Time for Navigation
“How trivial the things we chase, and how little time we have to chase them.” — Marcus Aurelius
The Obstacle
Time is fixed. We don’t get to make more of it. None of us do. Every day shows up with things we have to do, things we choose to do, and things we don’t want to do but have to do anyway. The real problem is how much time gets wasted on things that don’t matter — the scrolling, the noise, the habits that eat minutes and turn them into hours. We move through the day without asking: Does this matter? Will this matter at the end of the day, the end of the year, or the end of our lives? Most of the time, the honest answer is no.
The Gift and Opportunity
We get to navigate our time, we set the course and fly the plane. At any point in the day, we can stop and ask ourselves if what we’re doing is important. We can choose not to look at our screens. We can choose not to bring them to dinner, not to replace the conversations with our kids, partners, parents, and friends. We can choose not to be distracted by things that won’t matter at the end of the day. We can replace all of that with something that will matter — a conversation, workout, meal, or task. Simply doing something that adds value to the day, the year, or our life will matter far more than killing time. Time is what we will all want back at the end of life, why would we choose to kill it now? We get to choose where our time goes, and when we choose well we will create something that matters and become closer to the person we want to be.
The Practice of Self-Mastery
Ask throughout the day with any task you are doing: Does this matter?
If it doesn’t matter, stop doing it and replace it with something that does.
Keep the things that matter at the top of the list, and keep that list very short.
Give real time and attention to the people who matter.
End the day by asking: Did what I do matter?
