Where'd all the time go

What to get back some time

Has it ever happened, that you woke up one day and realized how much time has passed ? You are now older with un-attended plans, wondering where did all the time go …

And it really makes us feel there is no more time left. People of all ages have worried abou this feeling …

  • Oh I’m only 23 what am I gonna do, I’ve wasted my life.
  • Can I be suscessful starting my career at 30 ?

There may still be some time.

We feel we don’t have any time left because social media has conditioned us to think if we don’t achieve certain milestones by a certain age we are a failure. Hence, the urgency in our head.

On top of that, capitalism has played really well in always shedding the lime light on the youth. The coverage of people aged 30-35 or more drops steeply in mass media. Why ? Because there is always something shiny to sell to young folks which explains their majority coverage.

Besides above voices in your head, you may have a hectic work schedule, you maye be raising a kid on the side or hustling with your startup. Either way, I think if you are doing things, you won’t feel this guilt of having let time pass you by.

The guilt comes from not using your time effectively. Remember, You will only regret not doing things.

So let’s talk about that …

Time is difficult to manage.

  • How come we play games for hours, but can’t commit to (say) a side project for similar hours ?
  • How come we binge entire season of TV shows, but can’t sit and finish a book ?
  • How come we scroll miles on socia media, but can’t walk the same.

You get the idea. We can’t do those things simply because they are boring.

The good news is you can blame tech giants for this behaviour to a certain extent. We are conditioned to be so dopamine driven, that we resist anything boring.

But another reason why doing anything new feels so overwhelming is because our brains are overstimulated, you can’t expect the brain to work well if it’s working over time everyday. And the worst part is, we aren’t even thinking much, just consuming information. In fact this habit is the reason why we now have something called digital detox where you go offline, maybe on a trip and feel your world has changed.

The idea of digital detox feels silly.

I argue we shouldn’t require so called “digital detox” if we are just mindful of our habits. Ofcourse this is easier said than done. But it goes deeper, when we hear someone doing a digital detox, we think of them to be mindful or productive.

But sadly, even digital detoxes are now mostly a stunt people perform now to appear mindful or productive. I never really understood why do people even record their detox journey live. Wasn’t it supposed to be a digital detox ?

Anyways, here is what I suggest you do to save some time :

  1. Be quick to do chores. Be it arranging your wardrobe or making your bed. Be quick in doing these, because the time you will save later finding that dress or sleeping in a clean bed compounds.

  2. Get your nutrients. It’d be a shame if you had time, but couldn’t do anything with it because you didn’t have the energy to focus. Eat ! Not for the taste, for the energy.

  3. Be intentional, not incidental. Decide what you want to do, and then do it (without guilt). Be it watching a movie, playing video games or writing a research paper. This way you do something you enjoy or something important (that needs to be done) or something in-between. But you do something consequential.