Are you honest with yourself about your time?
Time is an area of our lives where we are often not truthful to ourselves and to other people. This isn't necessarily intentional but none the less these untruths have repercussions and can cause harm (himsa) to ourselves and to others as well as raising stress levels and anxiety.

We know how many hours there are in a day and how much energy we have to do what we need to, but how often do we tell ourselves that we can get the gazillion tasks on our to do list done, take kids or family members to appointments, visit a friend, cook dinner, bath the dog, clean the house, paint the spare room twice and be in bed by 9pm? This may be a bit extreme but I don’t think I'm the only one that can be a little over-ambitious when it comes to my time!
When we are not true to ourselves about how long things are really going to take, we let ourselves and other people down. We repeat the mantra 'I don't have time to...' to ourselves and feel anxious and overwhelmed.

 

This week, the satya practice off the mat is to become aware of how you spend your time.

Notice when you lie to yourself or others about how long a task may take. Be aware of how you feel when you don't complete it on time or when, as a result, you turn up late to another appointment.
Notice if you simply over estimate how much you can do, or habitually underestimate how long things take to complete (I'm guilty of this one!).
Notice if you tell yourself that you don't spend much time on your phone playing games and scrolling, or watching TV, but really lose 5 minutes here and 20 minutes there several times a day. Could these pockets be better spent cuddling the dog, reading something uplifting, or clearing your head in some fresh air?

Time is our most valuable resource. Practicing satya and being truthful about the hours you have in a day and how you choose to spend them can make you feel in control and less stressed.
Combine this with the practice of being impeccable with your word; complete tasks when you say you will, be on time to meetings and appointments, and be honest with people around you, and you be sure to feel more confident and accomplished at the end of each day.