A New Year’s Resolution for Time Maximization?
Given the desire of most people to live in perpetuity, and the unfortunate fact that it’s just not happening (at least during our lifetimes), the next best thing is to maximize our time in this place.
I have previously addressed the issue of sleep and how we could get up to another 33% out of the living business, if we could manage to do without it or get less of it. See “Getting More out of our Limited days.” Those who love a good slumber did not like that suggestion. And, medical science also suggests that it may not be so good for your health, and increases your chances for developing Alzheimer’s and various other maladies. Not to mention the grumpiness that many of us would feel if we did not get enough Z’s on a long-term basis.
So, what else can we do to get “more out of life,” short of constantly traveling west real fast to pick up an hour at every time-zone? I have a few basic thoughts.
Naturally, the place many folks spend most of their time, even more than sleeping, is work. Much has been said about finding a job that you are passionate about first, and only then consider how to make money at it. Great idea if you can pull it off, but unfortunately it’s not realistic for many – not everyone can be a professional baseball player, rock star or write books for a living.
The next best thing for those in a job they don’t really love – while waiting to find a job as satisfying to them as sex – is naturally to try to find something redeeming about the job that makes it more enjoyable or at least tolerable; perhaps its an aspect of the job, a particular task or skill, the knowledge you are gaining or giving to others, or one or more co-employees you like to banter with. In short, a change in perspective. I realize that for some folks, their job is torture to them, but something essential to pay the bills until there is a call-up from the Major Leagues or a call-back from the Voice. Not much you can do in that situation other than constantly keep looking for better alternatives and learning new skills.
Then there are relationships that take up a lot of time – family and friends. Most of that time is great, well-spent, and the best part of living. But it can fall far short of expectations. My view is to throw away the guilt and only expend your valuable time on relationships that provide something worthwhile – friendship, love, laughter, kindness, knowledge, appreciation, etc. People that project arrogance, hate or jealousy, are only concerned about themselves, and/or that bring you down, do not merit your time, especially if you look at time as the limited bank account that it is. That’s not to say that relationships should be all about you – just that they should be a two-way street. If the friend or family member only travels in one direction, then let them go in that direction – alone.
Then there are the host of daily activities where considerable time is wasted. The biggest for many is traffic. Naturally, it’s great if you can live in a place without a lot of it or can take mass transit – you will save hundreds of hours over the course of your lifetime. But if you choose to live in places like LA or Austin you should give more consideration to where you routinely go and try to live as close as possible to where you work, play, shop, and work-out. While this may seem obvious, it is clearly not being considered sufficiently by many, since a recent study shows that the average person spends 42 hours in traffic each year – that’s over 3000 hours over an 80-year lifespan. For Angelinos and Austenites, that figure is no doubt double.
It would also behoove most folks to take a little more time to carefully plan out certain chores in advance – like when to go to the grocery store, pharmacy, and post-office, conduct holiday shopping, and various other activities. People waste an exorbitant amount of time just waiting in a line, when they could instead be reading a good book, climbing a mountain, playing with a dog or kids, or helping somebody out. It can make a huge difference what time you shop or do other routine tasks. I understand that sometimes work schedules or need may mandate picking rush hour after work to buy food for dinner, but a little forethought and planning will, over time, I suspect save you more than a year of your life in line somewhere.
For doctor appointments (and other appointments like auto repairs) schedule the first appointment of the day, if possible, since Doc’s (and others) are rarely late for the first one. Naturally everyone can’t have the first appointment, but unless you are having signs of heart attack or that mole has grown to the size of a pineapple, you are better off waiting a couple of weeks to be first. For eating out, always make a reservation. If they don’t take them and there is routinely a wait, go elsewhere- there are a plethora of great eating establishments. For those who rent cars, rental facilities can be some of the most annoying places to wait – no one wants to wait 30-60 minutes when you are on your cherished vacation and rearing to go. You can often skip the line and save considerable time by joining their rental program in advance – there is no cost and, like a caveman, anyone can do it.
In the recreation realm, not much is worse “bang for the time” than attending NFL football games. I know there are folks, especially many women, who would say attending ALL sporting events not involving your kid or grand-kid is a waste of time. But even for those of us who love sports and appreciate watching great talent in person, especially with kids and buds who share that passion, the NFL has got to go in terms of a live viewing experience. Putting aside that you are supporting a group of billionaires who have defrauded cities out of huge sums of taxpayer money while defrauding young men for decades about the severe dangers to their brains of playing this “game,” attending an NFL game absolutely sucks as an efficient use of your valuable time.
Did you know that the average amount of actual action (from whistle to whistle cumulatively) is a mere 11 minutes? For most, attending the game is a 5-hour adventure, after traffic and parking and walking to the seats, reversing that process at the end of the game, sitting through a long halftime and reams of TV time-outs after every change in possession. So, you are seeing actual football only 3.7% of the time! Moreover, you are spending a heavy chunk of your limited weekend engaged in this largely useless activity. If you must watch your beloved squad or fantasy team, it’s far better to do so on TV, where you can do lots of other things during the nearly 97% of the time where there is no football being played.
There are no doubt many other time wasting examples out there, but due to TIME constraints, I’ll throw out just one more more that may not have occurred you – your name. If your name is Jeff Roth or Tal Sant, you spend a lot less time signing, writing and typing your name than most, especially folks like Isabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rosellini, an actual Italian actress, or Kiefer William Frederick Dempsey George Rufus Sutherland – no wonder they simply call him Jack Bauer.
So, for those with long names, I suggest you go with an abbreviated name, or better yet, legally change your name for those official documents. You may say that I’ve lost my marbles, but think about it: The average person applies their name to letters, e-mails, cards, credit card, bank and other applications, on line purchases, sale and lease documents, divorces and other contractual agreements, medical history forms, etc, several thousand times per year. If you were to save five to ten seconds each time, then I figure you might conservatively save an hour a year. Big deal you say? Assuming you are fortunate to live until 80, I just gave you 80 hours to do other worthwhile things – like wait in line at the grocery store, attend NFL football games, or read my blog!
