Time, its just time

86,400 seconds, 1,440 minutes, 24 hours. It seems like so much time, and yet it is just discreet moments. We sleep for an average of 7 hours of that day, 420 minutes. If we watch TV for simply an hour that is 60 more minutes never to be recovered. Money is easy, we make more of it on a daily basis if we work, we borrow from friends, or acquire through other means. But our time, that is a limited resource we obtain only from our health or the lord depending on your beliefs. What we do with it defines how we will be remembered.

When you quantify your day based on how much time you spend, it certainly puts things in perspective. Granted time in traffic can seem like a waste, when you spend an hour with red lights blaring in your eyes, smog seeping around your air conditioned car and frustration on all sides. Yet when we take that opportunity to take a pause from our crazy day and call a friend whom you have not spoken to in a few weeks or maybe a family member that has been on your list to call for an even longer time, which is not wasted time at all. It is all how we spend the time that has been granted to us. But this brings into sharp relief something much more pressing than how much time we spend watching television, in our car or even in the bathroom (yes you know who you are that spend more than an hour a day in there). We need to consider how we spend the better part of our day. Is it on small tactical projects that seem so important and even critical at the time, and yet do they really matter at the end of the day. Or did we spend our time working on some of the most important strategic things that are so important to ourselves, or family, or our job? I pose to you that when we really look at what we accomplish on a daily basis, a majority of our time is simply spent on keeping the status quo or on seemingly short term urgent requests. Next time when it seems like your entire day has gotten away from you and its not even 10am, think about if this is really something that is going to matter tomorrow and if your time would be better served working on something bigger. Just something to think about.

As for me this week has been agreeably a blur of work issues and some wonderful times with good friends. One of my friends took me out to a wonderful French restaurant in the city for an extended lunch. I don’t know if I have mentioned this before, but yet another benefit to the city is the numerous locales offering diverse delectable food selections. This restaurant was no exception, and in an exceedingly unpretentious way offered a wonderful lunch. Yes I realize I am going off on a single meal, but between the food and the company it was a high point for the week. Otherwise I actually got to a point where I am making some amount of impact at work and I am loving that. There is nothing better than feeling like you are actually accomplishing something.