Who has time? Who has time? But then if we do not ever take time, how can we ever have time?

—The Merovingian, in The Matrix

I love it when a very simple idea turns out to be profound.

The Merovingian’s words are, to me, a classic example.

Soon after I started blogging last February, I recall having two concerns.  The first was regarding sustainability; would I be able to keep producing blog posts that are worthy of your time and attention?  This no longer worries me so much, as I am finding that my blogging is generative; I have more ideas “in the bank” now than I did when I published my first post eleven months ago.

My second concern was regarding time.  Would I consistently have the time?

It was as I was reflecting on this second concern that I recalled the Merovingian’s words, and a classic time management lesson was reinforced.

When we say we don’t have the time to do something, what we’re really saying is that something is not a priority.

If it is a priority, we find the time.  Or, probably more accurately, we take the time.  We won’t ever have the time if we don’t take the time …

And it seems that’s exactly what I’ve been doing.  I’ve been taking the time from various other activities.

The most apparent is sports.  I’m no longer watching sports programming.  First, I stopped watching the Cubs.  That wasn’t much of a sacrifice… I think it actually improved my mental health and my blood pressure!  🙂

But then I wasn’t watching the Bears quite so much, and when I did watch, it was as I was writing on my laptop … and then I found I wasn’t turning on the Bulls, which was actually surprising to me … and I’ve hardly watched any of the football playoff games …

I’m also not spending as much time watching TV generally.  The Sunday morning political shows were an early and relatively easy drop from my attention.

I’m taking my time.

*     *     *     *     *

“I don’t have the time.”

How recent has it been since you’ve uttered those words?”

So far, in terms of my blogging, I have had the time.  Because, I now realize, I’ve been taking my time.

Are you taking yours?

You won’t ever have the time if you don’t take the time …

Take your time!