I have the pleasure of announcing a trio of guest posts while I am stateside for a much-needed visit home. If the idea of writing a guest post for Love, Rose tickles your fancy, send me a note! This post is by Tara Agacayak, the problem-solving project designer at Turquoise Poppy.
If you haven’t already noticed, Rose is very productive. In fact, I think she’s one of the most prolific people I know. She gets more done in an hour than I do in a month.
At the transition of each new year, I pick three things I want to bring in to my life and three things I want to remove from my life. One of the things I picked to bring in this year was productivity – I want to make better use of my time in 2011.
Speaking of time and three things – I recently listened to Nicholas Carr share three technologies that have changed our brains. He explains:
“Before the mechanical clock came along, people experienced time as a natural flow to the extent that they measured it by watching the stars or the moon or the sun – things that emphasized the natural flow of time. As soon as you introduced the mechanical clock you get a radically different view of time. Suddenly it’s not a flow, it’s a series of precise, discreetly measurable units – seconds, minutes, hours and so forth.”
If it is possible to have a radically different view of time, then what other views of it can we create that aren’t precise and discreetly measurable? If time is not fixed, but malleable, how can we shape it to our advantage? How do we formulate an alternative way to perceive time’s passing? Can we slow it down? Speed it up? Can we control how much time we have in an effort to make ourselves more productive?
While practicing yoga at home one morning, I found myself racing through various poses by counting out time in seconds. But it occurred to me that was counterproductive to the whole idea of why I do yoga, so I was moved to count breaths instead as I held myself in vrksasana.
Aha, I thought to myself, the trick is to dive deeper into each moment vertically instead of counting the minutes horizontally.
Do you know of any other ways to experience time?
I’m hoping that by reframing my time conundrum I’ll be able to realize the second thing I want to bring into my life in 2011 – a way to be more effective. To find out the third thing, check back with me in a year. For now, I’d be grateful to know of any creative ways you use to mark time’s passing.