In college, we are all victims to the time crunch. Whether it’s leaving a show half-finished, stressing over plans going off-schedule, or spending too much time making dinner, there is a serious search for the allusive free hour, or even free minute. I mean, have you ever talked to an engineering student? They wouldn’t know a free minute if it came down over them during a hail storm — that’s the kind of time crunch I’m talking about.
And that’s the problem. Without a respectable amount of free time to grow and develop, we’re becoming stunted versions of ourselves. These are the versions that can be found on our résumé's and LinkedIn profiles padded with accomplishments. Meanwhile, in our pursuit of all this, we are losing ourselves. We are forgetting to look at what happens when we don’t have time to form an identity away from our studies or the “9-to-5 grind.”
Then again, some people might argue, why you can’t make time to do both? Plenty of people work part-time as college students (especially at Northeastern University, where I attend college) or maintain a lively engagement in their extracurriculars, social plans, and hobbies. It’s not impossible, so maybe none of this is really a concern.
Personally, I don’t agree. It is a concern. Not because people can’t handle it, but because for many, they don’t even realize when their work-life balance starts to feel unbalanced, like a teetering scale of consequences with minimal reward.
I’d be surprised if you could tell me you didn’t recently hear someone say, “sorry, I can’t. I’m really busy this week.” And then say it again the next week. Or, “I’ve barely seen anyone for days. I’ve been drowning in work.” Or, “I don’t remember the last time I went to the gym.” Or, “I like being busy. It makes me happy.” All of these statements and many others like them are inherently problematic when used in excess. If you’re hearing or using them often, it likely means you feel unbalanced or restless internally, which makes it easier and easier to lose track of your intentions. After all, if we don’t have time for things like socializing, exercising, or working on personal projects, how are we ever going to get in touch with ourselves and our desires?
Think about all the things that you claimed had “piled up” when quarantine hit. Suddenly, you were a free bird. No more endless weeks at work. No more excessive plan-making. No more days spent running from place to place and person to person. Just time. Never-ending, time. For some, it was incredible. With all this time, it felt like you come finally become someone. Not an overworked student or employee or parent, but you in your natural state.
And I’m guessing that when you became you again, a stunning realization took place. Perhaps you had been led to believe it was better to bury yourself in the time crunch, rather than break away from it. Perhaps it was better to listen to what society defined as success or happiness instead of listening to yourself.
The time crunch is all-consuming, and it’s designed that way on purpose. Pressed against deadlines so tight we lose our breath, and calendars so packed we can’t find a second for social plans, we don't have time to think about not having time. And while it’s difficult to realize, I dare say realizing this is crucial to our chance at true, lasting happiness.
Think about it: what would happen if you took just a tiny step outside of the time crunch? And then another? And another? What might you gain? Who might you gain?
Me, ignoring time. Whitney Museum in New York.
Remember that list of things you always put off? Well, I dare you to stop putting them off. Get together with those old friends, or go crazy and do something alone. Talk a walk that’s too long (on purpose). Make dinner and then dessert. Let go of who everyone is telling you to be, and take a moment to be you, free of labels and responsibilities. It might just change your life.
*I am writing this for an audience with similar quarantine experiences to my own, as I am aware that the quarantine negatively impacted huge populations of people, specifically BIPOC people who often work harder to make ends meet and therefore would feel the crunch even more acutely with an inability to separate themselves from it in the same way as a middle- to upper-class persons.
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