TIME DESIGN offers a unique paradigm that can assist in helping us stay more on track to understand and develop QUALITY TIME. The TIME DESIGN program consolidates and incorporates five different types of time in our life.
#1. The first type of time is TCB TIME or “Taking Care of Business” time. TCB TIME has its own unique quality and plays a vital and productive role in our contemporary lifestyles. TCB TIME refers to using your time with a strong and responsible “agenda” to get things done. This kind of time is accountable, committed and structured. involving responsible, constructive and logical kinds of concrete activities, like studying in school, preparing taxes, paying your bills, fixing your car, remodeling your house, etc.
TCB TIME usually involves a high degree of self-control, but sometimes it can become stressful if there is no balance between this type of time and some of the other types (E TIME / I TIME / C TIME) that follow.
#2. TOXIC TIME is disruptive, stressful / negative emotional time. It happens to all of us, all of the time. We’re often caught off guard when something unexpected happens, and when everything we did to “control” things around us seems to fall apart. TOXIC TIME often involves dysfunctional negative emotions, a sense of feeling out of control, stress and sometimes bouts with anxiety and depression. It can happen instantly when there is an unpredictable negative event like a car accident, relationship issue, loss of a loved one, financial change, parenting problem, or a toxic and demanding increase in our workload or job requirements.
#3. C TIME consists of our personal and individualized psychological coping and compensation techniques, used primarily for diverting stress and adjusting to overwhelming and unpredictable life events. C TIME activities include television, video games, music, drugs, alcohol, and other “pleasuring” methods, that help a person adjust to overload and increasing levels of stress. There are times when C TIME can be transformed and consciously designed to add enrichment and awareness to a person’s life, and with understanding and foresight has the potential for elevation and developing higher levels of well being.
We all need to cope with the changing speed of life, so coping is a vital necessity. As stress increases however, some individuals begin to spend longer and longer periods of time coping or diverting stress in ways that have no long-term developmental benefits or potential for creating higher levels of awareness, ability and control. Some coping methods are pleasurable, “feel good” types of behavior replacing mounting levels of distress. But this can become a problem when C TIME begins to increase, and C TIME becomes the primary mode of time. In this case, there is typically an underlying set of psychological factors that are “hijacking” and impeding some of the other forms of time (E TIME, I TIME, and TCB TIME) needed to move forward and create a deeper and long term sense of well being.
#4. E TIME refers to elevating and enriching types of time. It involves using time wisely and more consciously for personal development, growth, pleasure, choice, flexibility, creativity, and freedom. E TIME often works hand in hand with I TIME, which includes important self-awareness and stress release strategies used to alter D TIME, including mindfulness, meditation, the 5 Step P.A.U.S.E., self-management and self-care tools.
E TIME is the positive personal development time we look forward to, either alone or with our friends and family. It’s a time type for doing your thing in a way that includes your vision and passion, to enrich your life. The core characteristic of E TIME is conscious self-care and conscious self-management. Although it is one of the most beneficial and preferred types of time, it’s often difficult to develop this critical type of time when we’re constantly sacrificing E TIME for TCB TIME, D TIME, or C TIME. The result of this tradeoff, is that we often get “stuck” in the accompanying and increasing misuse of our time types, along the way, without realizing it’s happening. This is especially true if we believe the common illusions perpetuated by the “new noise” of our contemporary media driven Circles of Influence. These forces reap enormous financial benefits from the cultural and material myths designed to capture and manipulate our time. Activities which offer temporary “relief” and pleasure for spending more time coping, are often part of a calculated agenda by irresponsible businesses to reap higher profits, rather than concerns for enriching the consumer.
#5. I TIME is conscious “inner-active” time, specifically used to increase self-awareness, self-management and self improvement. It is the key for learning how to control stress. Although it’s the most important form of time to develop the necessary resilience and longevity skills need, it’s sometimes considered “fluff,” “new age,” or irrelevant by individuals who do not understand the power of “re-wiring” our brain for well being, fulfillment and success.
I TIME develops our reflective, critical thinking, creativity and mindfulness skills, the core elements needed to navigate the future. I TIME includes meditation, the 5 Step P.A.U.S.E., and many other “inner-active” activities directed toward increasing awareness, ability and control.
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