I’m reading this book, It’s About Time by Valorie Burton. Lots of great gems in this thing, but what’s really jumping out is this idea of choosing the meaningful over the urgent when it comes to time and productivity.

“I’m so busy.” How often do we tell this to people before we squeeze them in or blow them off.

“I’m so bored.” How often do we use this expression before we binge on social media or Netflix?

Whether we are focusing on our households, communities, or departmental/work units, we are all constantly occupied and working through a list of to-dos.

Valorie Burton suggests that being occupied is worthless if we are not in a position to impact.

Choosing the meaningful means we have to be super intentional with our time. This may involve reimagining our daily work schedules to include passion projects and legacy-building practices, rethinking our concept of leisure so that laziness doesn’t consume us, or just remembering to be a blessing to others!

Before I ventured into arts and culture non-profit work, life was extremely urgent and success-driven. I did not build in much time for generosity and, because of that, I was less accessible…my spirit brittle from all the times I allowed my career to burn me.

That has changed significantly…so has the schedule of my life! Every time I lead with generosity; every time I help someone, show grace, show up to places I have promised to be, or talk on the phone in lieu of texting, I find I am not only at my best…I am at my happiest! ❤

Time seems to be a theme in a lot of my recent writing. Ironically, before I started reading Mrs. Burton’s book, I blogged about my personal relationship with time. Check it out here!

Clinnesha is a writer, wife, mom, meta-artist, and social entrepreneur who feels most accountable to southern, black citizen-artists, elders, children, and families. Her work is at the intersection of arts, culture, innovation, and community.