UNITED STATES—We are told time and time again that “Time is of the essence.” You might be thinking, exactly what does that mean? It’s a loaded question ─ that I will admit. If you are asking me, it means you have to cherish the time you have, not necessarily living in the moment, but not counting the time you have. I think so many Americans do this.

Take for example, you are planning for a vacation, you know the vacation is coming and then you begin to start counting down the days until that vacation arises. The problem in doing that is that you are attempting to track time, which you can do, but you’re losing time as a result of doing so. If you have to work, focus on work, if you have free time, utilize that free time to get things done. Don’t sit around idly waiting for a text or phone call because it may never come when you expect it to come. That time you’re waiting for something is time that is NOW LOST.

You cannot get that time back, so utilize the time in the present to your maximum benefit. Clean up the house, organize the closet, sort and destroy junk mail, clean the fridge, read a book, watch a movie, play a video game, do some yard work, clean the house, shall I continue with the list of items that you can indulge in. When you maximize the time you have you don’t feel like you’re losing time.

There is only issue where time becomes tricky: sleep. I will be the first to admit this and I wish I did not have to; I do not sleep well at night at all. I can go to bed early, I can go to bed late, and I can toss and turn all night. I do know where a big portion of this troubling issue comes from is a direct result of me having to work midnights during a period of my life and having to adjust my sleep patter to being up at night when my body was trained to sleep.

In addition, I found myself pulling all-nighters quite a bit in college which trained my body to be up as well. I have tried calming oils, limiting caffeine consumption, no TV watching, putting the phone away, and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. The best thing I’ve discovered is not trying to calculate how much sleep I’m getting, just focusing on getting sleep. When it comes to time, we like to track it, especially with sleep. I got 5 hours, 6 hours, 7 etc.

If we just try to focus on getting the sleep it helps us master not looking at quantity, but quality. I think that is most important things when it comes to sleep. Sometimes a 30-minute nap does circles around sleeping for 4 to 5 hours. So take naps if you can during the day it makes a big difference in your body re-energizing and being prepared and ready for the day ahead of us.

Also when it comes to time, you have to live in the moment as well. Enjoy the time you spend with family, friends and those in your orbit who are important to you. Don’ t look at the watch, the phone, etc., just live in the moment, time doesn’t stop unfortunately it is always moving, but if your focus is not on the clock ticking and moving, just let it be. It is what it is people.

Time is something so many Americans try to control and manipulate, but guess what America we cannot do it. Just let time be time people, everything else that matters will fall into place, trust it.