Nancy J. Miller, M.S. Creative LifeWork Design

Time can feel illusive. Five minutes seems like an eternity when doing work that is boring. When I had a filing job many years ago, I would look up at the clock, and I was shocked that only three minutes had passed. When I am doing the counseling and coaching work that I love, an hour feels like five minutes. I need to monitor my time while doing something I enjoy, or time can get away from me.

I like to read stories about time travel. Dr. Who is my favorite time traveler. He can magically go to different times and places of his choosing in his TARDIS (blue phone booth), unless something interrupts his time travel, and he ends up somewhere unexpected. While watching the time traveler, I see time in a spiral rather than a line. Reminds me of how God is not constrained to time as we are. He can be everywhere all at once. We mark time on clocks, at least in western culture, to set our timetables so we can be on time. Time moves freely through space while we try to capture it, but there is never enough.

Being on time, for someone like me with time fluidity, can easily feel like I am in my own time zone. In order to be on time, I need to watch the rascal time on a device like my phone or watch to catch the time thief. I you are still following me; you probably also suffer from time fluidity where time feels more like a swiftly running river than a peaceful stream.

There are many reasons being on time can be difficult.

• Getting so wrapped up doing something I enjoy, like writing, that I need to constantly check the time disrupting my focus on the thing I want to do.
• Indulging on working on something I need to get done in the hour before I need to go somewhere.
• Feeling like what I am doing is so important, like a creative idea, being motivated, or having energy, and afraid I will lose the magic moment.
• Thinking I can do one more thing before the activity I need to be on time for.
• Not having a regular schedule.
• Getting addicted to the adrenaline from rushing to meet a timeline.
• Planning more things to do than time allows.

Strategies for managing time.

• Think about or write down a regular getting ready routine and how long it takes.
• Have an accessible easy to use schedular for dates, times, and notes.
• Write down the time 30 minutes earlier than the actual time (and also the real time). Visualizing the 30 minutes earlier, can help time management even with the awareness of the actual time.
• Allow an extra 15 minutes for unexpected things to come up.
• Get a grasp on time by being in the moment, paying attention to what you are doing, how long it takes, and what needs to be done next.

Can you relate? Or do you know someone who is struggling with time? Nancy J. Miller is a supportive Life Coach who can provide strategies and accountability for bringing energy and motivation into coaching sessions to help you design the life you desire.