Time Management is a concern for most people these days. Searching the internet will produce many articles with wonderful tips and helpful hints on how to manage time. After reading them, I began to consider our belief systems about time. Can time really be managed?
David Cameron, in A Happy Pocketful of Money, explores the topic of time and what quantum physicists have to say about the nature of it. In his theory of relativity, Albert Einstein proved that time is relative and that time as we have defined it – consistent fixed increments that can be divided into past, present and future – does not really exist. He says “the distinction between past, present and future is only an illusion, however persistent.” Ok, so if time is not comprised of consistent fixed increments, then what is it? Well, Cameron explains time as “the moving of your consciousness past pre-existing events in the space-time continuum.”
What?!?!? Quantum physics says that everthing that exists is energy. That means that our bodies, our thoughts, our emotions, and everything in our material world is energy. In fact, we literally live in a sea of energy. Imagine the ocean with its warm spots, cold spots, turbulent spots and currents. Water molecules are continually flowing in and out of those areas, but they maintain their characteristic warmth or coldness or turbulence or current. This is how we look at the quantum level. We are all energy, flowing in and out, fully connected together and yet maintaining our individual essences. So if we are constantly moving energy, then the field of life is not static and our consciousness is not moving at a fixed speed. Time is created in the mind. Our perception of time is based on our consciousness. The more expanded our consciousness is, the more expanded our perception of time becomes. Hung Tzu-ch’eng says “whether time is long or short, and whether space is broad or narrow, depends upon the mind. Those whose minds are at leisure can feel one day as a millennium, and those whose thoughts are expansive can perceive a small house to be as spacious as the universe.” I have experienced this often. As a therapist, I work with guided imagery, hypnosis and other modalities that deeply relax a person and allow their consciousness to expand. In that expanded state, five minutes can feel like an entire hour and an hour can feel like it passed in the blink of an eye. Albert Einstein explained relativity of time this way: “When you sit with a nice girl for two hours, you think it’s only a minute. But when you sit on a hot stove for a minute, you think it’s two hours. That’s relativity.”
The fact that time is created in our mind is really wonderful information to have. We are the creators of our reality and so what we believe is what we create. Do you feel as if you don’t have enough time to do the things you want and need to get done? Well, if you believe it, then it is true. When you think, speak and act on the belief that there is not enough time, then you are making your consciousness smaller and slower and you will experience what you believe to be true.
After exploring the nature of time, it seems that “time management” is really about “thought management”. In order to expand consciousness and experience more time to do the things you desire to accomplish, try the following things:
1. Affirm to yourself regularly that there is plenty of time for everything.
2. Stop the mental chatter and worry about “not enough time” as soon as it begins.
3. Take 3 deep abdominal breaths at the first sign of worry about time.
4. Be grateful for and enjoy the present moment.
5. Create a regular time to relax the mind and expand consciousness for 10 minutes at least once a day. If you have difficulty quieting the mental chatter, the easiest way to relax the mind is to focus. So, pick your favorite relaxing memory and focus on it in detail using all of your physical senses – what do you see, hear, feel, smell and taste?
6. Create a list of your 6 most important things to do or create under the heading “I have plenty of time to complete the following”.
7. As you begin each task on your list, take 15 seconds and visualize how good it will feel to have it completed and feel the good feeling.
Melanie Yost LCSW, CCA
Business Mindset Coach
