One of my clients used this term- “Curate Your Time”- recently, and I thought it was a brilliant way to reframe time management strategies (you all know I’m a huge fan of reflecting back to move forward!).
We all know about wasting time, saving time, spending time, and especially the difficulty of finding time, but what about curating time?
I think changing the term, and contemplating how we can curate our schedules rather than making our schedules, or curate our day rather than make it through the day, or curate our obligations, our activities, our To-Do list, can help us manage those precious minutes in a much healthier way.
To me, the word curate conjures up thoughts of a museum curator. In my head, this person is in charge of an upscale museum whose basement is chock full of artifacts and treasures from history. How is this person going to sort through all of those goodies and decide what to install in the gallery? If everything goes in, the visitors will be overwhelmed by the sheer number of artifacts, and therefore won’t enjoy the exhibit. So each piece in this current collection will be chosen, perhaps to go with a theme, perhaps to go with the current season, perhaps to show how items relate to a current trend. The curator will first make a plan and decide what the object of the gallery is to be. What is it that is the focus? What’s the reasoning or the goal or the theme? Once the big picture has been decided, each item in the basement will be carefully, thoughtfully judged on how it will fit in- at this moment. Perhaps some of these treasures are just not going to work in the current installation, but they’ll stay in the basement for this round and be brought out for display in the gallery at a later date. Perhaps there are items that are so precious that they stay in the gallery, regardless of the current installation. Perhaps some have outlived their usefulness to this particular museum but might be of use to another museum with different objectives or different ideals or different perspectives. And some of the items are broken beyond repair or have fallen apart and are just taking up space and need to be removed altogether,
So, my fellow curators, which artifacts will you curate in your museum of time? Pick a time frame- maybe a week, maybe an afternoon, maybe a weekend, maybe just a couple of hours. Perhaps it’s to spend an afternoon catching up on a work project. Maybe a couple of hours to straighten up the house. Maybe it’s a day to make time for some self care. Perhaps a weekend that prioritizes family time. Maybe a date night. Start small, pick a time, and curate those hours, filling them with meaningful actions that can get you to a goal.
Perhaps this is a way to inspire some change in your life. What if you curate a month where social media takes more of a back seat? Allot a specific amount of time that seems reasonable for socials and curate that into your personal gallery. Don’t make that exhibit bigger than it needs to be- set a time and stick to it. What if you curate more time together with family? Or face to face time with friends? Alone time for some self care activities? Time to plan and pre-make meals so you don’t run out of time and are forced to grab fast food? Time to exercise? Spend time in nature soaking up that Vitamin N (remember that post? It’s HERE)? Quality time with your kids? What about more time for a big project you’ve been meaning to tackle? Or, if you’re a workaholic, what about decreasing work time by a specified amount to allot that time for other areas?
Perhaps curating a new habit or culling an old one can be a goal. I’ve recently carved out 15 minutes a night to practice my ukulele skills. I just wasn’t finding the time to practice with everything else going on, but I wasn’t seeing the progress I wanted. For my current situation, making a standing appointment in my calendar for a 7:30 practice session has been a great way to advance my ukulele skills. Now that the Christmas season is coming, I’ll have to curate my time to include craft projects that will take time to complete before the big holiday bustle. In the past, my husband and I had to schedule time to spend together, as we often felt like ships passing in the night. Once we had solidified our relationship, that came “out of the gallery” and we added in other activities. I did my dissertation for my Doctor of Naturopathy degree by curating 90 minutes each night while my husband took my then infant son upstairs for a bath, jammies, snuggles, and a bedtime story.
Think about how you are allocating your time. Is binge watching shows on a Saturday taking space in your gallery that could be used for something more meaningful? Or, for you, is that a necessary form of self care? Are you maximizing your time to complete tasks efficiently? Or multitasking to the detriment of each of the tasks? Are you losing track of time doing mundane activities (social feeds, YouTube, even junk e-mail) then making up for it by cutting out items that should be a priority (sleep, movement, even meal planning or proper nutrition)? Are you curating time for those precious objects that deserve to be treasured? Are you removing items that are not serving you, are inhibiting your growth, are toxic, are broken? Have you made room in your gallery for spiritual growth? In the current climate, the spirit typically is relegated to a back corner of the museum basement, or thrown out as unnecessary when, in fact, this is one of the three BIG cornerstones of complete wellness.
Be the curator. Make a “big picture” plan for your gallery as it should look right now; the exhibits are constantly changing, so you need to keep rotating those artifacts! Right now, what does your gallery look like? What will you curate in this new gallery installation? What is its focus? Next, what are the key pieces for this gallery? What MUST go in to the exhibit? What needs a big space, velvet ropes, and spot lighting to emphasize its importance? What are some smaller pieces that need to fit? What will you remove from the last gallery that just doesn’t fit this time around? What will be made smaller? Make the plan, include the details, see how it all fits. Then schedule it. Put it on a planner or a calendar or wherever you can easily access it to make sure you check in and keep accountable to it. Allocate a specific amount of time to tasks and stick to it. For those areas where you might get stuck, set a timer and stop when the alarm goes off. Now, set an end date. Life changes constantly- you need to rotate out that gallery and make space for new things! When that end date comes, repeat the process and change up your schedule to curate your new time frame.
As always, if you need some guidance I can help! Reach out and we can plan your gallery together.
Blessings,
Melanie
