Living in a Timely Manner: How Authors Can Use Time with Intention and Purpose

A reflection on time, clarity, and living like you mean it

By J.E. Nickerson | Wise Thinkers Help Desk

“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

—Psalm 90:12

As authors, we work with words—but more than that, we work with time. We draw from moments, memories, hours, and seasons to shape our stories, build our platforms, and share our voices. And yet, how often do we let the days slip by without truly noticing them?

I’ve made a decision not to live that way.

I don’t want to just count the days—I want the days to count.

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Time Isn’t Just Something We Swim Through

It’s easy to imagine time as an ocean we’re floating in—waves pulling us forward, one day crashing into the next. But I don’t see it that way. Time is not something I’m drifting through. Time is something I work with, intentionally. Whether I have five hours or five minutes, I ask myself:

What can I do with this? How can I make it meaningful?

This mindset shapes everything I do. When I look at a single day, I don’t just see a blur of tasks. I see a timeline—a movie of the day. From 6–8 AM, here’s what I produced. From 8–12, here’s what I created. Each section of time becomes a scene in the story of my life—and at the end of the day, I know exactly what I did and why it mattered.

That’s not pressure. That’s purpose.

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The Power of Living With Clarity

When you start approaching time this way, something shifts. You no longer ask, “Where did the day go?” Instead, you say:

“Here’s where my energy went. Here’s what it produced. Here’s what it meant.”

This gives you clarity—not just about the present moment, but about your entire life. It helps you:

• Prioritize the right work

• Shift when things aren’t aligned

• Measure your growth over days, weeks, and months

• Protect your energy from being wasted

And most of all, it gives you peace at the end of the day. Even when you’re tired, you know your time was well spent. You weren’t drifting. You were living on purpose.

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Time and Freedom

There’s another layer to this: freedom.

When I’m reflecting on how I spend my time, I also ask:

How would future changes affect this freedom I have now?

I don’t want to trade my ability to focus, create, and connect for something that pulls me away from what really matters.

Whether I’m writing, designing a website, talking with a loved one, or just taking a breath during a quiet moment—I want to be there for it. Fully. Present. Aware. Not because I’m trying to be perfect, but because I know this moment won’t come again.

Even if it’s just 12:34 PM on a random Tuesday, I’ll pause. I’ll breathe it in. Because this—right here—is the life I get to live. And as an author, every second holds potential for insight, expression, and connection.

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Not Just Time Spent—Time Created

Here’s the truth: I don’t think of time as slipping through my fingers.

I think of it as something I create with.

When I sit down to write, hours may pass in a flash—but I have a story, a post, a scene, a message to show for it. That’s not lost time. That’s time transformed.

And when people say I’m quiet, I don’t feel the need to defend myself.

I talk through my website. I speak through my stories. I leave a record of my days, and I document what it means to be me—an author, a thinker, a builder, a feeler.

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For Fellow Authors

If you’re an author too, let me tell you—this way of living changes everything.

It gives you momentum. It helps you track your progress, even when success feels slow. It helps you stay grounded when things get noisy. And most of all, it reminds you that your time is not random. It’s yours to shape.

You can build your life around what matters most to you.

You can build your days like chapters, your hours like sentences.

You can take the abstract idea of “I’m working” and turn it into a clear, powerful statement:

“Here’s what I made today.”

That’s the gift. That’s the framework.

That’s what it means to live in a timely manner.

Find more inspiration for intentional living in the scenic reflection Scenic Reflections | Still Waters, Honest Questions

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📚 And if you’re new here, I’m J.E. Nickerson — faith based author and inspirational storyteller. You can check out my books here or follow me on YouTube for more inspiration and encouragement on this writing life.