Time is a funny thing. Seems like it either moves too slowly or too fast; never at the right speed.
When I was a kid, time seemed to move at a snail’s pace during the school year. Especially around Christmas. As soon as Thanksgiving was over, mom and dad would start decorating and shopping. Sis and I started counting the weeks, days and minutes until Christmas. It was both exciting and agonizing. Once the brightly wrapped presents came out, we could hardly contain ourselves, pleading with mom to let us open just one present early.
After the holidays, time seemed to come to a screeching halt. All I could see were the endless months of school ahead. It was hideous. Despite that I was a good student and basically enjoyed school, it still seemed never-ending.
When the final bell rang on classes I’d run home, thinking about the long, glorious summer months that lay ahead. Sleeping late, swimming, bike riding, skating and watching cartoons with no responsibilities. It was awesome! Yet with the blink of an eye, it would be time for school again.
The older I got, the faster time moved. At college, school became a year-round task, measured by semesters and short breaks. Summers were fun but definitely not care-free since I attended summer school each year. A normal class load on steroids is not, by definition, fun. Gone were the illusions that Christmas was light years away.
When the lay-off hit, the first thing I thought of – aside from looking for work – is that I would finally get some time. Time to do the things I’d been putting off, clean the closets, hit the gym, connect with old friends, finish at least a dozen projects that were in various stages of completion and of course, relax. Others told me to be careful, that time moved slowly without work and that I’d get bored. Something must be wrong with me because I’ve never been bored. During the first few months I was the busiest non-working person ever. Hubby and I joked that it’s hard to believe we ever had time to work with all the other stuff there was to do. Time just flew by.
As I took on consulting gigs and assorted part-time work, once again time became a blessing and a curse. Productivity went up the busier I became, yet personal satisfaction decreased as I was stretched so thin. Gym work-outs became 15 minutes – if that – and personal goals were put on the back-burner.
The constant struggle to focus on career, look for a new job, and/or build a consulting business, make money in the meantime, and find time for family – that’s where I’m at now.
To top it off, my one day each week that’s supposed to be dedicated to working on personal goals has become a fire-drill for the umpteen other things that I’m trying to juggle. It’s hard to eliminate any of the items on my plate as they are all meant to help my career. And it’s frustrating.
Maybe I should develop a time machine or other contraption that would slow things down, allow me to savor the moments.
Despite the time crunch, there are plenty of positives. The good news is that I’m vertical. And I’ve got options. Too many options, but at least I’m engaged in the game of life. I’m happy to have things to keep me busy, as I hear from others in the workforce that they are worried about their jobs as work slows down in this economy. I need to remember this when I get frustrated.
Yes, time is a funny thing.
© Tami Cannizzaro 2011 All Rights Reserved
Like Tami, I was terminated once (By my best friend, BTW – he is now on the board of the agency I lead, so I got him back – ha!), but you don’t have to be unemployed to learn something from this book. 
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