Old Tom watched the clock, dread clawing at his insides. At two in the morning on the night the clocks went back, they always returned to torment him—haunting reminders of the mistake he had made when he’d forgotten, one year, to turn the clocks back.
However, one fateful night, an hour after the clocks had gone back, the spectres faded, but the shadows lingered too long, and Tom never opened his eyes again.
The day before the clocks went back, Monica moved into Tom’s old house, blissfully unaware of the terror that lurked within its walls. Exhausted from the move, she resolved to set her clocks back an hour at dawn.
At 2:00 AM, Monica was suddenly jolted awake by the unmistakable creak of her bedroom door slowly opening. A cold sweat trickled down her brow as she froze in place, eyes wide, witnessing the ghostly figure of an old man twisting and writhing, a cruel smile stretching across his face as he glided towards her.
“What are you doing in my house and in my bed?” the ghost thundered, his voice echoing through the almost empty room, making her heart race.
For what seemed like an hour, the ghost tormented her with the same words until the clock struck 2 AM for the second time, and Tom’s malevolent spirit dissipated into the air. Monica’s pulse quickened, doubt lingering in her mind. Was it all a nightmare, or a malevolent invitation?
She blinked, and the chill of reality sunk in. The bedroom door gaped wide open, the darkness beyond beckoning like an abyss. She was sure she had locked it tight, a protective measure against the night.
As a cold autumnal breeze caressed her bare skin, a frantic shiver coursed down her spine. Heart pounding, she inched to the door and tentatively closed it, sealing herself in with the echoes of her terror.
Climbing back into bed, she pulled the covers tightly around her, desperate for warmth—a futile shield against her fear. But soon, sleep reclaimed her, its sweet embrace luring her into a false sense of security.
When the clocks struck 2 AM for the third time, a bone-chilling rustle beneath her bed shattered her dream. Something slithered just out of sight, a dread revelation that all was not right, confirming that her nightmare was merely beginning.
Monica never woke up from the nightmare until the following year, on the night the clocks went back, when, with Tom, she visited the new owner of Tom’s house to check if they’d remembered to put the clocks back.
I don’t like the idea of killing time. I don’t like the idea of killing anything. But when it comes to killing time, do you do it?
How do you kill time?
I can’t remember when it was I heard this quote, but it’s stuck with me like a sticky bun sticks to my fingertips.
‘Life and time is like a toilet roll The nearer you get to the end The quicker it runs out.’
Unknown
How to manage time before retirement.
Before I retired from full-time work in 2012, my life was hectic, and time was often my enemy. With deadlines to meet and places to be, I was forever rushing around like somebody who was too busy to tell anybody how busy I was.
I’d look at people’s schedules and wonder how they could easily complete everything. Some people seem to be naturally gifted at managing their time – or maybe they were better at saying “no” to distractions than I was?
However, I’m proud that I’ve always been a good timekeeper. I’d rather look after time than kill it.
I always arrive at appointments with lots of time to spare. And then it backfires on me as I start questioning myself about the time I am wasting when sitting in a waiting room or killing time when window shopping in the high street while I wait for a friend.
Maybe I should start arriving late than early? But the thought of being late for anything is something I can not face.
How do I look after time?
In many ways. But one thing that has helped me is to use time wisely by keeping a daily schedule.
I write down the things that I want to accomplish that day, and then I try to stick to that schedule as much as possible. Of course, things come up, and I need to be flexible, but having a structure in my day helps me feel like I am using my time wisely.
Another thing that helps me is to prioritise my tasks. I try to focus on the most important things rather than wasting time on things that don’t matter. This helps me be more productive and feel less stressed.
How do you kill time if you don’t have enough of it?
I’ve never liked the thought of killing time because I don’t usually have enough of it to get everything done in my day. After all, how can you kill something that you don’t have?
How often do you hear somebody say, ‘I don’t have enough time’ or ‘I wish I had more time?’
When we’re enjoying ourselves, time tricks us. It makes us think it’s going fast or gone quickly. Whereas when we’re doing something we don’t enjoy, it reverses that trick by making us think it’s going slow. Yet, all along, it has travelled at its usual pace.
Is time fooling you?
When I was at school, time seemed to go slowly. I remember the school summer holidays and how those six weeks of freedom seemed to last forever. They seemed endless until the nightmare of the night before returning began.
Even the two-week Christmas school break seemed to last forever. Back then, time was my best friend. It was always there and gave me as much of what it had as I wanted.
When time runs out on you.
Then, I got my first job and soon found myself fighting for time and trying desperately not to allow it to leave. It was as if time was upset with me and wanted to leave. If only I had saved up some of the spare time from my childhood. It would have come in very useful.
Work days would always go quickly. Somebody told me it was a sign of being busy. I’d arrive at work dreading the full week ahead, but it would often pass me by like an intercity express train.
When Friday afternoon arrived, the thought of all that free time over the weekend would put a big smile on my face.
Even better was when the weekend was extended because of a public holiday. I remember being told by a work colleague, ‘ Three days of time to roam free‘. It’s yet another ‘time’ quote I’ve never forgotten.
Time is like money. Those who spend it wisely, will never lose it.
Hugh W. Roberts
Yet, when the office clock struck five and a long weekend was upon me, why did I resist going home and getting the long weekend started? Was I fooling myself by believing that the long weekend would last even longer if I delayed it? Or was it because I wanted to enjoy that feeling of ‘three days of time to roam free’ even longer?
Time doesn’t stop for anybody, so why was I kidding myself?
Time after retirement. And why do some people find time boring?
When I retired, the thought of all that spare time on my hands was one of the benefits of retirement.
At first, I had no idea what I would do with all my spare time. However, I knew that I would not allow myself to get bored or become addicted to daytime television or social media.
When I hear people say they are bored, I want to arrest them and put them in ‘time jail.’ How can anybody get bored with their time?
When I see people on social media saying they’re bored, not only do I ask them how anybody can get bored on social media, but if they’re bored, do something less boring than spend time on social media.
I’m proud to say that I’ve never been bored or addicted to daytime television or social media.
Looking back, I wonder how I managed to fit everything in. Where did I find the time to work and find all the time enjoying a social life that often took me away on vacation or on long weekend breaks? It’s something I never found out the answers to.
Fast forward to the present, and I ask, ‘Where does the time go?’
Unlike my early years, days, weeks, and months seem to zoom past even more quickly. I often compare my life to the toilet roll I mentioned at the beginning of this post.
I was never good at mathematics. And when it comes to time, the maths still doesn’t add up.
But even with good time management skills, sometimes I feel like time is slipping away. It’s a strange feeling – like I’m racing against the clock and can never quite catch up.
But at the end of the day, I try to be grateful for my time and make the most of it. Because, as the saying goes, time waits for no one.
How do you manage your time? Do you kill time, or are you somebody who never seems to have enough of it? Is time your friend, or is it an enemy? Do you have any tips on freeing up more time? Share them in the comments section.
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