instrumentalizing time
We have all been told that “time is a precious resource”. As a result of instrumentalizing time, we feel that we have to “use” it in some way to add value to our lives. When we spend time doing nothing, we feel bad we have wasted time. When we do too many things, we feel bad we have no time.
Intrumentalizing time is a consequence of the industrial era, when factories adopted an eight hour work schedule. Industrialists have gone so far as to say that employees are stealing from them if they did not dedicate their 8 hours to the running of the factory.
As a result, we have been lead to believe that “time is money”, which it is if it means churning out more widgets per hour in a factory. This association has made us invest our current time to produce some result in the future - a future chasing mentality.
For example, we constantly work on improving our skills today, so that we may have a better career tomorrow. Or we go on vacation feeling that leisure is what will make us more productive when we get back.