2014 is well under way. The break is over, school is back (and even those of us who don’t have children are impacted by this) and life has returned to normal. With the pace picking up, I’ve noticed a few tell-tale signs of Time getting away from me and I’m not enjoying the all-too-familiar discomfort of it.

I used to wonder – does a few minutes doesn’t make much difference? A while ago I timed a traffic light at 45 seconds. Imagine, I live in the city and there are a lot of traffic lights. Add them all up at 45 seconds each and that’s a lot of Time!

When I’m late my internal inner critic berates me mercilessly. And I don’t enjoy the increasing sounds of impatience from those I’ve kept waiting. Everyone is being short changed.

Next comes a rising sense of panic and urgency as I try to make up for being late. Being rushed is not doing me any good and it certainly doesn’t put me in a calm place of being open to the experience I’ve rushed to get myself to.

I know my pattern and I want to interrupt it. No, more importantly I need to interrupt it. It is up to me now to do something differently and be consistent with it.

What new actions can I take? For a start I can:

• Be clear on my outcome and the Time-frame for it.
• Prepare well in advance; know where I’m going, how to get there and the part I play when I do arrive.
• Allow extra Time to arrive calm and focused.
• Set the scene with clear expectations when I arrive.
• Hold myself, and the other party, to that outcome.

When I own up to the fact that I am the Thief of Time I am in a position to make appropriate changes. By claiming back the lost minutes, I am calm and refreshed, I am present and I am in a better position to make a bigger difference to my world and the world I interact with.

 

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