Sunday, November 28, 2010

A fistful of sands (of Time)

“What do you usually do once you reach home?”  I asked my colleague during an after-lunch stroll.  
“I reach home by 8 o’clock in the evening, cook dinner, watch tv, and then go off to bed.” She replied, albeit with an element of surprise on her face, as to why was she being asked such a question.
“And how about the weekends?”
“I go out shopping.”
“Do you have any hobbies that you pursue?”
“I love fabric painting and stitching designs on clothes. However, it has been almost a year since I have done any of those activities.”
“Why?”
“Because I am not finding enough time to do so.”

This was not the first time in my life that I was hearing someone say that he or she doesn’t find time out of their busy schedules to pursue something different in life. In fact, 3 years back, the count of those who gave this reason for not trying out something new in life was at least +1 than what it is now. Yes amigos. I also belonged to the same category. The time always found a way to escape from my hands. And the reason for that was not that time is stronger than my grasp, but that my grasp does not have enough will to hold on to time.

Things, however, have changed now. And these days, I find more time for myself and to do things that I love, than what I usually found couple of years back. For instance, here are the details of how I spend time on a regular weekday –

Activity
Time Spent (in hrs)
Getting ready for office
1
Time spent in office
9
Travel betw office and home, both to & fro
2
Listening to my favourite music
4
Eating
1
Watching TV
1
Playing guitar
2
Sleeping
7
Checking mails, RSS feeds and Facebook
1
Total
28


Oh yes. My average day is 28 hours long, 4 hours more than what God intended to grant me. And those extra 4 hours are something which I could not have managed to squeeze into my daily routine, had I not had the will to do so. I get that extra time because of my deep love for things outside the average daily routine. For instance, I love playing guitar. Hence, I reach home, have my dinner, and subsequently, ensure that I practice guitar for at least 2 hours. Similarly, I love listening to British Rock. And I find out time here and there to plug the earphones, which ultimately gives approx 4 hours of time to my favourite music to fill my ears.

The truth is that if you really want to find more time for yourself, you can, only if you truly love something. Develop a hobby and devote time to that.  The way things stand today, I can definitely say that I am now living a life which is "longer" and more enriching as compared to the life I was leading couple of years back. Its not only that I am holding on to time, but these days,  I am infact, able to squeeze out more time out of the time. And I am sure anyone who has a great passion for something can do so.