A surprisingly spiritual approach to time management
“There’s not enough time!”
I’ve been having some very interesting sessions with clients recently about their relationship with time. For many of us, it’s a pretty toxic relationship.
In fact, I’m becoming fascinated by the story that we each hold about time, and how that story affects our mood, our dreams and our actions.
Our perception of time is not ‘logical’ - e.g someone with objectively less time (due to multiple responsibilities, or older age, or a terminal illness) doesn’t necessarily FEEL more time-poor. Equally, a 22-year old with their life ahead of them doesn’t necessarily feel time-rich.
There seems to be two main narratives:
1/ “Time is against me. There’s never enough of it and I’m always running out of it. Time is a tyrant that rules my life.”
With this narrative, it can be difficult to stay present and enjoy the moment-to-moment experiences of our life - there’s always a time limit on each experience before you have to move to the next. It’s also common to feel paralysed by decisions - when time feels scarce, the pressure is on to make the exact right choice every time.
2/ “Time is on my side. It feels spacious. I have enough time to pursue my dreams.”
With this narrative (admittedly a rare one), it seems easier to go with the flow and enjoy the moment-by-moment experience of life.
So why do most of us feel that time is LACKING? I obviously don’t have a definite answer to that, but I’ve noticed four key factors in someone’s relationship with time:
People who have a belief (religious or spiritual) in something greater than themselves seem to be less worried about time running out. They seem to have more faith in a ‘cosmic order’.
Spending most of your time in a capitalist environment - corporate life, consumer society - amplifies the idea that time is short and you need to fill it with tasks / goals / possessions / whatever.
Getting crystal clear on your priorities and your core values means that you are more likely to spend time doing things that are aligned with your soul. This inevitably feels more abundant than grasping at any task or opportunity that comes your way because you don’t know what you want from life.
Check out where Saturn is in your birth chart (because I can’t have a conversation any more without talking about astrology). Saturn is the planet that rules our relationship with time and limits. Is Saturn in your astrological ‘house’ of work? Of love? Of money?
What do you think? Which of these four factors is hitting home for you?