07 May Can you twist time?

Are you waiting for the ‘right’ time?

Have you been putting something off, waiting for that break in your schedule? Waiting for the ‘right time’?

Maybe after this project is complete, or that desk drawer has been re-organized. After you have toned your body or perfected that swing.

Time is an awkward subject. We feel we never have enough. Until something happens, and we realize we have the ability to twist it and manipulate it and fit more into 24 hours than we could have ever imagined.

It could be a washing-machine that causes a flood and re-arranges your week.  Or a sudden hurricane that throws off months of careful planning for an international conference. Or a child spiking a sudden fever. We have all been there.

How that day started was not how it would end

“I am fully loaded”, I told myself a month ago.

I had a BSJ with each hour of each day committed for the next week, full of lists and things to do …

• I was excited to be heading over to Europe on the weekend to see my family – especially my mother and my daughter. Still had to pack.
• I had 2 speaking engagements.
• I had just launched my new podcast and needed to add more episodes, set up some interviews.
• I had 2 podcasters interviewing me as guests on their shows that week.
• I had to complete a work project I had committed to.

I was tightly choreographed, with little room to manoeuver. I knew exactly where I was supposed to be and when.

Family first

But family comes first. With my husband, I shoe-horned in a quick visit to my mother-in-law – just dropping off a fan to cool her new room.

That was at 11am on Monday. Right after the meeting on my project where I had committed to getting stuff done, and before my upcoming podcast interview that afternoon.

As we walked in the nurse was on the phone alerting the family that she was taking a turn for the worse.

9 hours later, my mother-in-law passed away. Surrounded by those she loved.

Finding time for those we hold dear

Her death reminded me that in the last moments of our life, it is not project-planners, bonus checks, awards or work colleagues that are by our bedside. We are surrounded by the precious few people who matter most to us – our family and closest friends. Find those extra minutes in our day for those we love – wherever they are. Make time to share a text, a hug, a laugh. And to connect.

When everything changed

In the space of those nine hours, so much changed. Our family lost its matriarch. Our priority re-arranged to focus on the things that matter most: family, legacy and grief.

Somehow, time shifted.

Time telescoped. Space opened up.  And we were allowed the precious moments to walk back through the story of her life, delve back into memories, and trace back how she leveraged her time on this earth to raise and nourish a family, sing, work, make an impact, and leave a legacy.

Suddenly everything that seemed impossible 12 hours earlier was made possible. Colleagues stepped up and delivered on my commitments. Friends re-arranged their already busy days and lives to embrace and accommodate our grief.  Organizations and individuals re-scheduled my appointments.

Finding time

The events of that week reminded me to remain flexible, nimble, responsive.

• A plan is just a guideline. It is not set in stone. Whether it is for today, or for the next five years of your life, it can be amended.
• Flexible – We can fit in more than we think into 24 hours. There is ‘important’. And then there is ‘urgent‘.
• Technology can be our enabler.
• But our human community is our greater asset.

Become a Time Lord

So, what are you waiting for? What would you do with more time?

• Read that book by your bedside?
• Explore a new subject or do an 8-week MOOC?
• Start a blog or a podcast? Or maybe join us on our daily challenge to write for 10 minutes?
• Write that thank you letter?
• Go for a run?
• Bake a cake? Share your favorite recipes or memories with your children?

So start – imperfectly. Find your precious 10 minutes today. Because tomorrow is not a guarantee to any of us.

Reach out to your community for support. Then let me know if I can help: Accountability buddy? Brain-storming?

Be a Time Lord. Twist time in your favour. You have more options than you realized, and are more powerful than you know.