The assignment is simple: do the math. 

First, make a list of the things you need to do each day in order to “be” well and “do” well. “Being” well means sleeping, eating, socializing, attending to hygiene, exercising, and finding time to do nothing. “Doing” well means fully engaging in your work. 

Second, write a period of time next to each task: eight hours for sleeping, one hour for eating, etc.

Third, do the math: add up the time allotted for what you need to do and subtract that number from the number of hours in a single day: twenty-four.

The math nearly always reveals a significant problem: there is not enough time in your day to do the things you need to “be” well and “do” well. The life we want to live – believe we need to live – is not possible.

Enter – stress, anxiety, and frustration. All the forces that impair our living and send us into a negative spiral of falling behind by trying to do too much. Whenever I teach this lesson, I am struck by the positive reaction that comes from two things: one, the collective acknowledgement that we are not the only ones losing in our race against time; two, the calm that fills the room as everyone goes about the final step of the assignment – adjusting the times until the total is twenty-four or less.

There is something about a feasible plan that loves improvisation. Planning a day scripted to the minute is the assignment, but it is not the goal. The goal is to befriend time by seeing it as a tool for being present. A schedule gives me permission to sleep deeply, to taste my food, to enjoy my friends and family, to feel the strength from exercising my body, to find interest in my work, and to experience the relief of the quiet space afforded by doing nothing.

Jazz is created by arranging chords, melodies and rhythms into units called songs that are played in time. A timed structure like the twelve-bar-blues gives space for the free expression through improvisation. Likewise, a schedule that fits within a day invites each of us to live deeply, riffing our own way forward.

Time does not want us to race. Time is not measuring our progress. Time is reminding us when to begin and providing a limit so we can dive deep enough to experience value. Time is offering to help us be successful. 

I wish there were more than twenty-four hours in a day. But – I think – that wish for more is also time letting me know that I am on the right path, which means it is okay to slow down. 

Peace,

Chris