Time is such an intriguing concept! For some, it flies by; for others, it crawls. For some, it’s productive; for others, unproductive. Everything we do passes within time. Time works, we live. We play, time writes. It flows by, second by second, minute by minute, hour by hour. Sometimes it’s months and years. Sometimes, it’s a lifetime.
Time management is one of the biggest problems of our era. Our issue is not being able to hold onto what slips through our fingers, not being able to benefit from it as it flows. It’s our wrong way of living, our careless spending of it. Our ailment is failing to appreciate what’s been granted and succumbing to our desires.
Mina’s Story
Mina, a university student, had been sitting at her study desk for hours, struggling to complete her assignments. She was lost among her assignments and projects due. The sky had already turned dark, and a quiet hush had settled over their neighborhood. Perhaps hers was the only room still lit.
“I can’t believe it, it’s nearly 1 am, and I’m still not done!” Mina lamented. She got up from the chair and headed to the bookshelf. Despite her legs being numb from sitting for so long, she managed to reach the bookshelf at the other end of the room and grabbed her biology book.
“I guess I can finish this and then go to sleep,” she murmured to herself, opened the required page, and began to pace around the room, reading aloud. She repeated lines and tried to memorize key points for tomorrow’s exam.
By the time it was nearing 3 am, with her energy completely drained, Mina finally stopped studying and prepared to sleep. She was so tired that as soon as her head hit the pillow, she fell into the arms of sleep.
“You have 24 hours, young lady.” She didn’t recognize the voice. She looked around, but there was nothing but darkness. “24 hours, that’s not little! But it seems too little for you!” She felt anxious when she heard the voice again and spun around. Even though there was no one there, the voice made her nervous. “Who are you?” she asked, but even though no answer came, the voice posed another question: “How do you spend each hour, minute, and second that’s been bestowed upon you, Mina?” The voice, with its gentle tone and thought-provoking questions, made Mina shake off her panic and reflect on herself. Was she truly spending her life on worthwhile deeds, making efficient use of her time?
Was she focusing on different, self-serving tasks, or was she preparing provisions for the hereafter? Was her mind on worldly matters, or on the hereafter? “Think about the consequences of your actions, Mina! What are you living for? What is your goal in this world?” These seemed like questions that constantly circled in her mind but were buried deep down.
She remembered a saying from an elder: “If there’s no goal, no service, no gratitude in what you do, does that action have any meaning or value? It’s akin to taking the precious time and throwing it into the trash!” With anxiety and fear, she thought about what she did during the day and her purpose. She started her day with exercise, spent about two hours chatting over breakfast with friends, and then they headed to campus together. After school, when a friend suggested visiting a newly opened store, she couldn’t say no and went to the city center. When she got home, she had dinner and sat down to study. Although she studied a bit during the day, it wasn’t enough for tomorrow’s exam. So, she read, reviewed her notes, and eventually fell asleep late into the night. That’s how she spent her day. As she thought about how she spent her time, she felt bad. She complained about not having enough time, but she wasted hours without a proper schedule.
“Don’t worry, Mina! You still have a chance to manage your time, but you need to be careful about it,” the same voice said. “If you scrutinize the tasks you’re busy with and keep them under control, you can manage your time more easily. Get rid of the clutter in your external world so you can overcome the clutter in your inner world.”
Mina thought about her prayers. She never missed them, but still felt something was missing. Her prayers, which should be the center of her life, seemed sidelined. Instead of interspersing her tasks with prayers, she squeezed her prayers in between tasks. Realizing this made her feel guilty, and the voice spoke again: “Time is beautified and valued by the actions you perform within it. It multiplies and becomes more abundant as it’s blessed. If you waste it on pointless endeavors, you’ve entered a profitless path and shown ingratitude for the gift offered to you.”
Then there was silence for a while. She pondered what she should do and what path would be right to follow.
“Even though your desires continually tempt you, remember that this is a temporary harbor and an eternal life awaits beyond. Make every step with this awareness. Shape every action with this thought and weigh your desires with this will,” the voice concluded, “Time management will be the solution to your problems!”
For some reason, Mina felt a great peace inside. “Time management,” she murmured as she heard a distant noise. The annoying sound grew louder. Eventually, she realized what it was and opened her eyes to the real world. After turning off the alarm that woke her to a new day, she headed to her desk to carefully plan her day.
