So Many Books… So Little Time
Yesterday I picked up FOUR library holds that all came in at the same time. I figured I better get started right away! I dove into The Cartographers first (so far it’s a satisfying mystery.) I’m saving The Murder of Mr. Wickham for my upcoming trip to Chicago, since it’s a paperback, and therefore easier to carry. I’m looking forward to that one- I can never resist a Pride and Prejudice spinoff. Actually I’m looking forward to all of them, and I hope I can get them read before the library wants them back. I’m also reading this: and, aptly enough, this: I saw this book on Nicole’s blog. It’s not a typical time management or productivity book. Instead, it’s a philosophical examination of our relationship with time, and advice on how to live meaningfully with the time we have. I’ll admit I’ve only had enough time (ha ha! See what I did there?) to read the first chapter, but it has already provided a lot of food for thought. Burkeman contrasts our lives today to a medieval peasant working the land. In most ways their lives were not luxurious back then. But they did have one luxury we don’t- the freedom from that constant pressure of the clock ticking away. They would have no reason to hurry, or “save” time, or even think about time as a separate thing at all. They got up when it was light, did their work, and went to bed when it was dark. They milked the cows and harvested the crops when they were ready. There would be nu rush to get everything done, because their work would never be done, but instead continue on in endless cycles. Historians call this method of work “task orientation.” I wish my own work were more task-oriented and less time-oriented. I give either 60 or 90 minute massages, and I have to be very aware of the time. I can’t come out short or the client will feel like they didn’t get their money’s worth. But I can’t go over the time, because I have another client waiting. The goal of course is to get into a state of flow, and that’s challenging when you always have one eye on the clock. Yesterday I tried to imagine how my job could be task-oriented. What if I just finished every massage when it was done? If someone needed to relax, I would massage them until they were fully relaxed. If they had pain, I wold address the issue and work on it until it was resolved. Well, that wouldn’t work. How would my next client know when to show up? And if the person had somewhere to be afterwards, they wouldn’t know when they would be done. No, if we’re going to coordinate our schedules with other people, we have to work with the clock. So then I thought about what other areas of my life could be task oriented. I measure all my runs by miles, not time. On weekdays I’m usually loosely aware of the time, because I only have so much to devote to my workouts before I have to get my daughter to school and myself to work. But on my Sunday long runs, I don’t think about time at all. The only data I glance at are miles, and sometimes pace, although I’m not usually concerned with that. I’m either focused on the turnaround point, or completing a loop, or getting to my destination. It isn’t until the run is over that I (eventually) look at the time, but even then it usually doesn’t matter much to me. As long as I get home at some sort of reasonable time where my family won’t be calling the police, I’m good. In the book, Burkeman refers to these interludes as living in “deep time,” or, as he quotes writer Gary Eberle, “The clock does not stop… but we do not hear it ticking.” What a relief to be fully focused on a task and immersed in the present moment, and not think about time for a couple hours. Another activity where I don’t notice the passing of time is… reading. I never time my reading sessions (although maybe if I did, I’d be getting more sleep. But that’s another topic.) Running and reading are two pleasurable activities where I don’t hear the clock ticking. I need more of that in my life! I got all this from the first chapter of this book- I can’t wait to read the rest. Thanks as always to Kim and Zenaida for their Tuesday Topics linkup! Do you feel like your work (or your life) is task-oriented or time-oriented? Do you measure your runs by miles, or time? (or kilometers?)