Don’t waste your time on the wrong things.

The Slow Morning Crisis Club

The sun was unreasonably hot for 7 a.m. — aggressive, even. And, of course, all the good chairs at the outdoor café were already taken. I was left with two options: a table directly in the sun, or... a table directly in the sun.

I flopped my tiny, overstuffed bag on the table and began unpacking its predictable chaos: Kindle, journal, physical calendar (yes, still), phone, pen, highlighter, hand sanitizer.

My cappuccino arrived. I took a sip and opened my journal. My last entry? Three months ago. Yikes.

After scribbling a few half-baked thoughts — something about time, something about love, possibly a grocery list — I gave up and turned to my Kindle. A fast, indulgent 30 minutes disappeared into someone else’s story. It felt good. Until it didn’t.

That familiar, low-grade panic began to hum in my chest. How dare you spend 45 minutes enjoying yourself? What about the emails? The to-dos? That calendar giving you side-eye? Suddenly, my “slow morning” felt like a “waste.” So I did what any over-functioning human would do: I opened the calendar and began scheduling the week within an inch of its life.

And then I had a sobering thought: What if it’s not the easy morning that’s wasting my life? What if it’s the endless string of arbitrary tasks, the inherited expectations, the unreasonable demands or the relentless inner chorus of “shoulds” that are wasting my one and precious life?

And I had to remind myself that a true waste of time are actions that are unintentional, inauthentic, or meaningless. The rest is just called life.

Yes, we should protect our time, but let’s clarify what we’re actually protecting it from. It’s probably not from the one hour you spend jogging, reading fiction, laughing with friends, or drinking a cappuccino. It’s not from learning new things, having new experiences… and it certainly isn’t from resting.

Look, I want to achieve as much as the next person, but I’ve had to realize that my productivity can’t dictate how I measure fulfillment. Plenty can be meaningful and worthy of our time and energy, even if it isn’t “productive.”

So... what do you consider a waste?
And is it, really?

Here are some pictures of me wasting my time in the best way possible:

Also, this song has been on repeat, and I thought I’d cleverly connect it to today’s topic by saying… I refuse to waste my time. See what I did there?

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