The Value of Spare Time

Do you have time to spare? Do you have time to stand and stare?

I recently re-read William Davies’ famous verses on Leisure: They most perfectly reflect what Bank Your Time is all about. As I have mentioned elsewhere (I use these words in almost all of my lectures, and I have put them in the Bank Your Time Practioner’s Manual, too), “If you feel trapped in a never-ending cycle of have-to tasks, remember that you put yourself in that trap. No one can make you feel trapped without your permission!”

Your spare time is what you consume when you engage in the activities that you want to. Unused spare time is a wasted opportunity. The value of your spare time is what you are willing to give in order to get some and what you will do with it when you have it.

Ask yourself these questions:

• How much time do you find to spare?
• What do you do with your spare time?
• How much do you value your spare time

Here is the complete text of Leisure by William H. Davies.

W. H. Davies

Leisure

WHAT is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?—

No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep and cows:

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass:

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night:

No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance:

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began?

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

Cheers! Stop and smell the roses. Life is too precious. Enjoy the little things.
- Prakash “Cash” Rao, Bank Your Time