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It’s About Time
by Rebekah King
Each new year, we take the time to review,
consider and count our days of 365. Always out
of time, I’m always thinking about time not just
during the New Year. They say time is money,
and I’m always out of that too. Ha! Maybe there
is a correlation?
Desiring to make my time work most
efficiently has become an interesting venture.
When you think about it, we all have the same
amount of time. Not the same amount of years,
but the same amount of time in each day. Within
the 24 span, we fill the hours in different ways
from our various careers, lifestyles and age
groups. Nonetheless it seems that time can be
divided into both professional and personal
categories from the responsibility of work, to the
recreation in free time, to the necessities in self–
care. In the 24 hours given, on average, we sleep
for a third, work a third and manage a third. If
only we didn’t have to sleep!
Seemingly time repeats itself over a lifetime.
Remember childhood days offering endless
hours to create, play, think, eat, sleep? Taking
FOREVER for birthdays and Christmas to arrive
and even longer for school days to wrap up, time
seemed to crawl. With little demands and no
dependents, time in childhood is—free!
From childhood days to career days which
normally include starting a family, the use of our
time changes. As relationships develop, we give
to others and once children arrive, time becomes
nonexistent. And the more dependents, the
more dependent they become on our time.
Involved in sports, youth groups, friends and
car lines, time is no longer our own as we give it
to those we love. As for homeschooling moms,
they are the busiest managing school, home,
life and even supplementing the income—they
rock! I know! Once I put my kids in school and
realized they accumulated a combined total of
25 teachers to replace my teaching—what an
unforgettable life moment! In caring for others,
our time is enriched, given, gone.
As our lives grow into “empty–nesters” with
the children gone, we find ourselves longing
for more time as they prepare to soar! A career
normally keeps time of these days as schedules
lighten to include travel, hobbies and catching
up on projects that got left behind in the rat race
of life.
Retirement years seem to bring us full circle
into freer schedules if not consumed with
doctor appointments to keep the ticker ticking.
Growing up in our retirement community, how
I love our retirees who exude such grace and
peace as they manage interesting lives. Grace
in having come through so much life that they
know everything is going to be OK! Peace in
knowing that they have saved responsibly for
the years ahead. And interesting as they get to
fill their days with whatever they choose. In
finding new freedom, the personalities carry
onward. Nature lovers may join a garden club,
conservation cause and most definitely a golf
course. Caretakers volunteer their time to a
local non-profit to share their gift that keeps on
giving. Social butterflies join book clubs, attend
concerts and frequent favorite shops. Closing
the day with friends in fine dining or in a quiet
evening at home, their time frees to personal
enjoyment and causes.
As I make my rounds in the marketplace, I
love catching up with the business owners who
carry pen and paper—notebooks, yellow legal
pads, whatever works—as they make a list and
check things off to manage their time.
Fundamentally lists include the following:
•Purpose. Find your purpose!
•Plan. Get a plan for the path.
•Prioritize. Mark the important and then
check them off.
•Pursue! With so many distractions, we must
focus in the pursuit of our dreams. Don’t just
talk—DO!
•Pressures. In the pursuit, we must handle
the pressures with reinforcements of self–care
in balancing work, rest, nutrition, exercise.
•Promise. Believe that in finding your
purpose, you will live the time of your life! There
is nothing more beautiful than that!
And just for fun, I thought I would interview
the beautiful ones to whom I give my time, the
most important ones with whom I am privileged
to share life. Unscripted, unplanned, I recorded
the free–flowing answers from my gift of six.
From my baby of eleven to my friend at fifty,
following are their musings shared.
WESLEY, 11 years old, Middle School.
Please finish this sentence. Time is? Time is
very special.
Any other thoughts? Time is money.
Does time go fast or slow? It’s a mix between.
Sometimes at school, it will go fast, and
sometimes it’ll go slow. When you are having
fun, it’ll go fast, but when it’s not fun, school will
go slow.
What do you like to do with your time? I like
to draw. I like to cook, play football and watch
YouTube.
How should we spend our time? We should
spend it wisely and live every day as if it’s our last.
Any new goals to conquer in 2020? I want to
get on the middle school football team.
Do you think it takes a long time to grow up?
It goes kind of fast.
What about waiting for your birthday?
Waiting for a birthday is slow.
And Christmas? Slow!
MATTHEW, 13 years old, Middle School.
Please finish this sentence. Time is? Never–
stopping!
Does time go slow or fast? Time goes fast
when you are having fun and slow when you are
in school—because it’s not fun!
How do you like to spend your time? Playing
football and video games.
What is an important investment of your
time? Probably school.
Do you feel that you run out of time or have
enough each day? I run out.
In 2020, how would you like to spend your
time? To get more athletic and to work out.
How do Seniors spend their time? Probably
on their kids and grandkids.
NICOLAS, age 16, Dual enrollment student.
What is your definition of time? Time is a
thing that people take for granted and waste.
Time is something you think you have a lot of
until you actually think about how little you
have. When you realize how little time you have,
then you stop taking it for granted.
Do you have enough time each day? I don’t
have very much time, because I have so many
things to do. However time goes by at different
speeds. If I am doing something I really enjoy,
then it goes by super fast. But if I am doing
something I don’t enjoy, then it goes by really
slow.
Outside of school how do you dedicate your
time? I try to dedicate my extra time to bettering
myself. I work out, do art and learn guitar.
Basically I try to better myself so that I can
become a better adult when I get older.
Time is? Time is a gift.
BENJAMIN, age18, SCC student.
Please finish this sentence. Time is…
Constant.
Do you feel that time goes fast or slow? It
depends. Sometimes time goes really fast. Other
times, it feels like it is going super slow. Like if
you are waiting on something it feels like it goes
super slow. But when you look back, it feels like
it went super fast.
At the end of the day, do you run out of time?
I have enough time.
What are important things in which to invest
your time? Relationships like family, friends,
responsibilities. Hobbies that make you creative
and things that make you happy.
What are your favorite ways to spend time?
Art, music, hanging out with friends, watching
movies—things like that.
Any New Year’s Resolutions to manage your
time better? Yes, to make sure my time is used
wisely, like quality over quantity.
“Time is constant,” — any thoughts? You’ll
never get back the time you’ve spent, so make
sure you’ve spent it wisely. But then also don’t
waste more time thinking about time you’ve
already wasted. Don’t dwell on the past or past
mistakes, just keep moving forward. You can
make up with more time, but you cannot go
back and change the time you’ve already had.
How do you bring this into focus? Time is
valuable.
JONATHAN, age 20, UNC student.
How do you define time? I would define
time as finite and money. Time is precious. So
many people, especially in my generation and
younger, like to waste time on entertainment.
If we spent more time devoting ourselves to
personal development, then the world would be
a much better place. The most successful people
are the ones who devote time to bettering
themselves, to learning and gaining knowledge.
Look at the millionaires; they spend time
reading every single day. If you aren’t learning
and aren’t growing, then you really aren’t doing
anything. Devoting your time to learning every
single day adds up to the big picture, but it takes
little steps. Spend your time wisely each day.
I like to set goals, write them down on paper
and then accomplish those goals. I also set goals
for the future. Time is a measure and a number,
but it is very limited. I would say to use it wisely.
We have so much more potential than we use.
At 20 years old, do you have enough time? I
feel like I never have enough time; there is always
something I should be learning. I wish I didn’t
have to sleep. With school, I feel students don’t
manage their time well, and that is why they
struggle. If we could manage our time better,
then we could accomplish more. I try to use my
time wisely, but it is very easy to get distracted
with phones and technology. Not only do you
have to set time for your goals, but you also have
No. 137 The Pinehurst Gazette, Inc. p.3