Things often do not take as long as we think. They’re often quicker or much longer. The things we dread, hate, and put off tend to sail by faster than we expected.

While the quick things, the simple tasks that should be done in “just a sec” or will take only a couple of minutes often waylay the most carefully laid plan, the most succinct exit strategy, annihilating best intentions, and very often murdering sleep.

So what do we do with this disparity of our temporal sense?

1. For one be carful of saying “I can’t find the time”. That’s just silly, its all around you, its the stuff whooshing by making the hissing sound in the hourglass.
2. Also try not to say “We’ll just have to make the time.” That’s not really possible either, its an intangible fixed quantity of indeterminate measure that is simply a figment of our own imagination, and yet it rules our very real lives.
3. Do what you can now, don’t delay, the delay may exceed your stay.
4. What you can’t do now be realistic on whether you’ll do later, there’s no sense worrying now about what you won’t do later.
5. Slow down. Don’t try and do two things at once to save a few seconds, it will take longer, you’ll be more stressed and the results will be poorer.
6. Maintain a steady pace. There is no logic in rushing around only to have to set aside time to relax, and slow down…

I haven’t worn a watch in over five years (I have no idea the exact date or time for obvious reasons). Lately, I’ve wondered if I should get one, and suddenly I’ve decided not to. Almost on a daily basis I try and fight the urge to speed up, to do things faster so that I can pack in more in the time available. The result of all this acceleration and overloading? Burnout, lethargy, and an increasingly cynical outlook.

So now for something different, I’m going to take things slow and try not to speed up, only to have to spend time “slowing back down”. I am going to try and find that balance, that correct pace at which I can be productive and relaxed at the same time. To work less, but smarter, more sustainably over time.

If our time is like a tank of gas, speeding around, will only empty it faster.