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LM: #312: Time feathering
When you’re watching the clock, you can’t be present. Yet time makes modern life possible.
To be present without fighting the clock, use time feathering.
Here’s how it works: Imagine you run into a friend you want to catch up with, but you have only 10 minutes.
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What many do is keep checking the time until they have to go. Some might set a timer on their phone for 10 minutes, aka “time boxing.”
To use time feathering, instead set a timer for, say, 7 minutes. (On iOS, all you have to do is activate Siri and say, “7 minutes.”)
If you set a timer for 10 minutes, you have more low-level anxiety during the chat. Did I just hear my alarm? What if it doesn’t go off? Then, when the timer goes off, you have to cut off the conversation abruptly. Time “boxing” has a violent connotation, and that’s how it feels to use it.
By using time feathering, you can be completely present and relaxed throughout the conversation, then when the timer goes off, you have a few minutes to wind down.
Try time feathering, and instead of racing against the clock, you’ll be strolling along with it.
Book: Ask the Dust (Amazon) was one of Charles Bukowski’s favorite novels.
Cool: AntiRSI is a Mac app that reminds you to take breaks.
Best,
David
P.S. I’ve set up with Readwise a 60-day free trial for Love Mondays subscribers.
