Dearest Readers,

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A million years ago, when my husband and I were dating, we saw an obscure film on the poet Billy Collins, who said he was "a millionaire in time." (Many of his poems are about long walks to pick up quarts of milk.) We looked at each other and decided that we would aspire to that, too.

Are you a time-millionaire-aspirant? I realize that life often intervenes with such plans. There are bills to pay, kids to raise, aging parents to look after.

But, aside from big moves, like changing careers or planning for retirement, here are a few things you could do, to put a little savings into your bank of time:

1. Spend time in solitude, every day.
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2. Take a walk, every day.
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3. Proactively engage with beauty (whether music, art, or nature), every day.
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4. Periodically take a day off, in which you do absolutely nothing productive.
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5. Periodically use an email auto-responder, letting people know that you’ll be unable to answer their emails for a period of time.
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6. Take stock of how you reacted to the pandemic lockdown. Which events did you miss, and which were you relieved to be freed from? For anything that fell into the relief category, could you skip those events still? For some work and family obligations, this won’t be possible. But it’s probably way more possible than you think.
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7. Identify the people and animals whose company you love, and spend as much time with them as you can. Many of us would rather devote ourselves to a few treasured souls, rather than divide our time among a vast array of family, friends and acquaintances. Yet there’s a tremendous amount of pressure to spread yourself socially thin. If this doesn’t suit you, resist! Create the social life that nourishes you.
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These are just seven ideas for growing your wealth in time. Can you add to the list?

Love,

Susan

P.S. Do you know someone who prizes quiet over hubbub, depth over superficiality, and sensitivity over cool? If so, please forward this Kindred newsletter! It's meant for them!

If you were forwarded this email, click here to sign up!
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