No More Dead Time!
Written by Rev. Dr. Scott Paczkowski
“Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time.”
Control is an illusion, but we can work to utilize our time well, so we are able to accomplish more, amidst the unplanned challenges that rear their ugly head. Ryan Holiday, in his article, “Will You Choose Alive Time or Dead Time?” describes his own process of discerning time. “Then I remembered a piece of advice I had gotten from the author Robert Greene many years earlier. He told me there are two types of time: alive time and dead time. One is when you sit around, when you wait until things happen to you. The other is when you are in control, when you make every second count, when you are learning and improving and growing.”
While I have made many mistakes in my life, one of the commitments I’ve made in life was bringing a book with me wherever I go. This has been made much easier in the last decade with the smartphone. Even when I am stuck in a line, or waiting in the doctor’s office, I can get my reading done. For the past thirty years I’ve gone from listening to books on tape in the car, to streaming audible books on my phone. I mowed the lawn today with my noise cancelling headphones on. Rarely am I stuck wasting time.
Resting and relaxing is not Dead Time. We all need time to rest. The same way it takes eight hours of sleep to prepare ourselves to live with energy for the next 16 – when we push ourselves excessively mentally or physically – added rest time is necessary. Rest can be Active Time. Dead Time is living a life on autopilot because you hate your job, or worse, your life.
If you have chosen to live your life in lazy Dead Time, instead of Active Time, ask yourself why you are living a life of avoidance. Why is your life so unfulfilling? If so, can you make a job change? If you cannot, can you focus on an aspect of your work life that brings you fulfillment. I know someone whose work is brain-numbing, but she focuses on those she works with daily. She takes the time to listens to their joys and frustrations. She makes little gifts for them in her off hours. While the work isn’t fulfilling, caring for those around her, in her workplace, makes her work hours fulfilling. Pray, that no matter what your work or life situation, that you will Choose Alive Time and make a difference in the life situation in which you are involved. God will bless your involvement and your time will bring you joy.
