There is never enough time.
1. Is that true?
YES!! It’s like time is my enemy.
2. Can you absolutely know that it is true?
No. When something unpleasant is happening, there is more than enough time. Ok, same side of the story. It just isn’t right for me. But can I absolutely know that there is never enough time? Can I know that I would be happier if there was enough time? Mmmh… No. I can’t know that I would be happier.
I feel sooo upset. Angry. Punished. Like a loser. I never get it all done. Overwhelmed. And I treat the people in my life as a nuisance, a disturbance. Boy, yes! I’m short with them. I don’t take time to talk to them. I brush them off. Seeing them as time drainers or stealers. Yikes!
I’m treating myself really badly too. Seeing myself as a loser for not getting more done. Getting so angry when I look up from my desk and it’s already much later than I thought! My thyroid hurts, my face is tense. My shoulders too. Grrrr…
Punished? Mmh, interesting. Yeah, it’s like I get short-changed by the universe. "You? You don’t deserve more time! You are a time waster! You better shape up first before we give you any more time!"
Oooh, and then I envy others who seem to be so productive and accomplish a lot. Separation. I try to find flaws in them.
Hah, and I end up being frozen in upset and get even less done. Like I throw in the towel and give up. Why even try?
l just took a deep breath. Wow – I would notice what’s around me. I lighten up. My tension loosens up immediately. I ease up. My negative self-talk melts. Yeah, I relax. The time issue loses importance. I almost giggle. Like "Boy, did I blow this out of proportion. Really wrapped up in a story." I come out of paralysis. Much better.
Turnarounds
There is always enough time.
Ok, I am not quite believing this turnaround, but I am definitely realizing that the original thought is not helping. Believing it, does not make me more productive. In fact, the opposite happens. So, it’s not a helpful thought to believe.
Now, let me try to actually go to the opposite.
- Well, there is always enough time to complain.
- There is always enough time to eat.
- There is always enough time to read email.
Hah! It’s all about priorities. Obviously, something else was more important. Or, secretely I don’t even want to get that stuff done. Mmmh, food for thought.
Filed under Self, Time, Work by on Apr 2nd, 2009. Comment. 
Leave a Comment
Comments on There is never enough time.
Hi Christine,
I know your blog is about Inquiry, but sometimes practicality can help, too.
Do you remember Giovanni praising a book by David Allen called Stress-Free Productivity? The book offers a very appealing way to organize one’s life AND REDUCE STRESS.
One key element is using lists (don’t go “Ugh!” just yet; read on) instead of one’s mind to keep track of things to do. It’s involved with the way the mind works. It doesn’t prioritize or recognize timeframes. It thinks it all has to be done now, and it keeps running over the lists to be sure nothing gets lost.
Of course, I don’t have time to implement fully Allen’s extensive system. (That’s a joke. On me, unfortunately.) But I do know that every time I make an Allen-type list about something, I feel a noticeable reduction in stress around that project, location or whatever I’ve listed.
For example, every time I walked into my living room I got furious at grandson Nick for leaving his dirty socks on the floor, his food dishes on the coffee table and so on. He’s such a pig. He’s so lazy. He doesn’t respect the effort I put into making this a nice home for both of us. Etc. Sound familiar?
Then I made a list of EVERYTHING I hated about the living room at that moment. It went on for a page and a half. Some things, like the empty cereal bowl or a dropped magazine, were so fixable it took longer to write them down than to take care of them. Others, like buying a new armchair or painting the accent wall that’s only primed because I never could decide on a color, will take a fair amount of time and/or money.
Once I’d had my list for a few days, I began to notice some things.
1. I feel NO stress when I walk into the room. My mind no longer frantically races around trying to remember everything I ever thought needed doing in there. Once in a while I spot something new to criticize, but it’s really quite low-stress to remember one thing until I can write it on my list.
2. Gradually, with no conscious effort from me, a few things from my list are getting done here and there. And it’s a big whoopie to cross something off. One theory says that putting something on a list sets one’s subconscious to working on it–try googling “43 things”.
3. Compared to the hated things I was responsible for, Nick’s were few in number, and tiny in terms of the time, effort and cost required. I’d been focusing on his speck of dust instead of my boulder. And suddenly I was picking up his dishes and socks without a thought or a twinge of stress, on autopilot. (After all, after 18 years, what are the chances I’m suddenly going to teach him to pick up after himself?) You know what Katie says about ‘Pick up your socks’ being her religion with her sons, until she asked the questions about it.
4. I’m not judging Nick’s character every time I walk into the room, thus ditching that negativity from my life and improving my relationship with him by that much. Both stress reducers.
So little is different but everything has changed.
I wonder if your stress about time might diminish if you implemented a few Allen-type steps?
Love, Nancy
Thank you, Nancy, for that reminder of the book by David Allen. I haven’t gotten around to reading it.
Ironic, eh? It’s not up for me much at the moment. This was a short outburst and doing that piece of Work really made a difference. I’m working on some other exciting stuff. So, stay tuned. 
Thanks again for sharing your experience. I love hearing what great impact the implementation of a few changes has had. It’s definitely a topic for me I have yet to REALLY look into. I’ve got the book on my shelf when it’s time for it.
Love,
Christine