Not a Single Minute to Lose. (or waste)

But is That Even True?

All Accounts we have.

When we come out of this world as a baby we all have 4 accounts opened for us.

• Money – From our first piggy bank, our savings account and our retirement funds.
• Stuff – House, cars, heirlooms, you name it.

The separating line means; In younger years we think more of the above -AND- the two below will definitely fall prey to entropy.
All your money and stuff might last for a few generations but your health and time will not.

• Health – Mind and Body.
  Our mind and body grow and develop for as long as we choose to continue becoming the whole human we are. We are never to old to learn new things.
• Time – This is our unpredictable Special account.

Every day we live We get 1440 minutes.
Non-refundable and not carried over into the next day.

Investing them wisely is the topic of this essay.

A Rather Normal Human Progression

In our 20’s to 50’s we learn about time.

• Time is money.
• You’re wasting your time.
• You must use every minute to earn money for someone who already earns much more then you do.
• Time is of the essence.
• Faster, higher, further.

Somewhere from 40’s to 60’s we start thinking…

• We begin thinking more about the bigger picture of life.
• We become familiar with the term Rat Race.
• We start realizing what we have missed out on.
• We look at all the stuff we’ve accumulated and wonder if that’s all there is.

The Thief of Our Modern Times

If time is our most precious resource, how can we allow it to be stolen?
Stolen from a company whos upper echolons earn more than we can fathom.
Stolen from streaming movies that seldom give us value.
Stolen from social media that earns from us and seldom gives back value to our short life.

Priorities vs Balance

In their great book Someday Is Today Matthew Dicks and Elysha Dicks make the case against procrastination by using the small slices of time we all have to be more productive.

Someday Is Today

The problem is that so many of us discount the value of minutes and overestimate the value of an hour or a day or a weekend.

Having read the book more than once I can recommend it for anyone trying to get past the idea of “I need at least an hour to follow my dreams.”
So this appears to support the notion that There is not a minute to lose.

Anyone who knows me or this site understands that Boredom, Slow Down, and stillness teach us the advantages of doing nothing at all.

Conclusion

It is absolutely true that writing in a short 10 minute waiting time can lead to finishing a story, whereas ignoring those 10 minute blocks will not.
The same is true for anything; practice the guitar in that down time of 5 minutes. Or whatever your poison is that you dream about becoming better at.

On the other hand;
Doing nothing purposefully, without distractions, advances mental and physical health.

In this essay I won’t come down on either side of the fence other than Priorities and Balance.
You want to write that novel, use the 10 minutes and dictate the draft on your phone.
You want to learn an instrument? 10 minutes of practice is better than waiting for a free hour.
In the end even meditation, Tai Chi and yoga are not a waste of time. Neither is one of my newest favorite passtimes; sitting without distractions in the garden, watching the animals, clouds and time pass away.

Thank you so much for reading / listening.
Let me know what you think in the comment section below.

Use your next 1440 minutes wisely.
~A.J~