Saving time
In common with many people, I save time. Waiting for the kettle to boil for morning tea (not mine, I don’t drink tea or coffee) I save time by stacking or emptying the dishwasher, filling or emptying the washing machine, cleaning the kitchen sink. It’s satisfying to know that I haven’t wasted time.
What happens to the time I save? Is it stored somewhere safe to be used on another day when time is running short? Why can I never access this precious stash of time when I really need to, when visitors are coming and I’m never going to be ready in time, no matter how long I have allowed myself to complete various tasks?
Where does the time go? Perhaps it sneaks off to someone else’s life. You know the sort of person I mean – the one who’s always prepared for every eventuality, who sometimes complains of having time on his or her hands or boasts, rather unkindly, of having all the time in the world.
I save so much time that I should have plenty left over, yet there are never enough hours in the day.
Then again, a verse by W.H. Davies (1871-1940) comes to mind and gives me pause.
Leisure
What
is this life, if full of care,
We
have no time to stand and stare.
No
time to stand beneath the boughs
And
stare as long as sheep or cows.
No
time to see, when woods we pass,
Where
squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No
time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams
full of stars, like skies at night.
No
time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And
watch her feet, how they can dance.
No
time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich
that smile her eyes began.
A
poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
I love that verse Janice - just perfect. I don't know where the time goes to either. I have a couple of friends who claim to have hours to spare in their days but I do not know what magic wand they wave around as I cannot seem to find enough hours in my days either!
ReplyDeleteYour time is spent creating beautiful things, Julie. I am constantly in awe of your talents x
DeleteI knew a woman who got more done before our 9 am walk than I did all day. She would wash down all the walls in a room, for example. Or vacuum her two storey house. I don't know how she did it. It weren't natchrul :)
ReplyDeleteOh, my goodness, Jenny, what an exhausting friend to have. You're right, it ain't natchrul x
DeleteI seem to have plenty of time to "stand and stare", but I fill it with reading. I would have less time if cleaned my home properly each day as I did when the children were all still at home. But even then I managed several hours of reading each day. The difference now is the computer.
ReplyDeleteHousework is a waste of time - it all needs doing again so quickly ;-)
DeleteHi Janice - yes ... I most definitely manage to find time to stand and stare ... I think I echo RIver's and Julie's and Jenny_o's thoughts ... cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteHi Hilary - I think we're all in agreement here :-)
ReplyDeleteNo one saves time do they? Time marches on, waits for no man...all that sort of thing. All you (and F) are doing is trying to fit more activity into the time available; employ efficiency of movement, save energy on coming back to do stuff later perhaps. Or you are just super organized people who get more stuff done in a day and then wonder why it mattered. xxx Mr T
ReplyDeleteSuper-organised is not a description anyone would ever apply to me x
ReplyDeleteI'm like you, try to save time by multi tasking myself into a state of frazzle sometimes. And by the end of the day when I have leg time with Precious, the first thing I think is "where did the time go today?" !!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThat's definitely food for thought, Janice! Oh, and I've always loved that poem. Wouldn't it be something if we could use the time we're saving to stand and stare? xxx
ReplyDeleteWe can always choose to do that, Ann . . . and forget about everything else :-)) x x
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