Last week I made a conscious decision that I was going to spend more time just wasting time. I’ll give you a second to wrap your mind around that statement.

Got it? Ok keep reading…

My time is very important to me, as it is to most people. When you think about it, time pretty much rules everything we do. I’m always very aware of how many hours I have during the day and how I am utilizing them. How many hours did I sleep? How fast did I run? How long was I stuck in traffic? How many minutes was I on hold for? As I go throughout the day I am constantly asking myself how much do I have to do, how long will it take, and how much time do I have.  In essence I feel like I have become a slave to time, always looking at my watch or checking my phone.

So last week I decided to experiment and let go of my tight grip on time. This came after the realization that I needed to spend more time relaxing and having fun, and less time sticking to a regimented to-do list. Now of course I had certain appointments to make, but for the most part I stopped scheduling every second of my day. I stopped worrying about how long it was taking me to finish something. Or how many more tasks I wanted to complete before 8pm. And most importantly I let myself do more “time wasting” activities.

A time wasting activity for me are things like going to to the movies, taking a nap, surfing the web, watching t.v., reading a magazine, etc… These are all activities that for the most part I never do because I never felt like I had time to. I always felt that if I didn’t keep to a tight schedule that nothing would get done.

However, I found that wasting time ended up being quite productive in the long run. Some how I actually got more done. How did this happen? I’m not really sure to tell you the truth. All I know is that for the first time in a long time I felt caught up with my to-do list, and felt like the Universe was supporting me and my efforts.

Now I have a few theories on why this worked. For one I believe that by giving my mind and body breaks throughout the day to just relax and unwind, I became more focused and present when I was working. I completed tasks quicker, because I approached them feeling refreshed and energized. I also could think clearer and thereby made less mistakes. Overall I was more efficient and effective in my work.

But I also witnessed a lot of things come together for me this week. Opportunities fell into my lap, I connected with the right people at the right time, essentially I was in the zone. I believe that when I let go of a regimented schedule and slowed down, I was able to receive more. Now this might be getting a little woo woo for you, but stay with me. There is an energetic flow of giving and receiving in everything we do. And we all know what happens when you give too much and never receive, you get burnt out, resentful, etc… Well that same energy of giving and receiving runs through the Universe. For the past year I’ve been pushing all the time. Working harder and longer in the name of  progress and success. The problem was I was so busy pushing that I never relaxed into a state of receiving. The Universe was trying to help me out all along, I just wouldn’t let it. And as soon as I slowed down for a second I was given all the support that I had been so desperately pushing for.

What does this mean for me going forward? I’m well aware that I have a busy few months ahead of me. And there is part of me that wants to go into over productive mode again and schedule out every hour of my day so I make sure that I get everything done. But I’m not going to do that. Instead I’ll follow a more loosely based schedule. And If I want to take a nap in the middle of the day, or take in a sunset or two, I am going to let myself. I am making a conscious decision to stop being a slave to time. To get done what I can get done in a day and let that be enough. To take more time to slow down and smell the roses. Cause I now see that the time I “waste” was really time well spent.