Making Time

“How we spend our days is of course how we spend our lives.”

— Annie Dillard

Time is the currency of life. From the moment we wake up, our days and schedules are ruled by time. Another beautiful anecdote of time is that it’s truly the ultimate equalizer. It doesn’t matter if you’re Jeff Bezos, Oprah, or just Jenny from the block, everybody has 24 hours in the day, no more and no less.

Which leads me to a wonderful question I’ve been thinking about and asking my close friends and family: at the end of the day, when you sit back and think, “wow, today was really great!” what comes to mind? What does it actually mean and look like to spend our time well?

The answers I get to this question are most enlightening and humbling. Never have I ever heard, “I had a great day endlessly scrolling my apps on my phone” or “Watching five hours of television.” The answers I usually get to the question of what a great day looks like are basic things like: time with close friends and family, enjoying my favorite hobby, accomplishing fulfilling or challenging work, or selfcare.

When I did this mental exercise recently, I became painfully and suddenly aware how easily distracted I had become. For example, my weekly screen time report on my phone embarrassingly showed me that I’d been averaging close to 3.5 hours every day staring into my device. After some quick back-of-the-napkin math on that stat, this is about 53 full days per year of just looking at metal and glass.

No wonder I was feeling slightly hollow at the end of my days, like I never had enough time to get to the good stuff, or if I did, I was all out of mental energy by the time I got there. I’m willing to bet there’s a lot of people out there (maybe you) that feel similar. It’s not like my days weren’t full or busy, but they were lacking substance.

What’s the solution to this problem? The answer is both beautifully simple but incredibly difficult. To get back to doing what’s most meaningful and fulfilling, you must ruthlessly remove your distractions. To find them (distractions), all you need to do is reflect on how you like spending your days. Then, compare that answer to what you’re honestly doing. The contrast between those two should point you in the right direction.

If this resonates with you, I’d love to read your thoughts via email reply or in the comments below. Until then, keep making time for what matters most deeply to you, because if time is the currency of life, then I want mine well spent.

Planting Seeds

Sometime in the year 1917, Mr. and Mrs. William Bowers Bourn II moved into an American country estate called Filoli. The majestic main house was built on 16 acres (on a 654-acre estate) in San Mateo, California. The property’s notable features include expansive sunken gardens, fruit orchards, winding trails, and meticulously landscaped views.

This past weekend, 102 years after Mr. and Mrs. Bourn first took possession of the house, I visited Filoli to walk the gardens. The property has been surprisingly well-maintained over the last century thanks to the dedication of countless people, and I found myself stunned at the natural beauty and eden-like serenity of the estate, despite it being only a handful of miles south of chaotic San Francisco.

While walking, I noted that wandering the grounds of old castles is a common attraction in Europe, but in America, given its relatively short history, public estates like Filoli are a rare treasure well worth exploring.

The crown jewel of my observations today, and what I want to share with you, is the miracle of planting seeds for the future. I doubt that Mr. and Mrs. Bourn would have guessed over a hundred years after they first moved in, the public would be wandering around their former backyard admiring their roses and dutch gardens.

Planting seeds today so that others may eat the fruits of the future is both literally and metaphorically beautiful. As hundreds of thousands of people take to the streets to protest for action on climate change or transparent governments, I’m encouraged to think about what else I can be doing today to serve generations to come.

My hope is that these blogs and emails will have a useful purpose unbeknownst to me someday. Until then, I enjoy planting little seeds of wisdom whenever and wherever I can.

Fight for a just cause. Love your fellow man. Live a good life.

- William Bourn II