This piece really resonated with me just because I am such an accelerated person and I always feel a sense of urgency but when it comes down to it, I usually end up waiting on others or for things to happen. I don’t know if it will be possible for our culture to take this message seriously because productivity is such a big tenet of capitalism but I hope it does because it might help us live longer and more fulfilled lives.

By Adam Frank

In practice, time bending might mean using new technologies to soften the rigid time we have been taught to believe is real. Maybe the next time you make an appointment with a friend, keep it fuzzy. See what “around 6 p.m.” feels like since you both will have cell phones and can find each other when you need to. To the degree that your schedule has any flexibility, maybe time bending means surfing your natural periods of concentration, working when you are sharpest, even if it’s at 11 p.m., and going down when your attention dims.

Beyond technology, time-bending means willfully stepping back from the imagined urgencies your culture handed you. How many activities does your child need to be part of? Can you cancel just one appointment next week? How about leaving early enough for an appointment that you have time to hang around and just wait? How about keeping some version of a Sabbath — a day where you don’t buy anything or drive anywhere or accomplish any damn thing?Finally, and most important, how about just slowing down?

Really.

As you go from your car to the office, walk slowly. As you walk from the elevator to your desk, move slowly. Simply slow down. Opt out of our culture’s principle, and now antiquated, time-logic of speed and efficiency to see what happens.

The point, ultimately, is that a new time coming, whether we want it or not. If we want it, we can, in our own way, try and shape our new time into something that just might make our own lives more mindful, more connected and more meaningful.