A student recently asked me how I manage my time, and while it's a classic question, I want to challenge the premise entirely: there's no such thing as managing time.

Time is constant and ever-flowing - a space we can never really grab or manage. It's the fourth dimension (X, Y, Z, and T), and fundamentally, time is just change in space. We discovered time by watching nature change: seeds becoming trees, babies growing up, the sun rising and setting repeatedly. Time is change, and change just happens. We can't control it.

So instead of managing time, I manage two other things: space and attention.

Managing Space

I realized this when I stopped being an employee and started my own company. Suddenly, I didn't need alarm clocks unless I was meeting someone. The only reason we set alarms is to be in a specific location at a specific time.

Think about it: every time commitment is actually a space commitment. A Zoom meeting at 10 AM means being in front of your computer then. Meeting at the city square requires both of us to be there at the same time, or we won't actually meet.

My calendar is my space journal - it only contains meetings and location commitments. Flights go in my calendar (100% space commitment). Phone calls go in my calendar. Driving somewhere goes in my calendar. But tasks? Those belong elsewhere.

I hate when my calendar is controlled by others because freedom is your ability to be wherever you want. If you have a meeting you don't want to attend, but you go anyway, you're not free - even if you're a digital nomad in Thailand forced into an unwanted Zoom call.

Managing Attention

Attention is single-threaded - you can only focus on one thing at a time. This is actually great news because it simplifies everything.

My to-do list is my attention journal. I arrange tasks in sequential order through drag and drop, with the top task being what I want to focus on first. I use Todoist for this - technology makes drag-and-drop much better than paper.

When I want to go to the gym, it doesn't go in my calendar (that would feel like pain and constraint). Instead, it goes first in my attention list. I wake up when I want, eat what I want, and when I'm ready to tackle my attention journal, the gym is right there at the top.

The difference is crucial: if I tell my partner I'll meet them at the supermarket at 4 PM, that's a space commitment for my calendar. If I just want to go to the supermarket, that's an attention item for my to-do list.

This approach gives me control over my space (freedom) while maintaining focus through single-threaded attention management. I'm not trying to manage every second of my life - I'm managing what I can actually control.

What do you think? Does this perspective help you rethink your own relationship with "time management"?

I Don't Manage My Time