Oxthink

When there’s an exciting event approaching – from a birthday to a job interview; from acquiring a new car to going on a date; from moving house to going on holiday – it can seem like we are waiting for these events to happen.

As these momentous occasions take over our expectant lives, everything else gets put on hold. We lose our appreciation of the here and now. However good our intentions are of making the best use of our time, sometimes it’s not possible to focus on anything but an approaching event.

We’re too excited by what is to come. Anticipation and excitement take over – effectively disabling us. Unable to concentrate, obsessed by what is forthcoming, it may not even be worth trying to get on with doing something else. Whatever we do we won’t do it well.

It means that there can be no carpe diem. We just want to get on with that which is happening next. We want it to come around sooner. We want it to be here now.

And so, we wish away the day.

On reflection, it’s rather sad to want time to have moved on. We only have so much of this precious resource and yet we are gladly prepared to relinquish it.

No doubt, in the future, we will look back on our lives in some shock as we realise how quickly life has passed us by -“Where has all the time gone?”

And yet, we can’t help ourselves. In our eagerness for tomorrow, so often we wish today away.

Some of us may be more prone to doing this than others. It seems that the less active we are, the more likely we will want time to move on. If we were busier, we would have neither the chance nor the desire to wish away the time. The less that we have in our life then the more inclined we will be to look to the future and to wish that our future was already here.

Sometimes, I confess, I do wish tomorrow would be here sooner. I have had enough of today. I may have exciting things planned for tomorrow; I may be undertaking a long, dull journey which I want over with or I may just be having a bad day.

In such circumstances, time can seem to drag. I want it to move on. I want to be at a time when I’m doing things that I enjoy. I don’t want to be idly waiting for an appointed time.

Certainly, staring at the clock will not make the time go faster. Quite often it will have the opposite effect, seemingly slowing down the passage of time.

So what’s the best thing to do? The surest and easiest way to speed up the sensory passage of time is to go to sleep.

On Christmas Eve, as a child, my parents always used to tell me,

“The sooner you go to bed; the sooner tomorrow will come.”

This is as true for adults as it is for children. If you want a period of time to be over with quickly then go to sleep. Hours are easily lost. Sleep is the best way of making time disappear. You just don’t notice its passing.

And there are other benefits as well. Not only is sleep good for you in terms of the body revitalising itself but there can be an element of escapism to it. Sleeping usual involves going to bed. That can be such a nice place to be. Bed is a warm spot on cold evenings; bed is a safe place in a hazardous world; bed is a cosy place to find comfort; bed is a private place for some me-time.

With all this appeal it is not surprising that we so readily retreat to our bedrooms.

Some of us, to help speed through the day, will even sneak in an extra sleep. An afternoon nap will not only recharge our batteries but it will also help to while away some spare time.

Given that sleep is not only necessary but is also good for us, it is difficult to argue that it is a waste of time. The problem would be that too many of us can, too often, use sleep to waste our time.

It’s our way of using up unwanted time, our way of effectively wishing the day away.