Following the publication of several articles related to time optimization, I have received many emails from readers telling me their impressions of what they have read. I am aware that some of the ideas that I have shared with you, mainly those of Steve Pavlina, are quite radical.
Some reader has commented to me that when reading certain articles she has felt that she was wasting time in some facets of her life. Personally I think it is a conceptual problem. From my point of view the main difference between wasting time and wasting it is the degree of awareness you have about the use of your time.
When you waste time you are not aware that you are wasting it. Laying on the couch zapping without being aware of what you are seeing is wasting time. However, if we consciously decide to spend 2 or 3 hours watching a good movie or series, then we are taking advantage of the time. If the movie ends and you didn't like it at all, then you've wasted your time. You could have "well spent" that time watching a better movie..
I like to use examples related to cinema and reading as I love doing both. I am aware that even if I watch a movie a day and read a book a day from today, I will have days in my life to reach even 1% of the number of books and movies in the world. Have you ever stopped to think that? That's why I feel so bad watching a bad movie or reading a bad book.
Wasting time
Wasting time and wasting it is an internal thing. As I have commented before, it depends on the degree of consciousness of each person. Two friends may be in a bar having a beer and one may be wasting time and the other wasting it. One of them still has his head in the problems at work. He is not enjoying the present moment and for that reason he is wasting time at the bar.
The other, on the other hand, consciously wanted to enjoy a couple of hours that he had free to have a beer and have a laugh with his friend, however his friend seems to be absent and with his head elsewhere.. This is the one who wastes time. This does not mean that listening to a friend's problems is a waste of time, quite the contrary..
If your friend is aware that he is telling you about his problems and you have decided to meet him to listen to him and try to help him, then you are both doing something positive. If an external observer contemplated both situations, he would not find any difference. The difference is found within each of the friends. It is a mental attitude and therefore it is not observable.
You don't waste time when you stop doing something productive. You waste time when you are not aware of the present moment. Life is not reduced to producing, working and studying. There must be a time for everything. There is nothing wrong with wasting time, we all make mistakes and that helps us make better decisions in the future. If I read a book that I didn't like, I probably won't read a book by the same author again. What you cannot and should not allow yourself is to waste time. When you waste time you are losing consciousness and that is the exact opposite of personal growth and development..
A few years ago I saw an Adam Sandler movie called "Click." It is not one of my favorite films far from it. However, there is one scene that makes the entire movie worth watching. Basically the plot focuses on the protagonist receiving a remote control in which he can rewind or advance within his own life. In this way, if you are informed that you will have a promotion at work within 2 years, you would automatically press the knob 2 years forward until you were at the time of the promotion..
So far everything perfect and very funny. However, the film begins to become a drama when the protagonist realizes that every time he used the remote control to move forward, he lost consciousness and the memories of the part of his life that has advanced. It really is about a part of your life that you haven't lived. His family members reproach him for having spent all that time on "automatic pilot." So far I have not found a more visual and descriptive example for the loss of consciousness in the present moment.. Stop living your life on autopilot. Don't waste any more time and take control of your own life.
I have spent part of my life on automatic pilot until a series of personal circumstances made me wake up and begin to enjoy every little event that life offers me.. When you enjoy you are not wasting your time. In fact, in order to enjoy something, you need to focus completely on the present moment. It is impossible to enjoy something if you are wasting your time with your mind elsewhere. It is impossible to waste time if you are enjoying.
I do not mean to turn you into some kind of robot that has to ask itself every moment if it is wasting or wasting time. When you become aware of your life you understand that this question is meaningless.
However, if you intend to continue growing and start living a more conscious life, I will do my best to share with you the techniques, tips or ideas that I have been discovering on my way. Wasting time is useless. However, wasting it can help you in your personal growth if, thanks to experience, you decide to use it in a better way in the future..
As soon as I finished writing this article I took the car to go to work. The first song that sounded on the radio was "Time is never lost" by Manolo García when we have the information. Chance or synchronicity?
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