We are busy; no doubt about it. There is so much to do, achieve, manage, plan and fulfill. We are short on time to do it all. Chronic stress has become the norm, which has a profound effect on our bodies and minds.  Many of us live in a stressful world with intermittent periods of relaxation, rather than a relaxed state with moments of stress, which is counter-intuitive to our innate biology. Furthermore, stress is an interesting response because our bodies cannot consistently differentiate between a real or imagined threat. So a stressful thought, like worry, which is not technically about something actually happening to us, is biochemically and psychologically no different from a physical threat that actually is.

Our lives are complex, fraught with speed and necessity. There is a real need to slow it down, to simplify and to find some space to be rather than do. To that end, it’s not just about managing our time to simplify our lives. We’ve all tried that, and it hasn’t really worked. So I suggest another tactic. Perhaps we do not need to create more time in our day but more day in our time.

How?

Creating more time in the day is a simple (yet not always easy) practice of being present to what is. In presence we are offered the gift of pause. Our nervous system has the chance to calm down because our thoughts are not lost in future worry or past judgment.  When we are present to what is, we create a space between what is happening (stimulus) and our reaction to it (response). It is a space of fluid curiosity and reprieve that is neither grasping nor pushing away. Thus, presence allows our perceptions to expand to include the bigger picture, not just what we know but what we don’t yet know, offering new possibilities and options, creating higher levels of efficiency with new choices;  therefore shifting our perception of time itself.

Simple ways to create more day in our time:

1)Breathe: Throughout the day, remind yourself to take five deep breathes. This action stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, calming the thinking mind and chemically relaxing the body. Set your phone (there are some great apps for this) to remind you every hour to simply breathe.

2) Be the witness: No matter what you are doing, be present to doing it. If you are driving- drive; if you are working- work; if you are in a conversation with someone-really listen. Even if you are multitasking, you can stay observant to what you are doing. What do you see, taste, touch, smell or feel? It is an interesting fact when we engage one of our five senses we turn down the hyper critical part of the thinking mind and we find stillness within the storm. By simply observing what is happening, what you are experiencing and feeling, you will be amazed at how much time you actually have. 

3) Be grateful: Gratitude is the antidote to the whirlwind of habitual thinking. Gratitude slows down time to appreciate the small moments:  brilliant smiles, hidden laughter, secret beauty and tenacious grace that is present in everyday moments. It tunes us into the mysterious and wondrous nuances of life we, in our fast-paced life, tend to overlook.

You can practice all of these separately; yet I suggest you make them a synergistic practice. Finding the breath, observing and being grateful can happen all at once. In this way you, quite literally, create more day in your time.