Time and Purpose

Those familiar with Homer’s epic Greek poem will recall Odysseus’s order for his men to plug their ears with beeswax, and to tie him to the ship’s mast to suppress his urge to listen to the seductive songs of the island’s sirens. 

In Greek mythology, sirens were depicted as beautiful, but also extremely dangerous. Their angelic voices lured unsuspecting sailors to shipwreck.

There stand clear differences between mythological creatures baiting ancient Greek sailors and aimlessly surfing the Internet, but look closely enough and similarities exist. The Internet, email, and smartphones are all forms of modern day sirens. 

Still, it’s important to celebrate your victories and find time to enjoy yourself. I have shamelessly binged on five straight episodes of Master of None on a cold February weekend. 

But as bestselling author Seth Godin writes in his brilliant book, Linchpin, “Understanding that your job is to make something happen changes what you do all day.” 

Artists in particular have to work overtime to two-step around the daily onslaught of the increasingly loud sirens we face today. The very focus and grit required to be a master craftsman is constantly threatened by smartphones, access to a 1,000 channels, and sensationalistic “news.” 

And the truth is, poor time management and a shaky daily structure make you more susceptible to accomplishing nothing of real value.

Time, like that stubborn grandparent, is set in his ways, beyond being reasoned with, refuses to wait for anyone and takes pride in subtly reminding you those ten minutes on SnapChat could have been spent writing that book you’ve told everyone about. 

Or perhaps, the hours spent scrolling the vacation photos of that friend of a friend might have been better used by starting that one-woman show. 

Managing your time effectively allows you a fighting chance to fill your days with purpose and apply the mental beeswax against distraction, ultimately bringing you closer to creating something unique.