Time

Being complete master and ruler of your time isn’t, perhaps, as worthy of our aim as it appears at first glance. Oliver Burkeman makes the case that your time is actually in part a “network good.” I.e. part of its good is dependent on others having access to it and how well their time coordinates with yours and vice versa.

Having an abundance of time isn’t inherently bad. It is however useless and even unpleasant if you have no one to spend it with, no one with whom to experience all that unfolds in that abundance of time. Add others to the equation and ultimately your time becomes less your own. They make demands on it, they insist on meeting at a specific time. You lose some of the autonomy. Good.

Some of my favorite things about my life in this current stage make some of the biggest external demands on my time. My son being chief among them. I love being his parent. I love watching him run and explore the world. And I’m largely on his time frame when we’re hanging out, not mine. Deep relationships require shared rhythms of life and time. I willingly and gladly give up my time autonomy to experience life with him and my wife.

Decide how you want to spend your time. Do you tend to give it away freely and need to set more defined boundaries? Or do you tend to hoard it and need to share more of it? Your time is your most valuable commodity, be thoughtful and intentional about how you spend it.