Episode 77 - Time Poverty and Time Greed
Hello smart human!
I have a quote on time for you by a Famous Smart Human.
But before I go there, let’s talk about quotes, because they’re such a mess.
As in, the internet is amplifying posts about people saying things they never said.
So please, don’t be one of the people perpetuating the perpetuation of false quote attributions.
Thank you!
OK.
So, the Famous Smart Human I want to quote this week is, probably not surprising with a topic like Time, Einstein.
I found this super fun quote attributed to him:
“The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once.”
Very clever - but not Einstein (I know this thanks to the QuoteInvestigator website which, of course, I highly recommend, as well as the ‘Did Einstein Really say that’ article in Nature).
He did say, of course, that time is relative.
And I think that statement is pretty solid, even if you haven’t mastered the Theory of Relativity.
To make it more specific to what I want to talk about, I would say that
Our EXPERIENCE of time is relative.
So when it comes to time management (which in and of itself is a pretty ridiculous concept, but hey, I’ll take it for want of a better descriptor), this is another axis through which we can change the way with live with time for the better.
Wow - that was an insanely long sentence, let me rephrase that.
If you want to have a better relationship with time, then it’s a great idea to look at it not just from a quantity, but also from a quality perspective.
So, first of all, how IS your experience of time?
Do you feel constantly rushed?
Do you live in the realm of never enough time?
Are you constantly judging how you spend your time, and thinking you could or should be doing something better?
Then you’re probably experiencing Time Poverty and Time Greed.
You feel like there’s never enough, and you’re always hungry for more.
More time, so you can do more things.
Paradoxically, this in itself is enough to depreciate your experience - as in, decrease the quality of the time you have.
Your brain is stealing the present from you. The only time you really have.
Which correlates perfectly with how we experience time.
When we’re in flow, when we’re fully present, time seems to stand still. It’s almost as if we move outside it.
There are no longer any clocks ticking - there is just pure joy, presence, creativity, flow.
We experience an abundance of time by ‘clocking out’.
Time can also fly - whether because we’re having fun or because we’re hyper focusing and completely forget about the world around us. Or because we have a deadline.
And time can slow down in the most vexing way. Especially when we’re waiting for something not so fun.
Now let’s go back to time greed.
You want more time, so you can…do more things!
But when you do more things, it feels as if time flows…FASTER.
So in your experience, you have even less time.
Your brain is tricking you into thinking that if you had more time and did more things you’d feel better.
But it’s lying.
So what WILL make you feel better about your time?
Letting go of Time Greed and focusing on the experience instead of the amount.
Why do you want to have more time?
So you can do more things?
OK, why do you want to do more things?
Because I’m interested in so many things and can’t choose.
Why can’t you choose?
Because I have FOMO.
Aah…so there we have it.
You don’t lack time.
You suffer from FOMO - and that makes you feel very Time Poor.
This is great news, because FOMO can be cured whereas I cannot give you more time.
Want to learn the cure for FOMO?
It’s very simple.
And you’re going to hate it.
Pick a thing.
And do it.
It’s THAT simple.
If you’re in it, you don’t have time for FOMO.
And if you’re in FOMO - you really ARE wasting time.
Trust me, you wouldn’t be happier if, in addition to what you’re already doing you could also learn to play the accordion, speak Korean, master mosaics, invent self-darning socks and so on and so forth.
You’re confusing possibility with reality.
Yes, you could possibly do these things. And enjoy them very much.
But the enjoyment isn’t conditional upon the things.
You can just decide to enjoy yourself very much whilst you get to hang out on this planet.
Now that’s easy for me to say - but how do you actually apply this IRL?
It starts with awareness around quality time.
When do you enjoy your time the most?
What activities, people, places are involved?
And what about the opposite?
When do you have the worst time?
Start keeping a logbook noting down the quality of your time.
And once you have the data you can take the first steps towards redesigning your life so your present becomes incredibly time-rich - and so do you.
Take a good look at the exercise we did last week around spending time - and see whether you want to redecide and reallocate some time.
So that it flies, freezes, or slows down exactly when and how you want to.
Have a beautiful week,
Else a.k.a. Coach Kramer
Want to fall back in love with your life and work? I can help. DM me on LinkedIn, or Instagram to learn how you can work with me, or email me via podcast@elsekramer.com.
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