Time Confetti And The Broken Promise Of Leisure

Ashley Whillans has written a nice article on importance of time. Following is my reflection on it:

When my mind is divided between two cognitive polls like I want to do something leisurely and enjoyable such as reading a book and checking important email messages I feel trapped by time and feel time poverty. When I do something which I enjoy doing without technological interruptions and technological invasions I feel time affluence, a relaxed, gratifying and joyful state of mind. When my time is fragmented by two demanding tasks, I feel stressed out and not satisfied with either of the two tasks. Time confetti fragments the time of leisure, peacefulness and restfulness. Technology saves time but at the same time takes time away. It's like I have saved time but also I have lost time. Gain and loss at the same time! This is indeed the autonomy paradox.

Good life is choice making. I use discretion when it comes to spending my time. I do not make every situation urgent unless it is really urgent. I have intentionally and wisely broken habitual patterns of automatically and mindlessly responding to tempting and distracting stimuli. It takes time to disengage from the grip of time confetti. I maintain a balance between demanding work and leisurely play. This is an ongoing process.

As Ashley Whillans says, " Working toward time affluence is about recognizing and overcoming the time traps in our lives." It amounts to controlling impulses that captivate my mind. It means cultivating the virtue of wisdom and the virtue of patience leading to wise choices and wise actions.
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Namaste!