Time and the Art of Getting it All Done

Time as a concept is a very interesting one.  Without getting into deeper physics or philosophical ideas, we all have experienced the dilation and constriction of time.  Standing in line when you are in a hurry makes time feel as if it is going very slowly.  Looking back on a long anticipated event it will seem the event went by so quickly (compared to waiting for it, which seemed to take a long passage of time.)  Most of us can recall an event where time seemed to stand still.  And we probably can even recall a time where we felt we were transported back in time by a smell, a visual, a song.

If we ponder these situations we realize, apart from what physics actually can describe mathematically and experiments prove, time is about perception. 

How can this help us when we are living in what seems to be a 24 hour day with many things to accomplish in a limited amount of time?  I am sure that there are many ways to do this, but I am discovering something. The more I am present in the moment the more time dilates/expands.  The more I am multi-tasking and doing things at a high rate of speed, the more time constricts/contracts.  And further, the more I am present and relaxed as I do the task, the more quality of life I experience.

This is nothing new.  I am "discovering" it in my own life, but others have known this and practiced it through the centuries.  But I am passing it along as a  bit of a reminder to anyone who may be ready to try it. 

Here's a way to practice it.  As you start your task, take a moment to breathe and to relax.  Then go to the work continuing to consciously breathe and purposefully relax.  Make use of your senses.  Feel textures, smell the scents, see the patterns, hear the sounds.   Go deeper and check how you are feeling about what you are doing.  Stay with this one task until completed (or the portion to do now is completed.)  And breathe.

It is clear that time is not nearly as limited as we make it.  And often it is the negative emoting that makes it appear limited and constricted.  If we are approaching tasks and situations in a relaxed manner we tend to find things falling into place and time expanding.

This takes practice and thought if you are a driven sort.  But speaking as one who has been that sort, it is possible to still be driven, but in a relaxed way!  I am now driven to achieve a timeless sense of life.  And "getting it all done" has changed meaning.  I want to get things done with joy, relaxation, purpose, peace.  That is getting tasks ALL done.