It's the Same 10 Minutes

This morning I had to do the dishes. I thought, “here we go again, the dishes”. The bane of my productivity. But I decided to take a look at the clock before I started and after I finished. It only took me 10 minutes, although it felt like much, much longer. I thought about how poor my perception of time must be. If 10 minutes took that long, no way I could fathom going through an entire day.

Yet entire days go by and they don’t feel like nearly as much of a drag as those 10 minutes did, because not all 10 minutes are created equal. My screen time app on my iPhone tells me there are many cases where “checking my texts” will also turn into a 10 minute excursion. That, however, only feels like a few moments. But it’s the same 10 minutes.

You can get a lot done in 10 minutes if you decide they’re worth your attention. In my case, I was frustrated that doing the dishes was drawing time from everything else I could be doing in my life. I placed a lot of value on that time, and as a result, I felt the presence of every single second.

But many times I’m not so present. Then, it might feel like time is going by faster, perhaps because I haven’t placed as much value on it. But whether I’m doing the dishes or scrolling through my phone, time is passing by regardless. And once it passes, I’m not getting it back.

(Writing this note also took me 10 minutes, though I assumed it would take much longer. I wonder what else I can get done in 10 minutes…)