The Myth of More Time

It is a myth that you need more more time to pursue your passions.

In Summer 2022 I did some research with local artists. Most people felt they needed more time in order to pursue their creative work. This is one of the most common things I hear.

Work gets in the way. Social lives get in the way. Family gets in the way.

This was also my attitude after years of working a 9-5 job and feeling dead on my feet. Well for one thing, the health of your body matters because the more energy you have the more you can do. Plus the clearer your vessel (body) is the more creativity flows through you. But that's another story for another post.

Back to time. Time is an illusion. Einstein illustrates this best when he said "sit with a pretty girl for an hour and it feels like a minute; sit on a hot stove for a minute and it feels like many hours. That's relativity”.

We've all had moments when we've been "in the zone" and achieved more within an hour than we previously did hacking away at the keyboard. This is flow state; we are both relaxed and focused which optimises our productivity. Our minds and bodies are in harmony. Our sense of time is distorted.

I want to introduce you to Parkinson's Law. This law states that "work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion."

Let me demonstrate what this looks like: your boss has given you one week to compete an assignment. You stretch it to fill the time. Suddenly the deadline moves to 24 hours and you get it done.

Or what about a student who leaves their coursework until the night before it's due. One evening of stress-filled cramming and it is done.

So to summarise:

1. We fill our time as we see appropriate

2. We have the ability to enter flow state where our sense of time is distorted

3. Time is an illusion and it feels relative to how you spend it

Put these elements together and you can absolutely fit the writing/painting/side hustle projects into your ordinary life.

This might look like an earlier start in the mornings, better use of the weekends and evenings, even a 30 min break could be utilised.

Soon I will be sharing something exciting around this...a way that's worked for me. A method that beats my procrastination so many times that I know it works. I can't wait to share it with you all.

In the meantime, have you ever heard of Parkinson's Law? Let me know.