Do you feel it too? Rush hour, all day long, hurrying from one appointment to the next from one task to the next, and in between checking social media for the latest news. Oh, one friend is enjoying lunch in a tropical place, another one is planning to go to a concert next weekend, and there is another stupid action from a politician.
Yesterday I was rushing to an appointment around the corner, skin therapy for a nasty scar. While I was already there, running up the stairs, I suddenly realized that I was an hour early! It took me a minute to relax and to realize, that I had one hour extra. It felt like a gift!
I love my work, so I went back to the office, in a very good mood. I could enjoy much more what I was doing. And somehow, in that good mood, I was very productive too.
“Being busy is the inability to make choices.” (Tony Crabbe, psychologist)
It’s hip to be busy all the time. You are seen as looser if you just walk around doing nothing.
Well, doing nothing is actually often very productive. It gives you the chance to re-charge your battery, or to look at a problem from a different angle, or to observe other people, or to think about what’s really important to you. It gives you time for reflection.
All artists need reflection time. That’s why we all should give us that one hour extra per day.
Instead of running back to the office, even if it was in a relaxed mood, I might have spent that extra hour more useful in slowing down even more, taking the extra time for some reflection. That reflection could have told me what is important to me. Knowing what is important helps to make the right choices. It also helps to slow down, to be less busy all the time. Thinking about it, I realize that social media aren’t that important to me.
What would you do with one hour extra today?