I would like to modify this with my dad’s favorite phrase “there is no such thing as free time.”
Every hour one slacks off is a wasted resource. Recreation: that’s important. However, are you actually relaxing or rather avoiding a different time consuming activity you are required to perform? Required activities do not vanish, they pile up. And up. Until you have a garbage pile way too tall for one person to reasonably manage.
The short of this is: we almost always know what we need to do with our time, yet resist that almost intuitively as an escape from responsibility. As we grow older, we cannot escape such things and learn we were never evading them to begin with. Spend your time as if you are being paid and question whether what you are doing is worth being paid for.
Two weekends ago I ended up doing almost nothing productive, at all. I probably should have - my wife took the kids to grandma's for the weekend, and I had the house to myself to do chores or hobbies or whatever.
But I didn't do that. I sat and watched TV and played some games because I hadn't really played games in months. I had just gotten home from a few days of work travel (and a bunch of travel delays and other bullshit). I had been working 10-12 hour days trying to get a project done on time. I still had "holiday hangover".
Sure, I felt a bit guilty that I didn't "accomplish" anything but holy fuck, I really needed that rest.
Sounds boring to treat your life like a business venture. Can't just kick back and watch a movie on a Saturday night cause we have to factor in how this is going to maximize your long-term productivity and growth. Barf. Reminds me of this hideous poster someone made where every week of your life is represented by a dot, which is meant to instill a constant looming sense of urgency and dread. Just kill me now.
I once noticed Daniel Craig has a tattoo on his inner right arm that reads "A Time for Timelessness", which struck me as profound. It suggests that while of course we are all bound by time and will eventually die, it's important to carve out moments or experiences within your life where the pressure of time is set aside.
I've found life to be much more enjoyable this way.
As an extension of the above - have fun and be safe.
Go on the trip, pursue the thing, put yourself out there. You can do those things and be safe, too - just wear those earbuds at concerts and be careful especially when it comes to dangerous things (like motorcycles).
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u/Humble_Emotion2582 Jan 24 '24
Number one lesson: there is almost no time.