Coauthored by: Dr. Desi Richter & Dr. Alison Miller
Do you feel like you’re in a race against time? Trying to get as much done as you can, rushing through your day? Many of us have a transactional relationship with time, treating it as we do money, or other types of tangible resources. It’s true that time is one of our most valuable resources, but a fixation with how to use time wisely may not serve us as well as we think, especially if we are hyper-focused on quickly completing tasks.
In an effort to “use time wisely,” we can inadvertently create an unhealthy relationship with time, one in which we are not actually present with ourselves and the tasks we are attempting to complete. We may attempt to use time wisely by outlining our tasks . . . and then rushing through them at breakneck speed. When we rush, we get mentally ahead of ourselves and lose connection with the present moment — where the work actually happens. When we rush, we tend to waste time on scattered, reactive work.
Slow Down to Use Time Wisely
Instead of trying to squeeze more out of time, what if we learned to work with it? What if, to actually use time wisely, we need to embrace a paradox? The paradox is that slowing down is often a more efficient way to work. Why is slowing down often more effective? Slowing down is more effective because it allows us to come into fuller contact with our work. Out of this full contact, we gain awareness of the work we need to do, and we can actually make progress on it in the time we have. Slowing down also allows us to work more sustainably. Instead of working in starts and stops and burning out, we can use our time wisely over the long haul by working at a pace that matches our internal rhythms and amount of energy.
Why Should We Slow Down?
In addition to the above benefits, slowing down helps us by changing our relationship to time and creating more usable time. Here are reasons we should slow down.
1. Slowing Down Changes our Relationship with Time
We all have 24 hours in a day, but how we experience time depends on our mindset.
When we feel rushed, we tend to waste time on scattered, reactive work. Our relationship to time becomes warped, and we feel a constant sense of stress and of not being enough to meet the demands of our days. However, when we slow down and show up in a wise way, we can change our relationship with time. When we slow down, we’re able to savor the time we have to work on a task, much in the way that slowing down allows us to enjoy a really good meal. We are also better able to prioritize tasks when we relate to time out of a renewed relationship with it. Relating to time from the stance of rushing leads us to think we can accomplish more than we actually can. However, when we really accept that we only have a certain amount of time in which to show up, we tend to prioritize our work and appreciate it more. Aim to think of time as something we are gifted instead of something we “spend.” Shifting this mindset clears the space for us to relate to ourselves and our work, from a stance of gratitude.
2. Presence Creates More Usable Time
If we are constantly thinking about the next thing on our to-do list, we miss the value of the current moment. Writing, thinking, and deep work require arrival— more fully bringing ourselves into the moment we’re in. When we slow down and are fully present, we are more likely to bring our full capacity to bear. We experience the time as more usable because we are thinking clearly and calmly about our work. Less anxiety leads to a sense that the time is “stretching” as we move through each moment with purpose and a clear process for our tasks.
3. Slowing Down is not a Waste of Time: It’s a Power Move
To slow down and actually use time wisely is a powerful countercultural move. It is important to recognize that the pressure to go faster comes from a productivity-obsessed culture. Hustle culture demands that we produce more and more and move quicker and quicker to do so. In this culture, being tired is a badge of honor. We need to recognize that true productivity isn’t about speed; it’s about effective engagement. Slowing down doesn’t mean working less, but it does mean that we work with focus and intention. At times, we may need to advocate for this way of working, even if it’s just within our own thinking.
How to Slow Down and Use Time Wisely
As much as we may believe in the power of slowing down to actually use time wisely, slowing down is a practice. As such, we need ways to prime our minds and bodies for this type of work. In other words, we need to practice slowing down.
This short exercise, “Arriving in the Present Moment” will help you slow down and make direct contact with the time available to you. Use this exercise each time you are preparing to work so that you can embrace your work with the wisdom that arises from slowing down.
Arriving in the Present Moment
Step 1: Pause & Notice
Close your eyes for 10 seconds and take a deep breath.
Notice: How does time feel right now? Rushed? Scattered? Open? Tense?
Step 2: Shift into Presence
Bring your attention to the next 5 minutes—not the whole day, not the whole session, just this next small window of time.
Ask yourself: What would it mean to fully use these next few minutes?
Step 3: Set an Intention
Out of your answer to that question, frame an intention for your work session.
For example, you might say, “I will show up for this moment and trust that the next moment will take care of itself.
Step 4: Begin with Clarity
Before diving into work, take 30 seconds to write down one clear focus for this session.
This is about choosing how to use the resource of time, rather than letting time control you.
Step 5: Check in Regularly
It’s About Time to Work Wisely
The race against time is not won by sprinting, and in fact, the less we think of our relationship with time as a race, the more we can stop trying to “outrun” it.
As we meet each moment of our workday with presence, we begin to unwind the sense that time is our enemy. This is the true wisdom of using time wisely. We begin to use time wisely when we shift our mindset and meet it with presence, much like a friend. Whatever time you have set aside for your work, remember to greet it with a wise mindset: Time is here for you, and you are here for your work.
Don’t you think it’s high time we shed the efficiency-takes-all approach to work and settle into a healthier relationship with time — one that honors ourselves, our work, and the precious gift that time actually is?
Let’s stop trying to “use” time wisely, and instead inhabit our time with our complete presence.
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