Time Confetti
Dear Patient,
Have you heard of time confetti? It’s a term coined by author Brigid Schulte to describe the tiny bits of free time peppered throughout our days. Most of us have more leisure time than we realize, but we experience it not in long stretches but in small scraps, like paper confetti. It’s why we feel like there’s never enough time.
We unwittingly cede our time confetti to tasks that seem quick, but collectively make a huge impact: checking email, replying to messages, reading a quick article online, and the like. Have you ever reached the end of your day and wondered what exactly you did all day? Time confetti.
The good news is that managing time confetti is largely a matter of where you direct your attention. Five minutes here, fifteen minutes there—you can spend those moments doomscrolling or retweeting or whatever it is the attention economy demands of you, or you can do something focused and intentional. Let me give you an example.
Two years ago I opened a second clinic. In advance of the grand opening, we invited our patients at the original location to make origami paper cranes, to symbolize hope and healing. We put stacks of origami paper and instructions in our waiting room, and posted about it on social media. A few days before the grand opening I got a big package in the mail. It was from my sister, who lives over a thousand miles away, and it was full of paper cranes. Unbeknownst to me, for several weeks she had spent every spare moment making paper cranes. 275 to be exact. Two years later, they’re still hanging in our “new” clinic, a charming welcome to everyone who comes in.
So the next time you find yourself beset by time confetti, remember that the time is still yours, even if you experience it in small scraps. You can fritter it away, or you can turn all those scraps into something remarkable.
Love and gratitude,
Your Acupuncturist