The forth dimension… Time

One of the things that I didn’t realize until recently is that time passes at different rates for people depending on their employment status. The people on the hiring end are caught up in the day to day chaos which accelerates time. The people on the hunt wait for the others to get around to reviewing applications so they see the world moving in slow motion.

I have several kids in University at the moment and they are caught in yet another temporal zone where time is moving even faster than industry. They have end of year assignments due and have to start studying for pending exams. This observation about the different temporal zones made me wonder how many others there are and how that effects our interactions.

If you like your job and you are engrossed in your work, time passes in the blink of an eye. If you don’t like you job and it is a way to earn money to buy groceries, the passage of time approaches eternity. These are probably the two extremes and there are arguments for and against each. In the first case one could argue we have a limited amount of time in our lives so why would you want it to pass in a work coma? Oddly, I enjoy work comas and feel refreshed at the end of the day so although I see their argument, I choose working hard and having fun.

I suspect that I could achieve the same sense of nirvana and enjoy life a bit more if I scheduled regular walk abouts, sets of pushups and other activities to break up the day. It’s hard to take the time when you are on a roll. I tend to wait for road blocks before breaking up the day.

One of the observations that I have made is that it is possible to be in more than one temporal zone at the same time. We all have commitments to family, friends, co-workers, etc who are all in different zones. This can be a source of conflict because the perspective of the passage of time is different for each individual. To some you will seem to accomplish your goals quickly, while to others you look like a slacker.

If you force yourself into the fastest temporal zone you can insure that most people will see you as an achiever. The down side is that you will wake up one day as a senior citizen or die of a heart attack trying to please everyone. So life comes back to choices and time management. I’m not an expert at time management but I have observed people who move from zone to zone during the course of the day never existing in two zones at the same time. For these people time is structured and there are no surprises.

Take a minute to look at your own life over this long weekend to determine if your balance is working. Pay attention to the temporal zones that others live in and be sympathetic to their circumstances. Set expectations in others based on your perception of the passage of time. No one knows when their time is up, so find your balance and enjoy the time you have.

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One Response to The forth dimension… Time

  1. Jim says:

    What you are talking about is the perception of the speed of time dependent on your emotional state, work status, work load, happiness factor, age, etc. To actually change your time in respect to other people’s time you have to seriously increase your velocity and/or rotational speed. This is proven by quantum physics.

    Take the advice of Ferris Bueller, stop every once in a while to stop and look around, otherwise life will just pass you by.

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