I am working on letting go a bit on the whole “time thing”—as someone who has been on a schedule for years—work, kids, volunteer projects, coaching sports teams, Girl Scout meetings, etc. I have stayed pretty connected to the clock. But, I’ve tucked my watches away in my jewelry box and I am trying to be more present without being chained to the clock.
My work does not require that I punch in certain hours, so I now have some flexibility there. Additionally, my children are much more self-managing so I am no longer responsible for getting them where they need to be at specific times. I’m trying to be less time-conscious and more present in the human interactions I do have—especially with my children.
At first, after tossing the cell phone and watch, I felt compelled to ask people all the time “Do you know the time?” But as I’m getting into it, I’m doing that less and less and loving it. I still get where I need to on time, but I feel myself really settling in to conversations with my children and lingering over dinner. How is it that a self-confessed scheduler and time monger can learn how to relax and let go of such time worries? I’ve always thought that my success as a single parent was directly tied to my ability to “manage time”—but, in reality, I wasn’t managing time, I was letting it manage me!
So, I don’t really know if YOU are too time conscious, but I certainly felt that I was, and that the time had come for me to start letting go of some of that. I still refuse to be late and manage to make it to movies and to catch buses on time, but it seems to come much easier now, just because I’m letting go. AND, my daughter commented last night at dinner that she was loving how “laid back” I was being: “I feel like I can really tell you about my day” she said and I realized that getting rid of the tight schedule was truly a grand blessing.
Also: Dinner Without the Kids and Without the Guilt
Sneaking Some “Me” Time Into Your Day