Time Anxiety

 With all the recent deadlines I have been experiencing at work as well as new learning opportunities elsewhere, it's important for me to pause and reflect on my attitudes toward time. Is time something that people accumulate, as in "clocking one's hours"? Or are there healthier ways of looking at our relationships with time?
 A culture that is obsessed with time and deadlines operates under one implicit belief, and that is, "there is one time, and one time only: it's now or never." I have to admit that this mentality can be helpful for people who procrastinate, since it encourages them to let go of the illusion that there is ever a future tense, or a moment when it "will" happen. However, when taken to an extreme, such an idea about time can lead to a hurried attitude toward life. I keep trying to accumulate what I think will give me more satisfaction and security, not recognizing all the while that such conferring is entirely human made. A "degree" in a certain academic subject is not a universal "conferring" of one's personal value or worth, yet how often does one pursue such things under the implied notion that it's a static object that is being pursued?
   Perhaps a healthier attitude is not to have any particular notion of time. If something needs to be done, then for sure we schedule that event, but we might keep in mind that in fact there is nothing that really needs doing, since there are infinite possibilities. If I bound myself to one particular set of habitual actions, I am really only committing myself to a habit-- one which can in turn be switched to something else when the need arises. In this way, I don't focus on the number of things I do but on the endless possibilities that are in each moment that can be done. This way, my attitude is more open and relaxed, with less need to rush.
   It's hard to keep this space where one can enjoy moments without thinking of endless tasks. I suppose it can be helpful to reflect on how completing a task is never a guarantee or "safety" but is only one part of a larger state of flowing with conditions.