I don’t have time…

Is time the real villain?

Story 1

A busy working day in the hospital. A man in his middle ages is admitted with severe illness and is not able to breathe. Doctors and nurses are trying to fix him but his condition is worsening. Meanwhile, the housekeeper receives a phone call and it’s his sister. She wants to speak to someone regarding his condition and wants to make sure that he is alright. The housekeeper asks the nurse who is looking after that particular patient to speak to her as she is really concerned and worried. The staff nurse angrily replies, “I don’t have time for that now. I have to give all the medicines.” Hearing the conversation, another staff nurse steps in and talks to the sister. The nurse gives her an update regarding the patient and also reassures that they are trying their level best. After sometime, the patient is critical. The same nurse calls her sister to come to the hospital so that she can see her brother. The sister comes as soon as she can but the brother has already died. She is devastated but she thanks all the staff for taking care of her brother and also to keep her updated.

Story 2

A three year old child is waiting for her father to come back after his work. It’s already half past eight in the evening and he should have come about an hour ago. She asks her mother, “Will papa be home soon?” and her mother replies that he will. So she tells her mother that she wants to wait for her papa at the gate. They are waiting outside but he doesn’t turns up. The wife is worried and she calls him several times but he doesn’t pick up the call. The child is sad now and asks why her father is not answering the call because she wants to speak to him. She starts to cry. After sometime when her father reaches home, the wife asks about the calls. He says casually, “I didn’t have time for that. I went to the shop. Then, I saw one of my friends and we were talking.” The wife is angry and disappointed.

Is not having the time a real problem or is it about our priorities? By saying that we don’t have time are we neglecting other people’s feelings and emotions? And, when we say about not having time, do we really don’t? What do you reckon?

I believe that time is not the real villain in our lives. It’s about prioritizing what is important. If someone or something does really matters to me, then I will make time for that however busy I’m. In our personal or professional lives, it is really essential to prioritize what is important to us and to spend time on that. Otherwise, we would only be living a robotic life just by using our time to finish our chores or to meet our deadlines. In the end, we will regret about the little but vital matters that we didn’t do because we thought that it could be done later at some other time.

Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important.

Stephen R. Covey

You don’t get time.
You create time.

Sanhita Baruah

‘I’m too busy’ is another way of saying, ‘It’s not a priority‘.

Frank Sonnenberg

All things good happen by not managing time, but prioritizing attention.

Richie Norton

There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the most important thing.

Brian Tracy

The greatest reflection of your priorities is your time. Whatever you say about what matters to you, the true test is where you place your time.

Nick Crocker

Nobody’s life is ever all balanced. It’s a conscious decision to choose your priorities every day.

Elisabeth Hasselbeck

Let us reflect on what is truly of value in life, what gives meaning to our lives, and set our priorities on the basis of that.

Dalai Lama

Please leave your comments on the topic as I would really love to read them.