{"id":68883,"date":"2022-06-08T20:35:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-09T00:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=68883"},"modified":"2022-06-20T10:26:12","modified_gmt":"2022-06-20T14:26:12","slug":"relationship-to-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/relationship-to-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Why You Must Redefine Your Relationship to Time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Do you feel like there’s never enough time in the day? Do you tend to overfill your schedule to make the most of the time available? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Richard Koch, the author of The 80\/20<\/a> Principle<\/em>, we need to give up the belief that there is a shortage of time. From his perspective, time isn’t scarce, but we regard it such. As a result, we feel compelled to stuff our schedules with more activity without thinking whether that activity is worthwhile. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s why you should abandon the scarcity mentality<\/a> when it comes to your relationship to time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Richard Koch: There Is Enough Time<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When we regard time as a scarce resource, the only option we can see for doing more of what we love is to squeeze pleasurable activities into the gaps of our lives. We feel compelled to do more<\/em> because we think that doing more with a seemingly small amount of time is the only way to experience more of what we want. We can\u2019t see any way to eliminate anything without compromising our livelihoods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, Koch says we need to redefine our relationship to time. In reality, he says, time is abundant, and this perspective will revolutionize our lives<\/strong>: According to the 80\/20 Principle, we\u2019re most productive during a mere 20% of the time we spend working. If we simply focus our time on the 20% of tasks that deliver the highest return, that leaves 80% of our time open, and we can choose whether to spend this time on pleasurable pursuits or more high-return, productive work. From this perspective, time isn\u2019t scarce\u201480% is plenty<\/em> of time for the activities, both professional and personal, that give life meaning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why We Feel Like We Don\u2019t Have Enough Time<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Why do we always feel short of time? Koch doesn\u2019t say, but researchers have identified scientific reasons why we feel there isn\u2019t enough time<\/a>, and those reasons point toward adjustments we can make to feel less limited by time constraints:<\/p>\n\n\n\n