My Thoughts on Time

Found in Italy. Wonderful artwork by artist A. Bauesi or A. Barresi

When I was looking for a way to rid my sickness, I knew things were going south again. This wasn't the first time I was lost and it certainly won't be the last. Through my agony, I knew I was once again wasting time but didn't know to what extent. It wasn't until I started measuring time when something inside me clicked. We don't have as much time as we think we do.  

Dive in with me and see for yourself:

How much time do we have from tomorrow until the end of the year? Today is November 1st and there are 30 days left in November. Let's add the 31 days in December on to that which makes 61 days in total. We have 24 hours in a day so in total, we have 1464 hours to spend our time. Let's divide this up.

Eat - 2 hours a day * 61 days =  122 hours
Sleep - 8 hours a day * 61 days = 488 hours
Work - 5 hours a day * 61 days = 305 hours
Play - ???
Total = 915/1464 = 62.5% of our time on the essentials.
What's left = What will you do with the remaining 549 hours? Watch TV?

I came up with some conservative numbers which I think is reasonable. Your hours may be different, because everyone is different. However, the main idea is all humans are operating under this time. It is what they do with it that differentiates them from everyone else. If we extend this idea to our death, it really opens our eyes to how much time we really have. After looking at time in this manner, I understood what I really needed to do. I decided not to waste a second more because it really is finite. So the next time you do something you consider a distraction, just remember back to the calculations I made above.

I certainly will.

Distractions

Distractions are everywhere, news, sports, and even the internet itself. How much time have you wasted catching up with your favorite sport's teams? How much time have you wasted watching the news? How much time have you wasted binge watching videos on YouTube? I know I wasted many hours doing all these and started to realize that it has done nothing but waste my time and energy. Time and energy are valuable resources and should only be devoted to the things that MATTER.

The only people who should be focused on those mentioned above are the people who make a living off them. Are you making money by betting on teams? Fine! Are you a program manager at NBC and are forced to watch the news to see if it's good? Great! Are you making money by watching random YouTube videos? Fantastic! If you don't do any of those and are poor, then it's a waste of time. These are only a few of the many distractions that are out there. Anything that doesn't help you achieve your goals is a DISTRACTION.

How many hours are wasted  reading these answers?

We have been seduced folks.

The problem has grown bigger than I have ever imagined. Marketers have figured us out and are stealing our time and energy. It's evil in plain sight and we have welcomed it into our lives. We have grown so used to it that we even enjoy it. It's time to recognize and reject these evils.

It's time to focus.