You have time




"Life is full, and life has space. There is no contradiction here."

Yes, yes, yes! From today's Times: The Busy Person's Lies by Laura Vanderkam. Might be worth keeping better track of our time. I've thought for a long while that the invisibility of our "free" time now is partly what makes it so pernicious. Sure with TV there was the danger that you might watch hours more than you planned (and one woman in the article describes wasted time channel surfing) but in general for me, if I watch something, I have a pretty clear sense of it and "count" it as free time -- last night I watched Game of Thrones for an hour, for example (or attempted to, I never stay awake for the whole any-thing, but that I can't blame on lack of free time). But you can count it as something you did just for fun. Free time, not wasted time. Whereas, with checking email, reading an article here or there, answering a text...it steals time. It fills in the cracks. I only have ten minutes so I'll just read this one article..check this site...watch this video... Three of those "only" ten-minute sessions you gave away for free, and you would have had a half hour to sit with a cup of tea and stare out the window like those people we envy, who have "so much" free time. So now much of our free time gets wasted, and doesn't feel free.

Comments

  1. So much wisdom here. I really needed this post today. I've totally been "filling in the cracks," stealing 10 minutes from myself here and there. My TV time is limited, and without cable, I don't/can't waste time surfing. There's either a new episode of GoT, Call the Midwife, or Girls, or there isn't. And very true, it's an opportunity to luxuriate in that space of free time. But those little articles, some of which are important but many of which are not, feel like little thieves. I wonder if I should be scheduling 20 minutes a day to stare out the window with a cup of tea? Ahh... just writing that down felt good.

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  2. Little thieves...that's exactly what they are. So many of those articles do turn out to be great, but is reading them what you would do if someone said - how do you want to spend your 20 minutes of free time today? Yes...even just writing that down about staring out the window with the tea does feel relaxing. I know someone who does that, and I admire that. She prioritizes the time alone with tea or a glass of wine. She doesn't race to pick up a gadget or sit down at the computer. I am trying to model myself on her.

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