Time is not a resource

According to Oliver Burkeman, British author and journalist, “Assuming you live to be eighty, you’ll have had about four thousand weeks.”

I spent 1 out of 4,000 of mine finally curling up with his New York Times bestseller, Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals* while “returning to real life” after taking two weeks off for the holidays, creating a near-perfect existential contemplation cocktail.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there’s a lot I loved about Burkeman’s insights on time management, drawing on insights from philosophers, psychologists, spiritual teachers, and his own productivity-obsessed experience. In fact, as I cruised my way through the book, there were multiple points at which I cheerfully exclaimed, “I wrote about something similar in Time Intentional!” (The cost of convenience, the notion of the “last time,” and the trouble with traditional time management strategies, to name a few.)

And Burkeman might have even altered my perception of time.

I’ve always viewed time as a finite resource. It runs out, and we only get so much. Unlike money, we can’t just earn or gain more of it whenever we want, because time doesn’t work that way. It’s a common comparison, and one I even promote.

There are other vital non-monetary resources, too: energy, attention, health, relationships, knowledge, natural resources for survival, and the list goes on.

But perhaps I’m looking at it all wrong: maybe time isn’t a resource at all; it’s an experience.

We can optimize, manage, and even gain more of most of our resources. There are limitations and constraints, of course. (Wouldn’t it be nice if there were an infinite supply of these things?)

And we treat time as a resource, as if it were something we can produce, optimize, accumulate, and manage. But time is not a resource at all.

Time is an experience. When we think about time as a resource, we:

• use time

• spend time

• waste time

• save time

• optimize time

• manage time

When we think of time as a resource, we ask, “How do I get more of it?” knowing it’s impossible to generate more of it. Because time doesn’t belong to me, nor does it belong to you. You can’t stop time from passing. It is not a resource that requires optimization, management, saving, or wise use. It’s nothing more than something we experience, outside of our human control.

Maybe it’s merely nothing more than a matter of semantics, but one thing is for sure: so far, thinking about time as nothing more than what I’m experiencing is a hell of a lot more freeing than believing that time is something I’m “wasting” or “need to find more of.”

1-year celebration giveaway winners

Thank you for celebrating one year of Time Intentional with me! And congratulations to the giveaway prize winners below!

Please email me your best mailing address so I can send your prize your way:

• Lucy N. — One book (your choice) from the Time Intentional book list on Bookshop

• Lauren P. — One Duncan & Stone Paper Co. Legacy Journal*

• Bree D. — One The Live Your Values Deck pack*

• Megan G. — One Let’s Get Closer: Table Talk deck*

Time well spent: weekly roundup

• Years ago, I volunteered with The Admin Awards and worked closely with the incredible Sunny Nunan. Sunny created the program in honor of her mother, Jeannette Marie Castellano, and her career as an executive secretary. Jeannette recently passed away, and Sunny wrote one of the most beautiful tributes I’ve ever read. Always thank your admins in honor of Jeannette.

• I recently learned about Life Story Club, a program that hosts weekly virtual social clubs for older adults over the phone or Zoom to foster connection, belonging, and purpose. Read about the power of the StoryRX initiative.

• I’ve rebuilt a regular reading habit, an activity I’ve always loved but didn’t always prioritize, and I am so dang proud. I reflected on the books I read last year and even made up some accolades to give out. FUN!

Your next intentional move

• Who in your life or workplace quietly makes things run smoothly, and how can you intentionally show your appreciation for them?

• How can you be more intentional about nurturing community, especially across different life stages?

• What’s a habit you’ve rebuilt or want to rebuild, and how could you make it a little more fun or magical?

Check out the full list of intentional prompts and share it with someone you love!

I’m Alyssa Towns, and this is Time Intentional, a newsletter exploring what it means to spend our limited (and precious) time intentionally. Extend your love and support by sharing this newsletter with someone you know or buying me a coffee! ☕

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