Well, I took a couple weeks off. SORRY. Blame it on Aries season or whatever, but around this time of year I always feel more like moving and talking than sitting and writing, more like acting than thinking. I kind of love it, the natural shifts in energy that we all experience throughout the year. And it got me thinking: while leaning into seasons comes naturally to me, I’ve never quite been able to get a grasp on TIME. I just don’t know how it works. (Cue ICP…)
As a person with ADHD time has always been something of a nemesis, an enchantress, a mirage! Hours can disappear into thin air, with nothing to show. Minutes can drag on for eternity, defying reason. I long ago made peace with the fact that I’ll never be able to comprehend time, I can only hope to measure it.
My weapon of choice is a lil’ timer cube (with my phone a close runner-up). It looks like this:
When do I use timers?
I use them to make myself work undistracted in 30 minute intervals until I find my flow (I’ve made it through without looking at my phone approximately twice).
For cooking, duh. And laundry (NYC laundromat life!).
For cat naps, the best naps.
I use them to set 5 minute intervals before I have to leave the house: 5 minutes to space out, 5 more to get ready, ok 5 more this time it’s real… ok now that you’re ready 5 more before you have to leave the house… aw crap, you’re late again…
I use them to speed-clean my apartment and turn it into kind of a game.
Pre-pandemic I’d use my phone alarm to read at a bar before a movie or a dinner, to keep myself from incessantly checking my phone. It’s amazing how much you can read in 20 minutes if you just… read.
And I think most of all I use timer to allot spaceout time to stare at the ceiling, or close my eyes, or do a puzzle, or whatever I WANT to do before I have to get back to doing whatever the real thing is I HAVE to do.
Another time thing I’m obsessed with is military time, the 24-hour day. I’ve had my phone set to military time for years, and people ask me about it a lot. I explain that, for one thing, it makes life less confusing when you travel, since most countries use this system for plane and train times. Also, I like thinking of every day as a set unit of 24 hours. It’s a reminder that that’s all we get, and makes me think: what am I going to do with these hours? And best of all, when a new day begins it all resets—00:00 (even though I rarely stay up late enough to see this grand display).
So what’s the point of this? I guess it’s all to say, time is always strange for me, but right now I’m sensing that it’s strange for all of us. The widely shared NYT article about “languishing” was a clue that the sit-around-blahs are taking hold, big time. So it might feel like lately you’re just “doing time”, letting the days play out and watching the clock until it’s time for bed. Been there. It’s not a surefire cure, but try setting a timer. Give yourself 5 minutes in the day to be mindful to something, or mindless to everything—your choice! But when you have a few minutes to yourself that feel like they meant something, it can help to make sense of the other 1,435 minutes in the day.
Oh, and try the 24-hour clock thing! Feels great. :)