Hey Arman--fun and inspiring post, as always. I think for most people, 8 hours of free time a day is an over-estimate: many of us spend additional hours commuting, buying groceries, taking care of children, washing dishes, and so on. But we still have hours at our discretion--with the average American still watching about 3 hours of TV per day. Making 1 hour to do something meaningful is very doable. Your post reminds me of the classic book How to Live on 24 Hours a Day by Arnold Bennett (1907). I think you'd enjoy it.
Nice bit of perspectivizing (that's a word, right?).
I had a very chilled but mega high-functioning teacher at school who, when I was in one of my more flustered moments, said to me, "It's easy – there are 24 hours in a day, so that means you have 8 hours for work, 8 hours sleep and 8 hours off."
I was dumbfounded and a bit annoyed at the undeniability of his logic, and I still can't work out why days never feel that simple!
"98% satisfaction guaranteed" - how many of these cheeky close captions have you created and what percentage of your free time do you spend creating them? Do you have a list? I'd like to see them all. I need to work on applying some creativity to these myself. IMO this is a really good use of free time. : )
I believed I had to win the lottery for soooo long! I thought only then things where possible.
Your post inspired me to write one about winning the lottery :D
Since 2,5 years I have quit social media, and that action has lead to great things - one of them is writing online. I still waste time but, it's not that bad anymore and writing gives me a lot of clarity.
So much truth here, especially this: "It’s tempting to think if you can’t dedicate a huge chunk of time to do something you’ve always wanted, it’s not even worth starting."
All you need to do is start. Small blocks of time compound exponentially. And if you wait, the only thing that will happen a year from now is you wishing you had started RIGHT NOW!
Loved this Arman. Like you, I feel a lot of pressure to use my free time well. I maintain a religious respect for people who use their time to build skills and cultivate interests outside of work
Hey Arman--fun and inspiring post, as always. I think for most people, 8 hours of free time a day is an over-estimate: many of us spend additional hours commuting, buying groceries, taking care of children, washing dishes, and so on. But we still have hours at our discretion--with the average American still watching about 3 hours of TV per day. Making 1 hour to do something meaningful is very doable. Your post reminds me of the classic book How to Live on 24 Hours a Day by Arnold Bennett (1907). I think you'd enjoy it.
Nice bit of perspectivizing (that's a word, right?).
I had a very chilled but mega high-functioning teacher at school who, when I was in one of my more flustered moments, said to me, "It's easy – there are 24 hours in a day, so that means you have 8 hours for work, 8 hours sleep and 8 hours off."
I was dumbfounded and a bit annoyed at the undeniability of his logic, and I still can't work out why days never feel that simple!
"98% satisfaction guaranteed" - how many of these cheeky close captions have you created and what percentage of your free time do you spend creating them? Do you have a list? I'd like to see them all. I need to work on applying some creativity to these myself. IMO this is a really good use of free time. : )
...make your life make your life...
I believed I had to win the lottery for soooo long! I thought only then things where possible.
Your post inspired me to write one about winning the lottery :D
Since 2,5 years I have quit social media, and that action has lead to great things - one of them is writing online. I still waste time but, it's not that bad anymore and writing gives me a lot of clarity.
Loved this post! You have an new subscriber!
So much truth here, especially this: "It’s tempting to think if you can’t dedicate a huge chunk of time to do something you’ve always wanted, it’s not even worth starting."
All you need to do is start. Small blocks of time compound exponentially. And if you wait, the only thing that will happen a year from now is you wishing you had started RIGHT NOW!
Great writing, Arman.
For me, carving out that 1 hour a day became easier when I focused on what I shouldn't be doing instead of what I should be doing.
Loved this Arman. Like you, I feel a lot of pressure to use my free time well. I maintain a religious respect for people who use their time to build skills and cultivate interests outside of work