will not regret a single minute of it! Happy time hunting and cheers!