To utilize time wisely and avoid wasting time, one must have a schedule, or as my mother called it, a “tochnit”

I grew up in a home where time was of the essence.

Very early on we were taught that there was no more valuable commodity than time, and it should be regarded accordingly. Actually, time is much more than a precious commodity; it’s the essence of life itself. Once, during a pregnancy, my mother confided to me that to her, one of the most satisfying aspects of pregnancy is that one is never wasting a minute. For nine months, one is being productive in the purest sense of the word, literally 24/7.

To utilize time wisely and avoid wasting time, one must have a schedule, or as my mother called it, a “tochnit.” Even our vacations were structured, as we went from one tochnit to the next. Every day had to be carefully planned in advance. My mother could tolerate us making our own tochnit, even if it included activities not on her preferred list, but there was zero tolerance for a day without a tochnit.

She would quote to us from Chazal (Yoma 75), that one of Moshe Rabbeinu’s earliest takanos for Klal Yisrael in the desert was to eat at specific times. Since the mahn fell at dawn, they had their daily supply of food with them all day, and so they would nibble at the food constantly, as a chicken pecks at his food. Because they were wandering in the desert, seemingly aimlessly, Moshe felt that to function properly, it was essential to structure their day — including mealtimes. Hence an eating schedule was instituted.

When my mother was hospitalized in the final stages of her terminal illness, we, her children, took turns caring for her. One day she told me to take a pen and paper and write down a tochnit for her. Since she was bedridden and could do little besides listen to tapes of shiurim, this made no sense. I assumed she was hallucinating and so ignored her request. She repeated her request again in a firm voice and clear mind, which left me no choice but to comply.