Time is much maligned as the demon we can’t escape, or the cruel master that rules us. I have a very different attitude towards time, which I strongly suggest you adopt in building a successful daily studio practice, which is what this 30 consecutive days of posts will address.
Let’s reframe our thinking about time. It is constant, unchanging, reliably calibrated and unassailable. It cannot be saved for later. It cannot deceive you or betray you, any more than it can bend to your will. Accept it and revel in it and learn the following phrase:
“It’s not a priority.”
Don’t say “I don’t have time to– (exercise, cook, sleep, finish what I started, clean house, return emails and phone calls).” Please realize that you have choices and you must make them with intention and authority. Your time is measured (I did not say ‘limited’!!) and it must be used with consideration. Make your intentions clear to others and to yourself.
“I would like to volunteer at my kid’s school, but right now it’s not a priority.”
“I could work out 6 days a week, but I value spending that hour every other day just reading and journaling.”
“I can’t help you with your work right now, my schedule is full.”
And the best response to anything you really never want to do? “No, thanks, I won’t be doing that.”
Spend no more of your precious time lamenting you don’t have more of it.
