O Tempora, O Mores

I'm still trying to rub the cobwebs out of my labor-intensive Labor Day weekend, so in the hopes that you're more alert than I am today let me try a little riddle on you.

What's one thing that is ubiquitous, we all have in equal amounts every day - from the tiniest baby to the oldest person, from the dirt poor to the filthy rich - yet we never seem to have enough of it? And pondering the mystery of what it really is St. Augustine said of it: "If no one asks me, I know; but if any person should require me to tell him, I cannot."

Time.

We all have time. Oh you've heard the idioms: time's a-wasting, time is on your side, time's up, time out, time being, take your time, killing time. I could go on, but this isn't Grammar Girl. If you'd like the full list, check this out.

And we've all heard someone (most likely our mothers) say "So-and-so had the same hours in a day that you have" when trying to cajole us into being more productive. While it's easy to dismiss such "motherisms," I think that particular phrase gives us a lot to think about.

At the end of the day (24 hours, to be exact), we all had the same amount of time to create or do or think and change the world just a little bit more. We all had the opportunity to improve the experience of a customer, make someone feel special, measure and report something to a client, or encourage those around us.

Time may be the great equalizer, but it's our persistence, work ethic and imagination that set us apart from each other. It's how we utilize our time that makes all the difference in the world. Time spent with family, at work, solving problems, helping others and generally making the world a better place than we found - whatever we deem worthy and important in our lives - is what makes us productive.

How do you spend your day? Do you impart a unique value or imprint on every interaction you have? In short, do you use your time wisely?

If not, there's always time to improve.

And yes, this entry was a thinly-veiled mea culpa for not writing anything over the past week. Thanks for humoring me.