“The clock talked loud. I threw it away, it scared me what it talked.” Tillie Olsen, Tell Me a Riddle
My father collected clocks of all kinds. It was the only thing he really collected that I can recall. Every few days he would walk through the house and wind all the clocks. I loved being there in the house simply because of the ticking away of the day accompanied by the ever-present chiming of different clocks. This brought a certain security to my life. As long as the clocks were ticking, all seemed right with the world. (Although I am sure there might be some that find the ticking annoying as Tillie Olsen did.)
My brother has continued this passion. He has clocks all over the house, and they are all going off at once in a dizzying array of bongs and bells. My husband collects wristwatches. Maybe this is a male penchant, a way to have some semblance of control over time. I want to collect time and put it in the bank and withdraw it when I need a little extra on a fragmented day.
As a creative person who is always trying to squeeze one more hour out of every day, I know there are many who share my constant reach for more time. I was reading a blog last night that expressed a similar frustration here. (Go to “Life in the Midst of…”). I know this person gets up very early to start her day, probably much earlier than I do. I go to bed around 11 or 12 and am up at 7:30. I used to be up at 5 AM before I met my husband, but his clock is more the night owl, so I tend to stay up with him and keep his hours, so we have our evenings together. I am a very organized time-saving person. I never watch television. I seldom spend time talking on the phone. I run errands when they have to be done. I clean when I find I am tripping over the dust bunnies and cannot ignore them anymore. I prepare easy meals with quick clean-up. All said, I ache for more time to be a productively creative person. I would like to initiate an open forum with this post and ask anyone who reads this to leave a comment. How do you organize your days so you have time to create the works that feed your artistic needs? What key things do you do that make a difference in conserving time? How much time do you consider worthy, productive time? I am curious how others nurture and protect their artistic time.
This is my favorite clock. It is very humble. It has a soft but steady tick tock and it lulls me into a state of peace. I know there are other clocks with larger character, more pretense, an impressive history, but this clock just talks to me in the most comforting manner. My father had it for as long as I can remember . I think it was a gift. I don’t think he was too attached to it. He finally stored it in a closet in the upstairs bedroom. I used to go in there and stare at it hoping someday it would be mine. It was one of a few things I wanted out of that big old house. Seven years ago when I met my brother and three children there to clean out the house and move my mother to a home, I nearly left it behind. There was so much emotion during those days of sorting and dividing. We were all exhausted. Everyone left and I was looking around one last time with my mother and opened the closet door to discover and remember this lovely old wooden clock dusty with disregard. Now it sits near the small loveseat where I read or sometimes write in a journal. I have to wind it daily to keep it going, but it keeps perfect time and never fails to inform me that the day is disappearing.
Would you believe that I was going to write a post soon about time spent? You actually inspired me to start a project that I’ve been planning on doing. I’m making my own clock with a mechanism I have and an old record. I want to write quotes about time on the record. I want to remind myself that it’s not how much time I get to spend working on something, but rather that I spend my time on things that matter to me.
I have about an hour on the bus that’s my knitting time, about an hour in the evening to work on whatever project that appeals (usually something that is more process than making decisions) and an hour to read, and the weekends to work on more involved projects. Unless I have a family or important friend event, I generally stay home all day on Sunday. It’s my day to do whatever I want and to cook meals for the week.
I think I mentioned a few weeks ago on one of your posts that I could easily slip into your life and find happiness. I hope you still do write a post about time spent because I would love to read it, and I know others would as well. Well, now you have to post your clock when you complete it. What a unique and fun idea. I think you hit the point of importance when you wrote that it is not how much time you spend, but rather that this time is given to the things that have personal value. Thank you for sharing this insight.
I really liked reading how you spend your time outside of your work (job). I have found that since I started this blog, I have less time to read, and this is a bit troubling since it is my one love. I think your management of time for all these things is one that fits into your life that balances energy, time, focus, and leaves room for special ideas that come from inspiration and day dreaming. I recall days on a bus commute where I would have some of the best inspiration and ideas, but would have to wait for time to plan and work on them. Days off were the times that allowed freedom and space for deeper concentration. Thank you for your contribution to this request. If others respond as you, we might come up with some helpful feedback we can all share.
I think that finding time, managing time, is a big issue for a lot of us. I think it’s actually one of the things my blog has helped me with. What I’m writing about forces me to look at how I spend my time, is about how I’m spending my time. I’m sure this is a topic that will come up again and again.
Thanks for opening this discussion! I’m excited to read everyone’s input. For myself, even though I no longer work in the outside world, time to create still manages to slip away from me everyday. Because I am usually frivolous with precious time, I force myself to do chores first thing in the day and then I can work on creative pursuits for the rest of the day. Even still, making myself continue at a chore until sufficiently done, and quitting something else (like blog-surfing) in a timely manner are continuous daily battles for me. So, with this last move, and the myriad chores associated with setting up house all over again, I have taken to carrying a kitchen timer (my little chicken) in my apron pocket. I set it in 30 minute increments when I start a new task, whether mundane or creative, so that I am reminded when it’s time to stop and either move on to something else or take a well-deserved break. And if I’m at a point in a project that needs more time, it’s a way for me to note the time and decide if I have another 30 minutes to work or not. So far, it works for me and I do seem to get more done.
I try to get mundane chores done earlier in the day too, but some days I try to get to creative work by ten and stay at it until three or four. It really is all about discipline I think. I am always thinking I will get back to dealing in textiles again, and I may, but my life with my husband and working out mutual schedules would seem a bit insane at this point. The timer seems like an idea that might work for some, but I think like Tillie’s clock, I might throw it out the window.
I really enjoy the telling of the use of time. I am always conscious of time, even though I don’t wear a watch. I do have my grandmother’s Winchester chiming clock that I grew up with. I do not hear the quarter hour strikes, but when I have guests over, I turn it off. I love that clock, just like you like that incredible table clock of your father’s.
I have tried to think of getting more time from the day but at the end of my day, I am still just as tired as I should be. Oh well, if you find a remedy for that “one more hour”, I hope you will share.
p.s. I hate cleaning and dust bunnies (or as my grandmother called them – boneless rats) don’t botther me.
I think working in your home at a business might be both rewarding and limiting depending on how much discipline you have. I would be torn between work and time to relax seven days a week. So I think it is pretty amazing that you get as much creative work done as you do. Caring for animals also takes time, but it is a priority too. Cleaning is such an irritant in life. I am trying to get better at ignoring certain things that seem to rob me of peace.
It’s funny, your recollection of the clocks in your parent’s home. Ironically, the clock from Grandma and Grandpa that I have, I actually find unnerving to have ticking and chiming round the clock. With the chaos of my life, the ticking seems almost a reminder that I just am racing to get all this stuff done.
But in their home – I found it comforting, as you did. Maybe I felt more relaxed there. Nothing felt pressing. And, I expected all that ticking, chiming, and bonging. It was one of those ‘constants’ that we talk about so much. As you said, it made it seem as if ‘all was right with the world’.
I think maybe you could relate to Tillie Olsen’s comment, as I think many do. I think what I need is a case clock with the beautiful Westminster chimes in the background of my life. Maybe when life is more relaxed and the kids are off on their own, you will find the ticking, chiming, and bonging more like a soothing, comforting part of life.