Taking Time Seriously for Our Own Benefit

As a society, America is obsessed with time. It's something that has long been a part of our identity: time is money and should be used judiciously.

Often, in America we scoff at the practice of keeping the siesta in Spain, Italy, Mexico and many Latin countries. We smile wryly at the French habit of closing their businesses in August and at the Swedish policy that sets a minimum holiday of five week to enjoy life.

In essence we have never felt entirely comfortable with the abstract concept of leisure time. The fact of facing a fragment of time with a lack of structure causes almost an immediate feeling of discomfort. To us time is a precious thing and we try to get the most from it.

Sort, organize and use, this is a good way to structure time. Time is used, invested and managed. In America we are always trying to be productive at all times. We live subject to schedules and checklists. We are used to being micromanaged in our work time, much of our playing time and increasingly our private life time as well.

As Thomas Edison once said "Success requires 1% inspiration and 99% work". In society it is considered that those who achieve success are characterized by always having the time to do something more, those who fail to achieve success is because they never have time to even do what they should do.

In other words we are in a permanent race against time.

Throughout history, America has considered that an active life is ethically higher. This tradition of always being busy is part of our moral structure which grants a prestigious status to those who utilize every moment of life to be ruled by the clock. In our society it is customary to measure achievement through productivity.

And you, how much of your time do you use to achieve the goals you have set? Do you waste valuable time and leave out what's important?.

In the United States being busy or having a lot of work always carries a mark of status and worth. The fuller your schedule is the better and more important you feel. You're able to acquire the material satisfactions that supposedly enable you to enjoy the good life.

Following the U.S. depression, the country had to learn that despite the abuses committed and the threats to human and civil rights of workers, the learning experience was that there is nothing better than having a job. Having had to suffer the total lack of work, to get a job, whatever it is, is better than not having one.

In the United States we have learned the lesson that without work, organized time is unproductive and lacks both profitability and purpose.