(6 minute read)

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A Somewhat Deep Dive

“Quantum mechanics is certainly imposing. But an inner voice tells me that it is not yet the real thing. The theory says a lot, but does not really bring us any closer to the secret of the “old one.” I, at any rate, am convinced that He does not throw dice.”

Albert Einstein, Letter to Max Born, 1926

“I believe in intuitions and inspirations. I sometimes feel that I am right. I do not know that I am.”

Albert Einstein, 1929

It’s about time this article was written and only fitting. The topic caused me to resume the practice of writing. Yes, I have a long way to go. But I did use the qualifier “practicing.”

The quotes above were chosen out of respect for the topic, what is time? Now, I’m not going to try an explanation everything about this topic, but will make an attempt.

The impetus at the topic comes from an email with a colleague who was once a student of mine.

One day exasperatedly he ended his email:

“Boy, time management is wild …I’m not perfect, but I’m striving to be better…”

I understood exactly where he was coming from.

My friend and I have a lot in common. At this point in our lives, we have opposite career paths. I am heading into retirement, he is just beginning his. I think about all the energy it took to launch into a career. It reminds me to enjoy the things I have accomplished.

Then, I happily take a nap.

Just as my friend is now embarking on a journey I remember being there. Young, unsure of myself, with little or no support. Just an internal drive knowing that there had to be something bigger to throw myself into.

But it was his “time management” phrase that really struck me. Instantly my fingers sprung into action. I wrote. I deleted. Wrote and deleted again. When it was over I had paragraphs of material. It wasn’t going to make sense within the time and space of an email (see what I did there?).

So I shortened my response and dropped this little “thought” bomb on him:

“OK, I started to respond to this, but it clearly has become the beginning of a short essay …As for time management? Wait until you discover that there is no such thing as time. It’s only a tool. Time is not our enemy. It’s neither good nor bad. It is neutral. It is nothing and it is infinite.”

To which he later replied:

“Wow …what a hell of a concept. That’s deep.”

I don’t know if a lot of philosophers would agree. Reading it back on the screen now? Some of it reads like gobbledygook. I feel I owe my friend a more thorough explanation. By extension, this includes you.

Time management is extremely valuable to many of us. In my younger years I took advantage of making it a daily practice. I sorely needed it. With no real role models in my formative and subsequent years I had to develop some tools on my own.

Time management helped me to organize and gave direction. I no longer felt like a ship without a rudder in the open waters. I stopped aimlessly wandering. Time management gave me the tools necessary to charter through the chores, trials, and storms of daily life.

It really was a very helpful and a life altering tool.

After practicing 10,000 hours of time management, muscle memory begins to take over. Eventually, time management becomes second nature. In fact, one should strive for that goal. Practice it until it becomes second nature.

However, like most things do not become to a slave to the product that it can produce. “Time is money,” is one of those business axioms that leaders love to throw around. That one is an easy one to buy into.

The sentiment is understandable. If you are a salesman you either spend time trying to make sales or you waste time doing other things. In that case you are costing yourself money. Time management and the chore of “striving to be better.” Beyond that is there truth in the axiom?

Time is not money. Money is money and time is time. You don’t always have to be a slave to the chore.

The quotes from Einstein shown above would certainly help us out here. Einstein had some doubts about his theories of general and special relativity. These theories were written over a century ago. The first quote came from letters he had written over the years to Max Born, a German mathematician and physicist.

Born made progress in science by building on Einstein’s work. He developed mathematical formulas that advanced and established the science of quantum mechanics. By using his math, Born proved Einstein’s theories to be true. Yet, Einstein writes his friend that he still had doubts about the theory because of one thing, Einstein’s own worldview.

At this time in history Einstein believed that the universe was ordered and static. Born, on the other hand, thought it to be the opposite, random and expanding.

We know the outcome of that little argument don’t we?

Born was right and Einstein was wrong.

In 1929, three years later, Einstein finally caught up to his progressive colleagues. This happened when Edwin Hubble proved that the universe was expanding. Einstein finally had to admit that he was wrong and his ordered and static worldview was not a reality.

I know what you’re thinking. Well, if Einstein didn’t get it right, what chance have I?

But that’s the beauty of the story and makes the second quote that much more powerful.

We have a feeling that we are right. But don’t be fooled by that “feeling.” Einstein left room for his mind to change if further evidence became available.

Readily admit that you may be knowledgeable about some things, but leave some wiggle room for some change. None of us really know everything.

I use this as a way of introducing some ideas about time. If you’ve spent the time reading so far, you may as well go on.

See part 2 of this article.