Last week, my younger brother visited me for five days. To ensure I could spend as much time with him as possible, I worked extra hard during the weekend before he arrived.
It amazed me how much I could accomplish when I had a strong motivation to be efficient.
During the week, I put in a couple of hours in the mornings to handle pressing issues and then spent the afternoons and evenings going out with him. Once again, I was surprised to realize just how much free time was available to me if I consciously chose to be more effective while working.
This made me think of Parkinson's Law: Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.
I realized then that I'd given myself more time than necessary for work, and as a result, I ended up spending a lot of time delaying needlessly and entertaining myself online.
How might things change for me, I wondered, if I chose to commit to more social and recreational activities, made them priorities and was motivated to finish work quicker?
I realize not everyone has flexible work schedules, but I believe we could all create more time for ourselves if we were motivated to cut out the choices that don't match our strongest desires and intentions. Maybe it's being absent-minded in front of the TV or searching the web.
I believe what English musician John Lennon said is true: Time that you enjoyed wasting was not wasted.1 don't think there's anything wrong with using technology if we've consciously chosen to do it.
However, we owe it to ourselves to get out in the world and explore different possibilities—to be playful, curious, engaged and just to be.
Perhaps it would be easier to do that if we asked ourselves: How can I be more effective? Can I minimize what I am currently doing? How can I start using the time I've created in a way that will excite and inspire me?
