Lao Tzu explains the nature of time
You don't have time, you take it. Everyone has experienced not having time for something they would like to do because of all the appointments. But somehow we manage to schedule all the appointments so that we end up having time for the important things.
"Time is a created thing. To say, 'I don't have time,' is like saying, 'I don't want to.
- Lao Tzu
If something is really important to us, then we manage to free up time for it. Of course, this is very easy to say and very difficult to put into practice. It depends, as with most things, on the circumstances. The circumstances in this case would be:
How many appointments or commitments do I have? For each of us, the amount of commitments varies. The older we get, the more it seems that appointments pile up. As long as you're a kid, you don't have much to do besides school and one dentist appointment a year. As we get older, however, more and more obligations creep in. So, in addition to the annual dentist appointment, there is a check-up at the dermatologist, the car needs a new MOT or has to be deregistered, we have to go on a professional training, a distant relative has died and we have to go to the funeral, the old mobile phone contract is no longer up to date and we have to look for a new one...
As you can see, the number of appointments that accumulate can quickly overwhelm you. However, it is important to keep in mind that not all appointments have the same significance.
How important are these commitments? This question inevitably follows when we are aware of our appointments and want to structure them as well as possible. Not every appointment is equally important as the other, some can be postponed some not. For example, the funeral of the distant relative has a fixed date, the choice of a new mobile phone contract does not.
So if we have our appointments sorted by importance and urgency, we already have a much better framework to work with.
By asking the two questions above and then answering and restructuring them, we have created time. Sure, you could also argue that we didn't create the time, we just pushed back a few of our deadlines. However, it is also important to note that tomorrow is never guaranteed and the commitments we have pushed back may never happen. In conclusion, the time we have freed up for the appointment we are looking forward to is time we might otherwise never have had. That is, we have created the time for this event.
Do you already know...
...Parkinson's Law? This says that tasks need as much time as we allocate to them. Maybe you know this too: A project is coming up. Deadline: 30 days. Time needed... 30 days. Whereas you effectively only worked on it for 3 or 4 days. Take advantage of this in your scheduling and don't give tasks more time than absolutely necessary.
So remember, if you really want something, you can take the time to do it. The world won't end because of it. And with a little planning, you'll be able to create fulfilling days. With things that are important to you - be it errands, meetings with great people or some relaxation from everyday life.
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