Time Magic: Planetary Hours and Productivity
Time.
A human construct? Yes. An unavoidable tyrant? Absolutely. A dragon to slay? Perhaps.
I'm of the mind that Time is almost always on our side — if we want it to be. Lately, we've been talking about Time in the North Node, our members-only community. As entrepreneurs, leaders, caretakers, or simply excited humans who want to do all-the-things, it can feel like we never have enough hours in the day. (And definitely not enough days in the week)
So, manipulating Time to bend to your will is one of the most magical acts you can perform. And shockingly, it's easier than you'd think.
Time Magic Requires Focus
Like all magic, stretching and shrinking Time requires focus. I love the old saying, "You can multitask and do magic," because it's totally something your crotchety old Capricorn grandma would say and also because it's TRUE. Anything we want to imbue with potency and power requires our complete attention. And if we cannot devote all of our attention to our goal, even for five minutes ... the desire for that intention to come to life is likely not strong enough.
Magic isn't a shortcut, far from it.
The Rules of Bending Time
So how do we manipulate Time? First, we gotta understand that although Time is a human construct, and therefore IS NOT REAL (!), we live in a human-constructed world. We can't eschew society's idea of Time and expect to live a happy, healthy life out in the world.
Imagine if you just decided to stop using Time, and just started showing up places according to when you felt like it. Yeah, it'd be liberating, but only for you — you'd never be able to make it to an appointment with a friend, you'd ruin dinner parties, and you'd probably hear from the IRS when you didn't pay your taxes according to their deadline.
Opting out of systems that we don't approve of isn't activism and isn't rebellious. It's just selfish.
When we decide we don't like a structural system in our culture — whether it be the illusion of Time, or structural sexism, or structural racism — the best thing we can do is understand the system intimately so we can dismantle it from the inside out.
To bend Time, we must befriend Time.
Time Magic
Making time work in your favor is fun. With a combination of intent, knowledge of Planetary Hours, and understanding of your relationship to Time, you'll be well on your way to bending the Time-Space continuum.
Parkinson's Law
Although we technically measure Time in even concrete units that are equal to each other (minutes are all in measurement, as so with hours, days, etc.), we know that our experience of Time is the opposite. One minute in a crowded elevator feels far longer than a minute spent scrolling Instagram.
It's funny like that.
You've probably experienced Parkinson's Law in action: the idea that work expands to fill the time available for its completion.
If you gave yourself an hour to pack your bag, it took an hour. But if you only had 15 minutes ... the bag would get packed in 15. Ever woken up late for work, and still made it to the office before you were supposed to clock in? Yeah, that's Parkinson's Law.
Or maybe you've had another encounter with Parkinson's Law— you have a deadline that's weeks away ... and you wait until the last moment to complete the project, even though you had plenty of open space to begin working on it before the cutoff.
We can use Parkinson's Law to our advantage.
If we know that work expands to the time we allot for it, we can intentionally control the time we allocate to our tasks and work. So instead of letting your work take you eight hours, you can use Parkinson's Law to let it take you four hours.
Time Magic Tactic #1: Monday Hour One
Monday Hour One is simple.
Before you begin your week, write down everything you need to do. The big, the small. Errands, work, personal stuff. Everything.
Usually, I have a list of ~40 items that range from "build worm compost" to "reply to that email" to "write chapter 1 of book."
Then, pull out your calendar, and slot every single thing on your list into your schedule. Even if it's a short task, like replying to an email, give yourself a 15-minute slot to do that.
Why does this work?
First, because we're limiting the decision-making we need to take in the moment every day as we live our lives. Always trying to decide what should come next and how we can best use our energy is exhausting. And yeah, it's a poor use of our energy.
Those gaps between tasks where you're trying to decide what to focus on next are also your most vulnerable ... and you are the most distractable. It's not easy to justify picking up and scrolling through your phone while you're in the middle of a task. But it's WAY TOO EASY to justify falling into an Instagram black hole when we're "between" things during the day. And because we haven't given ourselves boundaries around our time (which, ahem, also means we don't respect our own time), we end up spending way more of our day on meaningless tasks that do not add value to our life.
The level of relief that you get for spending 5 minutes on Instagram is roughly the same level of comfort that you get after spending 35 minutes on the app. Save yourself the extra 30 minutes for something more meaningful.
Time Magic Tactic #2: Batching
Batching works nicely with Monday Hour One.
Batching is the process of devoting a large chunk of time — a few hours ± to a project or process, rather than just a 30- or 60-minute time slot.
Spending more time immersed in a project allows us to go deeper intellectually and emotionally. It also offers the opportunity to get into a real flow state, and in turn, our work feels easier to make because we're following that momentum.
In a world that's continually trying to distract us from going deep — emails! notifications! loud noises! — it is an act of rebellion to find depth in our lives.
During your Monday Hour One exercise, try giving yourself a 3-4 hour slot to focus on a creative project — writing, reading, or making something.
Time Magic Tactic #3: Planetary Hours
Practitioners of witchcraft have long timed their spells according to the Planetary Hours.
The system of assigning the hours of the day to individual planets has been around since before the invention of the telescope, so it only includes the planets that can be seen with the naked eye: Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.
Each day of the week is named for a planet, and each hour of the day is ruled by a planet. The planetary hours change day by day in a repeating structure that can be calculated if you know the time of sunrise and sunset in your location.
But let's be honest — there's an app for that, and it's way easier to use.
If you have any knowledge of astrology, you can probably make some intelligent guesses about how to use the Planetary hours to inform your schedule.
Jupiter Hour is a good time to get lucky. Saturn Hour is when you'll want to get organized, do a deep dive into work, maybe pay your taxes. Moon Hour is mutable, intuitive, imaginative. Mercury Hour would be a great time to write a blog post or do deep thinking. Venus Hour? Plan a date, baby. Mars Hour? Excellent time to go on a run or go work out.
If you want a little extra energetic assistance with your weekly tasks, use the Planetary Hours to help you complete your Monday Hour One exercise.
Conclusion
You are powerful — you can stop time, create more time, or slow time down. If you choose.