L’Express: What does this formula that we all use say about us: “I don’t have time”?
Pascal Chabot: The fact that its management poses a problem for us. In itself, this is nothing new: since they know they are mortal, men have always experienced this feeling. But our time has amplified this trend because the number of possibilities available to us has exploded, especially with the Internet. Which in itself is good news has increased our frustration because we don’t have time to exploit them all.
Isn’t there a big difference between the time we lack due to different constraints and the time we would like to have for ourselves?
There is indeed the time that escapes us and the time of which we dream. When we take over our time, we take over our lives. And if my whole life is regulated by various constraints such as work or transport, if the only sovereign choice is reserved for Sunday afternoon, I experience a feeling of dispossession.
Isn’t it also a way of implying that if there is something we don’t do, it’s not our fault?
In effect. When you don’t see such a friend, when you don’t read such a book, is it really because “we don’t have time” or rather because deep down, this friend and this book are really not a priority for We ? The first answer is possible but, let’s face it, making time bear all the responsibility for our attitudes is sometimes a convenient way of exonerating ourselves…
Is it possible to manage your time better?
Of course. To do this, you must first give it the attention it deserves. Above all, care must be taken to transmute this quantity of time into quality time. This is the beginning of the wisdom of time, what I call “chronosophy”. But beware: constantly trying to make the most of time, to retain it, is impossible. The ants of time try to control it. But it is he who is our master. The cicadas of time, because they think about it less, are also less anxious about death.
(1) To have time. Chronosophy essay, by Pascal Chabot. PUF. https://www.puf.com/content/Avoir_le_temps