Time is our most valuable resource, because while almost every resource has its limit, the length of time we have is incredibly measurable. Just look at a clock. Watch the seconds tick away, the minutes wander on and the hours fly on by. Time is visibly finite, because while we may not know the average agreed upon amount of gold that is currently in the world, we certainly know the average lifespan of a human. We probably know the longest any human has ever lived, we know how long it usually takes to get a college degree, and we certainly know that the amount of time we have is not guaranteed.
Life is made up of moments, and by acknowledging each moment we can capture, more and more, where our time actually goes. For instance, some of my time is being set aside to write this article, and whether it takes me 20 minutes or an hour, I spent my time, not only writing this article, but understanding why I am writing it in the first place.
In an article published by the “Greater Good Magazine” of Berkeley University, Stacy Kennelly states that you should “try to turn off your conscious thoughts and absorb positive feelings during a special moment, such as taking in a work of art. Studies of positive experiences indicate that people most enjoy themselves when they are totally absorbed in a task or moment.”
So again, taking the time to embrace each moment lived is important, for getting the most out of time spent, and for ensuring that you are more conscious of where your time is going. By understanding where you are devoting your time, you can better learn to allocate it towards activities that you feel would benefit you the most.
We know that we do not have all the time in the world, but we do have the ability to try and make it seem like we do. When we are productive, not busy but productive, we can make it seem we have done more in less time. Productivity can be achieved by maximizing your working time with background activities, one such example would be waiting for your laundry to be done while you type up your essay.
You could listen to an audiobook while you drive, or clean while you watch a movie, the goal being that you utilize your time to the fullest. Now, it is imperative not to stack things that won’t work together, or try to pair an activity that requires intense focus with another activity. Trying to write a research paper and also listening to an audiobook most likely won’t work, as one or both of the tasks will be done poorly.
It will most likely take you an average of three minutes, give or take, to read this article; by the end of it you will most likely either have the memory of it erased by the next article you read, or the overall content will fade from your memory as the day goes on anyway. What is asked is that you take the time to acknowledge each moment of every day. Even if you take a second to realize that you are still living the moment and not just on autopilot, then you would have taken something away from this article.
I do not know how long I will live — none of us do — which is why it is that much more important that we realize how valuable our time is. Companies and people pay for your time when you work, and when you pay for something, you ultimately paid partly for the time that went into that product or service.