Time and Energy

Our lives are very structured and organized around time to the extent that it is considered one of our most precious assets. The cyclic nature of planetary orbit and our biological adaptations to this environment give rise to a sense of time and timing. Our brains have developed a biologic clock manifested in circadian rhythms as well as mechanisms of timing and time measurement along with memory formation which create a historical record of event sequence. We have created and discovered increasingly accurate forms of measuring time and imposed a sense of order on our activities by organizing them around timekeeping. The existence of time seems obvious and unquestionable, yet theoretical physics includes some debate as to the true nature and existence of time.

Scientific understanding of time was upended by the theory of relativity. The fact that time could be experienced differently by people depending on their speed and location, and that time elapsed can be different based on these factors has been supported by experimental evidence and the theory remains an accepted description of nature in the universe. Emotional context and data processing by the brain can also alter the subjective experience of time passage. Sometimes time seems to pass quickly and other times is passes slowly, depending on the situation. Sometimes we even experience life events that seem to transcend the passage of time, and time becomes irrelevant, beyond awareness and seemingly unimportant. It is now debated whether time is in fact a construct without true existence in nature, simply accepted as a way of organizing and contextualizing our activities and our movements in space. Whether time exists in nature as an independent entity does not remove it from our consciousness or our lives. How we spend this entity strongly influences the perceived quality of our lives and our sense of well being and happiness.

We all know that we are born, we live, and eventually we will die. We do not know when or how the end will come. We don’t know how long we will be here but we make judgments and decisions about how we conduct ourselves based on our expectations. We reasonably estimate our longevity by factors such as the average lifespan of people in general, and more specifically people in our vicinity and in our family that share our gene pool. We make judgments based on factors such as the safety and security of our society that correlate with longer lives. We make estimates based on our lifestyle and behavior associated with health or disease. We factor in hopes and fears as well. Many people prefer not to even consider their personal mortality at all. They are simply alive and they act as best they can to optimize their living situation and cope with the challenges they face directly. Some people feel they have no influence over events and are simply innocent bystanders, reacting to outside forces that determine everything. In any case, our activities are to a great extent governed by time measurement. Managing time becomes a critical skill to improving your life and relieving stress, strain and suffering.

Energy is another precious asset and exists in limited quantity for our personal expenditure. These limits on our time and energy force us to choose how and where to spend these resources. In order to survive, we need to convert our time and energy into tangible assets that meet our needs for food, shelter, safety and human connection. Obviously, the more of our time and energy that is required to meet these basic needs, the less that is left over for other pursuits. Time therefore becomes more abundant to spend if we can reduce our needs or we can generate more assets. Emotional control and self regulation help us to reduce our needs for comfort and luxury. The ability to reject comparison with others is a big part of finding the emotional strength to reduce needs and expenses. Investing in yourself to enhance earning potential is the other major factor in meeting economic needs more easily. This allows for more freedom to spend time on increased income generation for other purposes. Investing in your health through good nutrition, regular exercise, quality sleep, adequate rest, and increasing emotional drive and engagement is the simple formula to enhancing energy which can translate into more free time by increasing productive efficiency.

As we live, we encounter obligations and expectations which sometimes increase without much willful choice. Family life, school, higher education or training, jobs and careers, relationships and family formation, economic needs, health problems, misfortune. They can become overwhelming and leave us with little sense of power or freedom to spend time as we might otherwise choose. Even when these obligations are created by our own choices, they can still become excessive and leave little room for personal growth, development, or simply adequate time for rest, recovery and entertainment. Setting your priorities and focusing your best efforts on the top priorities is critical to effective time management. Simplifying the priorities, reducing and narrowing the list as much as possible is helpful. Use your values to guide your priority setting process. Develop your sense of purpose to refine it. If you can use your best time and energy on the priorities that line up with your values and purpose, you will feel more in control and more free to allocate time as you see fit. This will also help you to consider carefully any time and energy commitments that do not align with your goals and priorities. It will help you to say no when necessary and avoid taking on too much obligation which will relieve some stress and reduce the risk of emotional exhaustion.

If you are facing setbacks that take the form of a mountain, blocking out the ability to see any light or focus on anything beyond the immediate, form a plan for climbing that mountain. The sooner you can surmount the difficult task, the sooner you can move on to other things that you would prefer to spend time on. Sometimes the mountain takes years to climb, such as getting out of debt, recovering from physical or emotional trauma, overcoming addiction or even completing a training program. Even so, the time will pass regardless, so you might as well be working on overcoming your obstacles. After time passes you can either look back and see how far you have come, or you can be in the same situation, not having made a plan or spent any time or energy on solving or overcoming the problem. Even while most of your time and energy are consumed with tackling problems or overcoming obstacles, try to take a bit of time for something good. Develop a goal, hobby or other means of finding enjoyment in life along the way. Try to find a way to appreciate the journey you are on and acknowledge your growth and progress. Forgive yourself when you don’t live up to your own expectations and try again the next day. Time is limited and energy fades, all we can do is strive on, untiringly.