How often do you just sit and think?

I mean without any interruptions.  No cell phone, no TV, no email, no nothing. Can you do it? Can you just sit and think and plan and consider?

I doubt I can. And I’ve tried and failed.

During my 100 day break I wanted to take a significant chunk of my time and really consider my life. My plan. My goals. Was I were I wanted to be? Where do I want to be if not? And how did I get to be 42 years old? I have way too much left to do in my life. And then it dawned on me, I’m losing time every day.  And I just don’t feel like I have enough time to do everything I want/need to do.  It started stressing me out.

Then I opted to just be. To try to not have a master plan. To just live. Exist. Try to be as zen as possible. To not let the little insignificant things bug me. It was hard, but I managed for a bit.  It’s still hard to not let the insignificant things bother me.

But here’s my point – we’re all losing time.

We all seem to have somewhere we need to be – NOW. We’re all in a hurry and I think that somehow, being in a hurry and having to be doing something or going somewhere, we’re losing time.

I lose time every time I check my iPhone when it beeps or bings. I lose time every time a friend or family member checks their phone when it beeps or bings while visiting with me.

I lose time every time I turn on the TV hoping that something will entertain me tonight instead of thinking about my future goals and plans.

I lose time every time I sit in an hour long meeting that could have easily been a 10 minute discussion in the hallway.

I lose time every time I drive out of my way to save 10 cents a gallon on gas without realizing that it’s only really saving me about a buck 50.

Every time I don’t apologize for being stubborn and locking horns in a stalemate, I lose time.

I lose time every time I focus on what I should have done, instead of what I will do.

I lose time every time I stand in front of the mirror and think I’m not pretty enough, or smart enough or good enough. (I read a blog one day about how this is like golf balls. The writer said, “There is not one golf ball in the world that judges itself a failure. Sometimes they land in the hole. Other times, they get lost in the woods. But they are still primarily the same object. The same is true for you.“)

Failure, it turns out, has been huge time suck for me, a great thief of time. I’ve learned over the years that failure is just part of life. In fact have a quote in my scrapbook room that says, “If you’ve not failed, you haven’t lived.” Failing is one thing. Hanging on that failure and reliving it is another.

Now the big question is how do I adapt to save myself time. Do I start by turning my phone to silent? Before cell phones I managed to be connected – on a more personal level – can I do that again? Pick up the *gasp* phone and call someone instead of texting.

At work I don’t have any indications show up of new mail. I adopted, long ago, the practice of checking mail just three times a day: Morning, lunch and before I leave.  Perhaps I should use that same practice when it comes to the cell phone. I can be responsive, but not a slave.

Time it seems is the most challenging of currencies to leverage…and I act like it’ll always be available and always be free.

“This doesn’t mean “hurry.” This means “live.” Live in the way that suggests you know what time it is, with or without a watch. Because it’s your time. And that’s what matters while you still breathe. “

And at the end of the day, how can I use my time to add value to people after I’ve stopped breathing? What legacy do I want to leave?

Be brave with your time.