We were all surprised at how quickly the lesson had gone by. As my 8 year old student was putting his guitar away I quipped, "Yeah. Time's fun when you're having flies." He giggled and replied, "That's supposed to be, 'Time flies when you're having fun'. Wait! Did you say it that way on purpose?"
Time is a precious commodity and he seems to know this already at such a tender age. I struggle with time management and always have. I give myself artificial deadlines and maintain schedules even when I don't have to just to get anything done. It drives my wife crazy when I constantly gaze at my watch while we're on vacation or when I insist on eating lunch at the same time every day. But my schedule is a tool that I rely on.
Time is not measured in minutes or hours only. It can be measured in seasons, years, or lifetimes. When a new student comes to me I know that my time with them is limited so I have to teach them as much as I can in the amount of time available. When I taught at college the semesters were 13 weeks long. I saw each student one hour per week for two semesters per year for four years. I used to tell them that I had 104 lessons to take them from crappy to wonderful. That's it - no more.
Lately I've been occupied with pre-recorded video lessons, audio reference tracks, and supplemental music that may be emailed or downloaded from my website. I suspect that some think I'm simply infatuated with the technology. Actually I find the technology aggravating and dislike taking the time to learn it. But my timeline is not the issue, it's my students timeline that is important. They don't want to take any more time than is necessary to accomplish their goals. It's my job to help them.
We have cliches, phrases that justify the use of time, "Take the time...", "Time well spent", "There's no time like the present", etc. So I guess we all understand the value of time. We just need to avoid becoming a slave to it. I would love to say more, but my time's up. (Sorry. I couldn't resist.)