What is the greatest gift of all?

A gift of time! In today’s time deprived world, this might just be the greatest gift of all. With everyone so busy, time becomes the most precious commodity. Bestowing such a gift on others could show how much you care for or love them. You might be poor in terms of money, wealth, material goods but you are as rich as Bill Gates in terms of time. The richest people in the world have no more time than the poorest. In fact, they may have less since they are so busy earning and accumulating money.

Each of us has it in our power to give a gift of time both to others and to ourselves. Children, relatives, loved ones and friends might all find your gift of time more meaningful and valuable than anything else you could give them. Can you imagine a Christmas where no presents or money was exchanged? The only gifts that would be exchanged would be gifts of time. It would probably create havoc in the economy. No one would go into debt during Christmas and the mass hysteria associated with the Christmas shopping ritual would be destroyed. Why go into debt when you can make others happier by giving something even more precious than money and something you can get for free? A gift of time is a gift of humanity. It is a gift of yourself.

When was the last time you gave anyone a “gift” of time. How often do you share yourself with others? Can you think of someone whom you could give a gift of time? How does it feel to create this gift and to give it away? What if you gave a gift of time to someone each week? What if you gave yourself a gift of time each week?

What if you slowed down today?

“The more I’m in a hurry, the more I tend to worry.” I heard these lyrics in a song the other day. The more I’m in a hurry, the more I tend to worry. This makes a lot of sense if you think about it. When you try to go fast, you frequently end up putting things in the wrong place or forgetting to do something. For the past few years, multi-tasking was being pushed as a sort of panacea to our productivity and economic problems. If we could all learn to do things faster and to several things at one time, we would be more efficient and productive. Recent research shows this to be false. The more we do, the dumber we do things. We do not concentrate and do an effective job when we try to do several things at one time. We don’t watch TV and write well. We don’t play cards and monitor our children well and we do not drive and talk on cell phones well. We all know these things from experience.

I know that when my pace speeds up and when I get going really fast, I am more worried that I will forget something or do something wrong. Generally, I am right. Going too fast, results in mistakes and doing things over. How many times in the morning when I am getting ready for work, do I end up walking back up my stairs because I forget my phone or something else? The moral here should be that if we slow down, we will have less worry in our lives. At least, there might be some opportunities for less worry. Slowing down will not reduce all the worries in your life, but if speed kills, then you will have dying sooner as one less worry. Think of the deaths on the highways that could be prevented by less hurrying and taking life a little bit slower. Not only would you get there in one piece but the drive would be a great deal less stressful.

Would it help you to worry less, if you could take more time to do things? What is one thing you can do more slowly today? Try it and see if at the end of the week you do not feel less stressed.

What is the value of meditation?

Zen and time: Part 2. What does it mean to experience time? Have you ever just stared at the second hand on a clock? When you do, it almost seems like the hand stops moving. As impossible as it might seem, the more you stare at the clock, the more time seems to slow down. When we are having fun or staying busy, time seems to “fly.” Hours can pass as minutes when you are engrossed or really enjoying what you are doing. As we get older, we seem to see months go by with the same rapidity that we once noticed days and weeks going by. We often hear the comment that life is faster today than it was years ago. Does that mean that time is moving faster today or is it simply our perceptions of time?

All major religions seem to value the benefit of meditation (prayer is also used for somewhat the same purpose) as a primary path to spirituality and salvation. Have you ever prayed or meditated for an hour or more? During meditation, time slows down. Life seems to pass more slowly and we are able to become more centered and less schizophrenic. Daily life has a way of creating chaos and disintegration with our lives and spirits. Daily meditation or prayer is a good way to get in touch with the experience of time. There are many different disciplines and methods for both meditation and prayer. For a good overview of the many different spiritual approaches towards meditation, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meditation.

At first it may seem very difficult to meditate or to find the time to meditate. If you decide to start, try doing your meditation for only five minutes each day. Do you have the time to meditate for five minutes? All of the great religious leaders and wise men have noted the value of meditation for centering ones life and being more in touch with their spiritual essence. After the first week of regular meditation or prayer ask yourself the following questions: What is my experience of time now? Has the regular meditation or prayer made a difference in my life? What if I expanded the time to ten minutes or more? What difference might this make in my life?

What does Zen and time have in common?

Zen and time: Part 1. I friend of mine asked me when I started this blog whether it was just going to be another time management type thing. I asked him what the problem with that was and he said “People are inundated with prescriptions and exhortations for using their time more effectively and being more compulsive about it.” I asked what he thought was the antidote and he said “We all need a more Zen-like attitude about time.” I presumed I knew what he meant, but the more I thought about it, the less I knew. I had studied Zen many years ago and was familiar with Zen meditation and Zen Buddhist philosophy. However, I had never thought about its application to time.

I once remember doing a long drive from Rhode Island to Wisconsin. The hardest part was going to be crossing NYC and getting past the large metro areas in Pennsylvania and NY. I had been doing regular Zen meditation at the time and I thought “Well, I will just use this drive time to meditate and not worry about the traffic or congestion.” I put myself into a frame of mind for sitting Zen. I did not expect the results. In what seemed like a matter of a few seconds, the next thing I remember was being on a wide open stretch of road in rural Pennsylvania. I had gone over 250 miles in some of the most traffic congested sections of the USA in what seemed like a matter of seconds. It still does not seem possible and feels more like a dream than reality. How could something like this be physically and mentally possible? Can time really stand still? Can we make life so smooth with our unconscious thought that we eliminate stress and anxiety and yet can still function? What then is a Zen-like attitude towards time?

Do you have a Zen attitude towards time? One comment I found on a web-blog was “But get some Zen and time slows down since you are actually experiencing it.” Are you experiencing time or do you just sort of anesthetize your self to it? Do you allow time to happen or do you try to control it? Are you waiting for something to happen which never does? Could your life be more exciting if it was more Zen like?

Is time running out for you?

The clock is running out! You hear this expression occasionally. However, have you ever thought that it applies to just about every day of your life? The clock is always ticking. The clock is always running down and not up. The arrow of time flies towards our final meeting with eternity. Sometimes it runs out faster than we expect and sometimes slower. Sometimes it runs out for those whom we least expect it to. The healthy jogger who never smoked, watched his/her diet and was in perfect health may just be the funeral we attend next week. The obese relative who smoked and drank too much may just live to a hundred. The experts are full of contradictory studies relating to our health. Don’t eat this, do eat that, this is bad, no its really good, watch your fat, eat more fat, watch your carbs, eat more carbs, get more exercise, get less exercise, etc. etc.

I like the quote that says: “ask not for whom the bell tolls.” This poem from John Donne helps me to feel linked to other people. Death seems to provide a kind of a linkage. We can feel sad about deaths for people whom we do not know because we are all linked together. I have six degrees of freedom with everyone in the world. How many degrees will I have with those who have already passed away? The clock is running out for all of us. The death we meet may not be the one we desire either for ourselves or for others. Today may or may not be your last day on earth or perhaps it will be the last day for someone you love very much. The clock ticking tells us to not take life for ourselves or others for granted. Each tick is a heartbeat. Each second another person takes their last breath. Better to connect now before it is too late. We never will know when the bell will toll for ourselves or others.

Who are you putting off connecting to? What if their clock runs out before you can connect? How will you feel? How can you connect to them before it is too late?

Why not waste a little time today?

Time wasting web-sites! Have you ever felt like just wasting time? What about having a day where you can just let go of any concerns about time. We are so compulsive about time that we let it run our lives. A day wheen we waste time might be a day well spent. I can imagine the stress levels of the world going down. Less homicides, less road rage, less drive by shootings. Well, if you really want to give a gift to your stress levels, then you might want to visit the following website: http://freebies.about.com/od/710/tp/timewasting.htm

It has ten (I guess you could say games) that will help you to waste extraordinary amounts of time in a fun way. Alternatively, just go to Google and type in “time wasters” and you will be able to find all sorts of incredibly amusing ways to waste a little time. Spend some time foolishly. Stop worrying about time, being on time, managing time and letting time run your life. Time is not like money. If you waste money, you don’t get it back. However, each day you start with 24 hours again. Do yourself a favor, waste some time each day.

How often do you just waste time? Do you let yourself have a little fun every so often? Take some time today and just waste it. How does it feel not to be so compulsive? What if you made it a habit to waste a little bit of time each day? How would your life feel?

Is procrastination always bad?

Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today! This is another one of those bits of exalted wisdom that we learned way back in our childhood. “Under the influence of this pestilent morality, I am forever letting tomorrow's work slop backwards into today's, and doing painfully and nervously today what I could do quickly and easily tomorrow.” – J. A. Spender. This quote by Spender is interesting and funny since it contradicts that old wisdom about procrastination that dogs so many of us. How many of us live by these bits of wisdom that we learn early in life and never question? There are usually two sides to every story and very few things in life are universally or unequivocally true. For every bit of wisdom, there is a counterpoint.

While there may be few absolutes, this does not mean that some old sayings and wise thoughts are not without merit. More importantly, there is another moral here, which is that few things should simply be taken for granted. According to Spender, there might also be a place for procrastination in our lives. If this is true, then we may be well advised to put off doing some things until tomorrow. Perhaps, after a good night sleep, further reflection or simply having a better day, tackling the task that feels overwhelming today will be easier tomorrow. Often I do not know where to start or what I need to do. If I put the job off for a while, I can talk to others or do some further research. I am then able to come back to the task feeling more confident and competent.

Are you driven by doing things today that might be better handled tomorrow? Do you always tackle the task even when you are not quite sure what you should be doing? What sort of things do you think you would be better putting off doing until you have some help or more guidance? What should you put off doing today, since you might just do a better job tomorrow or the day after?

What are your big time wasters?

Don’t waste my time. One of the greatest sins of modern society is to waste time. It is even worse to waste someone else’s time. Unfortunately, there are numerous ways that you can waste time. Pace Productivity conducted surveys among 690 employees and entrepreneurs across North America. The first question they asked was designed to find out which factors impeded respondents' productivity that were outside of their control. The following were the top ten wasters that respondents felt they had no control over.

1- Paperwork / administrative tasks
2- Customer requests: service / problems / complaints
3- Phone calls / phone interruptions / inquiries
4- Computer / system / equipment problems
5- No internal support / other departments' inefficiency
6- Unspecified interruptions
7- Traffic / travel
8- Meetings - too many / too long / unnecessary
9- Volume of work / not enough time
10- Staffing issues / people absent


This is a very interesting list. No doubt there are many aspects of time that we cannot control. However, the first question I have when looking at this list is the validity of the respondents’ assumption that they have “no control” over these time wasters. I admit that in several of these areas, it is difficult to have control, but the operational word is difficult. I would stop at the word impossible. I lean towards looking at what I can do to have more control over my life and I refuse to abdicate control in many of these so called time waster areas. I might only have partial control but once I assert this control, I can minimize the impact of the time wasted.

Do you see some areas above that you also feel you could take some control over? What are the biggest time wasters in your life? Do you think they are all out of your control or do you think you have some control over them? Pick one large time waster in your life. What could you do today that would help you to gain control and minimize this time waster in your life?

How can you stop procrastinating?

Procrastination is a word to be feared, yet it is a word that we are all too familiar with. The dictionary defines it as “To postpone or delay needlessly.” It also traces its roots to the Latin wherein pro-crastinate means to “put forward.” Thus, when we don’t want to do something today, we put it forward until tomorrow. Sometimes that works and other times it starts creating a kind of sandbag effect in which it just seems easier to keep putting things off. Why do we procrastinate? There are many reasons. Here are some that I have found:

• I don’t know where to start
• The task seems daunting and monumental
• I am afraid I don’t have the ability
• I fear I will not be able to finish
• I am afraid of looking stupid
• I tried before and failed
• I just don’t feel like doing it

You could probably put your own list up but I would guess that it would have some similarities to my list. Is there a secret to overcoming procrastination or a solution? I think the answer is yes. We are all intimidated by the world. The people that accomplish the most are the ones who find support from others. Every year at graduation, I listen to the seniors talk about how they could not have made it without the help and support of someone else, usually their family, a teacher or friends. Going to college for four years is a major undertaking. We can never be sure if we will pass or graduate or even manage to pay the college loans off. Anyone who starts school begins a very long and precarious journey. However, as the song says “I get by with a little help from my friends.”

When you find that you are procrastinating that can be a red flag or a signal that you need some help from a friend. Working together we can do anything. Remember Ben Franklins famous quote “Either we all hang together or we all hang separately.” Why try to do it all by yourself? Musicians, chess players, actors and sports figures all have coaches. Coaches help us stay on track and provide moral and mental support. You may not be able to afford a high paying professional coach, but I will bet there is someone in your life that could help play this role. Seek this person out and enlist them in your endeavor. The secret to overcoming procrastination is to find others who can support and nurture your effort.

What are you putting forward today that you really need to do now? Who can you enlist to support you mentally, physically or emotionally in your effort? Do you need ideas or simply willpower? Who do you know that would best provide them? By the end of the day, will you be able to contact them? If not, is there someone else who could help you? Don’t procrastinate, contact them now. You will be glad you did.

Are you procrastinating?

“Think big, start small and deliver quickly.” I found this advice from a Vice President of Cisco Corporation. At the time, Cisco was one of the most profitable and fastest growing firms in the world. It struck me as the way we must all do business in this highly competitive global era. We must think big. We cannot just look at the world from our own petty perspective. We must view the world from the eyes of our customers, stakeholders and other world citizens. Things we do in New York affect the Amazon Rain Forest and vice versa. We must start small. Every journey begins with a single step. Every large organization or endeavor started out quite humbly.

It is no shame to start on the bottom and work your way up. We all must pay our dues. It is all too easy to see those who have achieved success and think they did it overnight. However, when you look closely at success, you see it came from very humble beginnings. Finally, we must be quick. Opportunities are like a window that opens and closes or like an elevator going and down every few seconds. Opportunities do not last long. If you do not seize the moment, someone else surely will. Nature abhors a vacuum and an opportunity is a vacuum just waiting to be filled. Opportunities are like the waves in the ocean and whenever one comes in, it is quickly spent but soon replaced by another one. You must pick the right wave and jump on it quickly or you will miss it.

I posted Cisco’s phase over my desk as a reminder. Thinking big reinforced the need for a vision worth achieving. Without a vision, we may end up building a molehill. We need a vision but we also need determination and speed. You need determination to have the stamina and patience to build your vision one day and one step at a time. You cannot know in advance if you will succeed. You will need determination to see you over the hills and valleys. You will also need speed. While you are still contemplating your great new idea, the chances are excellent that a competitor is also thinking about the same idea. Haste can make waste, but timing is everything and today you must act fast or lose the opportunity.

What good ideas do you have that you are procrastinating over? What opportunities are waiting for you to seize them? Why are you still waiting? Who or what could help you get started? If you are not sure how to get started, find someone to help you. You will regret it later if you do not act now.

What are your excuses for being late?

A stitch in time saves nine. Even if you do not sew, you will know the meaning of this old saying. It is probably just one of many that you learned as a child. By now, you have heard it so many times, that you know longer remember how or when you learned it. It is very interesting how so many of our morals and values are guided by little sayings that we learned so far back in our early childhood. They tell us we learn 90 percent of our values and morals before we are six years old. Did you ever think you were learning about time management before you were six years old?

In some ways, this saying about time tells us more about planning than all the project management courses we may take later in our lives. It is simple and memorable. It has meaning and relevance because we can all relate to the idea of prevention before a cure is needed. We also all realize that once a problem has occurred it is more difficult to deal with. The time to deal with problems is before they occur. But doing this requires good timing and planning ahead for emergencies and contingencies. If you were practicing this little homily when you were six years old, you were doing contingency planning and you probably could not even spell the word contingency.

The question is “Do we still practice it?” Is it always good advice? Are there exceptions to this pithy piece of wisdom? If you were ever in the Boy Scouts, you would be familiar with the motto “Be prepared.” But how can you be prepared for all possible emergencies? How can you be prepared if you do not take the time or have the time to think ahead? It is not always easy to “Be prepared.” One secret is not to wait until the last minute to plan. Start a list of what you will need long before you will need it. You will be surprised at how the list will grow. I can guarantee you that my students who wait until the last minute to do their assignments or papers are always the ones who do the poorest job or have the most excuses why they could not get the paper in on time. “The snow came, my computer crashed, the baby was delivered, the dog ran away, and I was sick.” These things happen to each of us every day. But if they happen on the day the project or work is due, you now have a problem.

Do you wait until the last minute or do you think ahead about what you need? Are you chronically dealing with emergencies? Do you plan ahead or wait until the deadline draws near? Where would a stitch in your life save you nine today?

Are you killing too much time?

“Well, I’ve got some time to kill today.” We have all heard and used this expression. It means that somehow we have some unexpected free time. It is time that does not need to be accounted for or time when nothing is scheduled. Many of us wish we more often had time to kill. It is a very interesting thought. I am going to kill some time. What measures do I take to kill time or how does one go about killing time. There are lists you can find of time killers. In airports, one finds that arcade games are often used simply as time killers. However, more often today, one finds people doing their work on the kiosk type internet connections available in airports. In Japan, Pachinko parlors are a major way to kill time. But can we really kill time?

How does one kill something which does not exist? If it does exist, then is time alive? Most people would say that time is not something living or biological. However, the expression seems to indicate that time is something that has a life of its own and that we can kill. With time in such short supply, it might seem immoral or unethical to kill it. It is certainly not illegal. I have not yet heard of anyone going to jail for “killing time.” But with time in such short supply, maybe killing time should be a crime. How could anyone have the audacity to kill something that is so precious and limited? Maybe we should declare that time is an endangered species and put a moratorium on “killing” time. Religions could declare it a mortal sin to kill time. We could create police units designed to ferret out people who kill time.

We could stop killing time, but then life might not be very much fun. Killing time is actually one of those breaks that we all need to take. We manage, coordinate, plan and schedule too much of our time. Time to be killed may just be one of the last pleasures of modern life. Do you ever kill time? Do you spend enough time “killing” time? Do you worry and feel guilty because you could put the time to better use? As the song goes, “Don’t worry, be happy.” Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we all could find more time to kill and worry less about being productive and managing our time?

What is more important - Time or Money?

I have often thought that time and money are a lot like matter and energy. Physicists tell us that matter and energy are convertible or exchangeable. Matter can be transformed into energy and energy into matter. Indeed the famous equation by Einstein E=MC2 is evidence of this ability. I believe that the same is true of time and money. If I have a great deal of time, I can do things that it would normally take money to do. For instance, I can do my own home repairs, car repairs, house cleaning etc. On the other hand, if I have lots of money, I can exchange it for time by paying someone to do these things for me and thus creating more time for myself. My theory about time and money helps me relate my time and money to each other. Thinking of them as interchangeable allows me to prioritize both my time and money and to conserve on what is most important to me. I do not treat either as them as fixed and immutable.

If I job needs to be done, I simply review my priorities and my assets (time and money are both assets to me) and decide the best way to get the task done. I might pay someone to mow my lawn if I want to do something else more productive or fun or I just might do it myself. I do not feel that I have to do all of the chores or tasks in my life. It will all depend on what it happening at that time in my life and what my goals and objectives are. A great deal will also depend on what I really feel like doing with my time and money. Without this theory, it is very easy to let people pressure you into spending time or money that you would rather conserve or exchange. For instance, I always pay a shop to do my motorcycle oil changes and tune-ups. I would rather be out riding than repairing my bikes. Many bikers abhor the thought of anyone working on their bikes. I have friends who spend more time repairing and fixing their bikes then they do riding them.

What is most important to you today? Are you sacrificing time for money when you would rather have more time? Or are you sacrificing money for time by paying to have something done you could do yourself? Are you happy with your balance between the two?

How are you at being on time?

Let’s talk about being “on-time.” This is probably one of the most desired yet ill met goals in modern society. Almost everyone would agree that being on time is a good thing. It respects other peoples time. Not to mention that it helps us in many ways. From getting to work on time, getting to the theater on time or getting to our plane on time, we all have many schedules that must be met. However, we all know people who never seem to be able to arrive anyplace on time. They frustrate the rest of us as we wait for them to arrive.

When we are committed to being someplace at a certain time and we arrive within acceptable limits, we probably feel that we are “on-time.” The acceptable limits for some of us include both before and after the agreed upon time. Perhaps this is the key factor to being on time or being late. The acceptable limits for some of us are not the acceptable limits for others. Indeed, people may even complain that you arrived too early. Have you ever noticed that some people seem to always be on time and others are always “out of the acceptable limits?”

Does it bother you when someone else waits for a late person before they will start the meeting? How much do you value being on time? Are you someone who is always on time or are you always late? Can you notice patterns in your ability to arrive within acceptable limits? How do you determine the “acceptable” limits for arrival? What motivates your “on-time” or lateness? Are you satisfied with yourself in this area? What could you do different?

Are you ahead of your time?

She was ahead of her times! That invention was ahead of its time! We are often amazed when we find out that some ideas or some products and services were either thought of or offered many years before they became popular. Wal-Mart was not well known until the 80’s but the company actually started in the early 50’s. U-Haul took off when all the baby boomers decided to move from the East coast to the West coast and needed a cheap reliable way to haul their goods out to California. However, U-Haul started shortly after World War II and was around for 20 years before it began its rapid growth.

What if you are ahead of the times? This might not always be a good thing. Sometimes inventions are too early and people are just not ready for them. The first computer created by Charles Babbage was not very practical due to its size and mode of operation. It took the invention and application of electricity to make a practical computer. The idea of applying nuclear energy began around 1900 but it took the Manhattan project and the invention of the atom bomb to show the reality and potential of nuclear power.

Thus, “timing is everything.” You can be ahead of your time and never see the success of your idea or invention. Nevertheless, most of us would rather be accused of being ahead of our time rather than “behind the times.” Have you ever been ahead of the times? Has anyone ever told you that you were ahead of the times? Do you have ideas for products and services that you see are subsequently developed by someone else? Do you capitalize on your ability to think ahead? Do you feel that you need to be more ahead of the times or are you satisfied with where you are now? What would it take for you to be more ahead of the times? How might this ability affect your life?

What is your definition of time?

Let’s explore the way that we use some common terms or phrases concerning time. We talk about being on time, ahead of the times and behind the times. We use these phrases so often that they become “unconscious” and we seldom reflect on what they mean or whether they really mean what we want them to mean. We all think we know what they mean but do we really agree with what they mean? Are we using them “correctly?”

For instance, we sometimes say about someone we know that they are “stuck” in the past. We may say this because they seem to fondly remember their best days as when they were in high school or when they were in college or when they lived someplace else or some other time that was happier or more pleasant for them. However, are they really stuck in the past? What does it mean to be stuck in the past? Can they be partially stuck or only stuck sometimes? If so, how can they get “unstuck?” Are we all stuck in the past at least sometimes?

There are many other phrases that we use concerning time that have become so habitual with us that we take them for granted. We assume that we know what they mean when we hear them. We apply them to our lives and to those around us without thinking about how we use them or what their use implies. The novel “Alice in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll is so powerful because the meaning of words and the way they are used in the story forces us to rethink the meaning of things that we take for granted. For instance, who ever heard of an “un-birthday” party? Well, it is a wonderful twist on an expectation that you can only have a party on your birthday. You can have an “unbirthday party” 364 days a year. One of my favorite exchanges in the story takes place between Alice and Humpty Dumpty:

Humpty Dumpty: When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less.
Alice: The question is, whether you can make words mean so many different things.
Humpty Dumpty: The question is: which is to be master - that's all.

The phrases that we use concerning time can have many different meanings. We each choose the meaning that we desire or that we learned as a child. Other people may have different meanings or different associations. For instance, what does it mean to be late? What does it mean to be on-time? Who decides what is late and who decides what is on-time is? How much is late? What does it take to be on time? Who decides? Well of course, you and I do, right? Well, then how come so much of the world seems to thwart our best efforts to be on time? Maybe we are all dancing to a different beat.

Is it worth the effort to get everybody in sync? Does everyone you know agree with your definitions of time? What if your definitions of time were more flexible? What difference would this make for your family and friends? Are you too flexible already? What if you were less flexible? Would your life be smoother and happier?

How creative and imaginative are you?

Have you ever tried to be creative in a hurry? It is probably not going to happen. Some of the greatest ideas in history have come at spontaneous random times. Indeed, many great ideas have come in dreams or during periods of sleep or relaxation. You cannot be creative on a schedule. Conversely, creativity is a process like any other activity and requires a systematic use and application of time tested principles. The creative process proceeds through steps. One of the earliest models of the creative process is attributed to Graham Wallas (The Art of Thought, New York: Harcourt Brace, 1926) who proposed that creative thinking proceeds through the following four phases:

The Wallas Model for the Process of Creativity
Preparation (definition of issue, observation, and study)
Incubation (laying the issue aside for a time)
Illumination (the moment when a new idea finally emerges)
Verification (checking it out)

Of course, not all experts agree with the idea of steps or stages for creativity. For example, Vinacke (1953) is adamant that creative thinking in the arts does not follow a model. In a similar vein, Gestalt philosophers like Wertheimer (1945) assert that the process of creative thinking is an integrated line of thought that does not lend itself to the segmentation implied by the steps of a model. But while such views are strongly held, they are in the minority. (Working Paper: Models for the Creative Process by Paul E. Plsek, 1996) http://www.directedcreativity.com

Which ever way you look at it, time plays a key role in the creative process. If creativity requires preparation, incubation, illumination and verification each of these tasks takes time. I would also add a step for stimulation to the process. Something must be sufficient to stimulate and motivate me to want to solve a problem or be creative. If not, I will not put the time and energy into looking for a solution.

Some might also add that it takes a great deal of imagination to be creative. Many of us might feel wanting in this area. It is true some people are more imaginative then others. However, I would argue that if we apply time to our problems in a systematic fashion than we can all be creative. If you think you can solve your problems overnight, you are going to be disappointed. If you realize that it will take time and you are willing to apply a systematic process to your problems then almost any problem is solvable.

What problems have you been ignoring that a systematic use of time and effort might help you to solve? How could you start working on those problems? What changes in your life might occur if you could solve these problems? Have you labeled yourself as unimaginative and uncreative? Who could help you with these problems? A little help with any issue can provide new insights and illumination.

Do you view life as circular or linear?

Religions can treat time as linear or non-linear. In some religions, we are born, live, die and go to heaven (or hell). Other religions treat time as cyclical. We are born, live, die and born again. Religions treat their belief systems as somewhat exclusive. You may be a Catholic or a Hindu but few people would profess to be both. The difference between the two orientations towards life, death and the flow of time seems to be profound.

In one belief system, we may never have a chance to redo something that we have done wrong. Of course, Christians (a linear time orientation) hold out the hope of salvation until the very end. However, once it has ended and you go to the great judgment, it is over. You must rise or descend based on what you have done in your life. In the Hindu religion (a circular time orientation), you will have a second chance. It is never too late.

"What happens to a soul after the death of a mortal being on earth depends upon many factors, some of which are listed below: 1. His previous deeds. If a person has committed many bad deeds in his life, he will go to the lower worlds and suffer from the consequences of his evil actions. On the contrary, if he performed good deeds, he will go to the higher sun filled worlds and enjoy the life there." (Hinduism and Death: The Hindu View on Death by www.hinduwebsite.com)

In the Hindu religion, even if you have seriously failed in your past life, you will be given another chance to succeed. Indeed, even if you fail again, you will come back again and again until you get it right.

How we view the cycle of living, dying and birth may have a direct bearing on how we live our lives. Each day we live, we are impacted by our method of thinking about time. If I believe in a judgment day and the finality of life with death, I may be disposed to think of time as being over when I die. Time is measured from when I am born to when I pass away. If I view life as a cycle of birth-death-rebirth, my portion of time spent living is just one spoke in the great wheel of time that is infinite and that will go on forever. In the Hindu religion, there is no end to time; infinity is part of my daily existence. In the Christian religion, time become infinite only when you are dead since heaven and hell are believed to be infinite.

Many of us who live in the Western world tend to be more linear in our orientation to time versus those in the East. This has many ramifications from how we deal with war to how we deal with our daily economy. How do you view life now? Do you see it as coming and going? Does each day bring you closer to your final day on earth? Or do you see each day as simply another step in a larger cycle of coming around again and again and again? What if your view was changed? What would life be like if you could adopt at least part of the other orientation? What if you saw life as cyclical or linear instead of how you view it now? Would you change anything in your life? Why or why not?

Are you tired this morning?

I feel tired this morning. I feel tired now. I have never felt so tired in my whole life. Common expressions with which we are all familiar, but what does it really mean to be tired? You might answer that it means to feel weary, slow, sluggish or exhausted. Each of these words conveys ideas of low energy or enthusiasm. So what does time have to do with being tired? Everything of course! Time is perhaps one of the chief villains in the case. However time can also be your hero or heroine. There is a sense in which energy is tied to time and a sense in which energy is strictly a mental effort.

Many of my students start each day off tired even before I have begun class. I can see it in their manners and behavior as I am looking at each of them. Are they anticipating a boring lecture or that their minds will be stretched with new ideas or have they simply stayed up and partied too hard the night before. Perhaps they worked the previous evening and are now too tired to focus their minds. Being tired can be caused by physical stress or mental stress or even anticipation of events. Time can modify these effects. Never give a long-winded speech after lunch as participants will have not have the attention they would have either just before lunch or a few hours after the food has digested.

Some of us are morning people and we have our primary energy in the morning. Some of us are evening people with reversed energy patterns. They call this the larks and night owls behavior and there is some evidence that it is genetically based. It is smart to pay attention to your energy patterns. This probably explains why some people need coffee to function in the morning and some of us do not. Many medical problems could be prevented if more of us were in tune with our life patterns. Research has shown that accidents are more common when people are tired or stressed.

Do you start the day with energy or are you always tired? If the latter, ask yourself if you are really where you want to be or are you doing what you want to do. It will always be more tiring to do things when our hearts are not really into them. Are you more tired in the morning or evening? Are you more tired when you have a bunch of work to do or when you start the first day of a vacation? Can you learn to spot the patterns for energy in your life and honor these patterns?

Does haste make waste?

Haste makes waste! He who hesitates is lost? These are two very popular sayings but they express two very different ideas and concepts. You well might ask which is true. Should I take my time, think things through, get a second opinion and then make a decision to act? Or is such carefulness a vice? In this day of rapid change, perhaps hesitating is to lose great opportunities. What do to? Act quickly or think things over?

Alas, the world is full of information which contradicts itself. Perhaps, the contradictions arise from the simple fact that there is no ultimate truth. Sometimes it pays to act fast and sometime it pays to hesitate. The complexity of life makes it so much more interesting. Perhaps, you have heard it said “All things in moderation.” This is good advice, however sometimes moderation can lack passion and commitment. To be too moderate, is to be very bland. There are times when you must take a stand on something. Thus, moderation itself is not always a panacea. In life, there will be times when you must rush and times when you cannot afford to rush. There may also be times when it pays to go down the middle road. It was simple for Frost since he had only two choices. Today, most of us face multiple choices. The road now forks ten or more directions.

Which path do I go down today? What kind of a day will this be for you? Will it be a day to be careful and deliberate or will it be a day for speed and uncertainty? How will you decide? At the end of this day, ask yourself if you found the right balance between haste and hesitancy? Did you? What will tomorrow bring?

How about a daily act of kindness?

Went to a wedding a short time ago and found some good advice at the church. I picked up a card in the pew and found an interesting comment on it. The comment on the card was from the web site: www.getpeace.org, and read: “The rest of the world is going at super speed, and few individuals take the time to be nice.” It went on to point out that we need to take the time to be kind to others. It helps them and it helps us. A few years ago, someone made the idea of “random acts of kindness” very popular. That had always appealed to me until I read the following: “Why random acts of kindness, why not systematic and intentional daily acts of kindness.” This makes a great deal of sense. Why should kindness be random in our society? Who was it that said “What knowledge is there that is greater than kindness.”

We read daily of “random acts of violence” but violence is not random in our world. Violence is daily and systematic. Violence destroys the fabric of society and of our lives. The only antidote to violence is kindness. Can we be more kind? Can we be less violent? What if today you took some time to be kind to a complete stranger, someone whom you did not know? How do you think you might feel after? How do you think they might feel?

At the end of today, come back to these thoughts of kindness and answer these questions: Where you able to be kind to someone today? Did you make a difference? Did you feel better? What if you tried to be kind every day? What if you programmed yourself for daily acts of intentional and planned kindness? Would the world be a better place if we all did that? Who will be the first to try?

Reflections on Time

Reflections on Time

What are you waiting for?

Time and tide wait for no man or woman; an old saying that has been around forever. Despite this good advice, there are people who are forever waiting. In fact, some might argue that the world is composed of two types of people; the wait-ers and the do-ers. Wait-ers are people who hope that good things will come to them and do-ers are people that make the good things come to them. Wait-ers hope to win the lottery so they can buy the things they want. Do-ers go out and make the money to buy what they want. We all have friends who fall into these categories or habits. Friends who are waiting to take a holiday to another country, friends who are waiting for Mr. or Ms right, friends who are waiting for their ship to arrive. We eventually come to realize that they will be dead and buried before any of these things happen. One of the reasons why Nike’s motto “Just do it” is so powerful is the way it resonates with most of us at a primal level. We all want to be doers but many of us fall into the category of wait-ers.

Why do we wait is a good question? Why do we wait and wait and wait and wait? What fears stop us (because the answer to the first question is FEAR) from becoming doers? What can we do to overcome these fears? Psychologists would say that the first step is to overcome the excuses and denial and to admit our fears. Once we admit our fears, we can take the second step. The second step is to decide to do something about our fears. I was afraid of heights. For years, I admitted it but could not decide what to do about it. Finally, I decided to do a solo parachute jump. It took me nearly ten years but I finally did it on my 55th birthday. Since then, I am much less intimated by being up high. The third step is to decide what you need to do to overcome your fear. There are often many remedies, but which is the right solution for you. For me, it was to find a sky diving club, join them and take a class in sky-diving. The fourth and final step is to take action. Once I decided to take the sky-diving training and jump, I had to actually attend the training and then go to the school. I had to make several trips to the airport before I could jump because on two consecutive occasions the airport was closed for jumping due to bad weather. I almost gave up the idea but the third time was a charm. I was able to jump by myself out of the plane at about 5000 feet. Believe me when I say, I was scared to death. However as I floated down, I realized the beauty and unreality of the entire event. I actually relaxed enough to start enjoying it once my chute opened. Had I not taken action, the entire first three steps would be worthless.

Which are you, a wait-er or a do-er? We all are wait-ers in some areas of our lives. We all have fears that cause us to avoid or put off doing certain things. What are the events and activities that you put off? What are the fears you have to overcome? Can you practice these four steps or just take one of them this next year? What do you think would happen if you did? How do you think your life would be different? Life is waiting for you to start.

Is winter a time of discontent or content for you?

“Now is the winter of our discontent” is a famous opening line from Shakespeare’s Richard The Third Act 1, scene 1, 1–4. Whether or not as many have noted, the future King Richard was expressing joy rather than discontent is irrelevant. The major point here being that for many winter is a source of discontent. In Minnesota, winter is dreaded due to the cold, snow and ice storms. We have an inordinate amount of accidents during the winter months that plague drivers and slow the commutes down. We have about five months of winter compared to three months of summer. We even have a phenomenon called “Snow Birds.’ These are people who fly south every winter to live in Florida, Arizona, Texas or some other warm place.

However, for some winter is a wonderland of snow and ice and white vistas. It is time of renewal. A time when life retreats, days are short and you want nothing more than to sit in front of a warm fireplace with a good book until summer comes. Winter forces life to slow down. I have always loved winter; perhaps because I enjoy the outdoors so much. It is hard to describe the beauty of a snowstorm when you are out skiing in the woods and the entire landscape is like something out of a fairy tale. The snowflakes are gently falling and the pine trees are flocked with snow. You turn to see a great grey owl sitting on a branch perhaps watching you ski. Soon you notice a small group of deer simply walking by and ignoring you. A nearby trout stream with its deep blue water is winding its way through the snow covered pines and birch trees. The brilliant blue of the water sparkling against the snow and ice covered banks. The world is white on white with blue and brown contrasts. You notice the water gurgling and the sun beams dancing off the snowflakes. You are in the middle of a diamond like wonderland.

Winter is a time of change. It offers a respite from the hectic pace of summer. During winter, I slow my routines down and I feel like there is more time to do things for myself rather than taking care of the yard, going on vacations, spending time with the relatives, etc. Winter is a time for reconciliation. It is a time for quiet solitude and reflection. Winter is when we can be reborn. What do you think of winter? Is it just a time you hope is over very quickly? Is it a time you look forward to? What could you do to make your winters more worthwhile and interesting? What activities would help make winter more exciting for you? Where could you go to renew yourself this winter? What hurts and fences might you find the time to mend? Can you make this winter a time of “Content.”

Are you in time?

I am usually on-time. In fact, I generally arrive at appointments ahead of time. I loathe being late and like to arrive early to be able to “settle in.” However, I am not “in-time” as often as I would like to be. What does it mean to be in-time? In-time is most often thought of as a musical term as it implies being in rhythm with a beat or harmony. It can also mean to be in synchronicity (synchronicity is a very interesting concept which we will discuss later) with the world that is happening around us. In other words, I am in-time when I am aware of the life changes going on around me in society and the world. I am in-time with the present beat of life. I am living now and not in the past. I take part in the world that is happening today and I am not waiting for the future.

Being in-time is an essential musical skill which some people seem to have more than others. Great athletes as well as great musicians must possess this trait. Tiger Woods has a better sense of rhythm and timing than most other golfers. Great leaders and great politicians also have the ability to be in-time. They have their hearts and minds on the pulse of events and the heartbeat of the population. They resonate and play the themes that are demanded by life today and not yesterday or tomorrow. You cannot get elected if you are not in-time with the world and the people. The ability to be in-time is a very valuable asset. Why do some people have it and others do not? What does it take to develop this ability to be “in-time?”

The world is happening around us every day. The Amazon rainforests are being destroyed. Global warming is heating up the earth. Fish are being depleted. Wars are being fought over oil, religion, territory, ethnicity and greed. People are being bought and sold into slavery as commodities. Crime takes an innocent victim every second some place in the world. Are you in tune with what is happening out there or do you have your head buried in the sand? Are you part of the problem? Do you erect a bunker mentality and deny the changes in the world or are you part of the solution? Denying life is the first step to being out of sync with the world and out of sync with life.

Are you in-time with life? What difference would or could it make to you if you were? How much energy do you have for being in-time with the world? Does it feel hopeless? It certainly may at time.

What wrongs can you right this month?

February was named after the Latin term Februltus, which means "a righting of wrongs.” It is a month when we begin looking towards the end of winter and the beginning of spring. We are now more relaxed since the holidays are long over, but it is still too cold and wintry to do much outside. So what can we do in February? Well, maybe the idea of “righting wrongs” is a good use of our time.

In the 12 Step AA program, one is expected to make a list of the people they have wronged and ask for forgiveness; those friends relatives or even acquaintances that we have hurt or taken advantage of in some way. We can all think back through the past year and think of something we did that hurt someone or something we did that we wished we could correct. Can you think of a better use of an entire month, then to make amends with the people who we have hurt, lost, insulted or even just not talked to in a long time? It beats waiting for the groundhog.

Who do you need to make amends with? Who could you right a wrong with? How about starting with one person today and see how it goes? Remember, you only have 28 days in February (except on leap year) so you should start soon. Think of how much better you will feel when you have made peace with someone.

Are you taking care of your spiritual life?

The fifth and final plan we all need concerns our spiritual development. “What doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world and suffers the loss of his own soul” (Matthew). Many of us worry about time and money. We worry about how we look and what people think of us. We worry about holidays, vacations, buying things, having the right image and having the right toys. What gets lost in our mad material rush for things and image is our immortal soul. We remember to put out the garbage but we forget our souls. Our souls will go on long after our body has aged and withered away. What is more important, how you look or how your soul looks?

The highest level of development is considered by many wise people to be spiritual. Without spiritual development, we wither and rot on the vine. We are hollow and shallow people without a soul. We can plan a budget and plan time for going to school, friends, family and exercise, but what will it all be for if we cannot put aside time to develop our soul? Thus, a plan to develop your soul might just be the longest reaching and most important plan you can have. Without such a plan how can you grow wiser and kinder and more just?

My spiritual plan is very simple. For others, it may be going regularly to church, mosque or synagogue. The core of my spiritual exercises is my daily spiritual prayer. Each day before I begin my activities, I recite a spiritual prayer and take five minutes to do a spiritual reading. This practice constitutes a sort of daily spiritual exercise for me. Every year, I attend a silent retreat at a Jesuit Retreat house called Demontreville. It is three days of spiritual reflection and prayer. The silence for three days helps me to get in touch with my inner being and to really reflect on where my life and my goals are. I have now attended over 25 of these yearly retreats. They have helped me to develop spiritually, morally and ethically. Every year, I look forward to my annual retreat as an important time for spiritual renewal and reflection. There are many spiritual exercises in the different religious traditions that can help you to develop spiritually. They can all offer you more joy and happiness if you take the time to practice them.

Are you satisfied with your spiritual and moral development? Are you doing something to help develop in these areas? Have you set aside time for your spiritual development? Do you have a concrete set of exercises and activities to help you grow spiritually? If not, when will you begin? Can you start by taking five minutes today for a spiritual reading from the Bible, Koran, Hindu Scriptures, Buddhist readings or the Torah? If not, can you simply read a good selection from a book on moral and ethical development? Five minutes each day that might change your immortal soul!

By the way, I am sorry I did not post these past four days but I was attending my annual retreat at Demontreville. It was number 26 for me and was very gratifying. I could not imagine what my life would be without taking the time each year for this reatreat.