The internet seems to slather over the topics of being efficient and productive, making money on the side, and getting the most out of every hour. We read article after article about how some CEO only sleeps 4 hours a night and sends 84 texts per hour as if it were something to be viewed with awe. âI wish I could be that productive,â we think.
When I read things like this, I canât help but think about their loved ones. Do they have any? When do they see their kids? Their spouses? Do they ever call their mothers?
But more than that, I think about the quality of their leisure. It seems weâve entered a world where relaxing, having hobbies, or simply enjoying yourself is viewed as a waste of time. And thatâs not right.
This History of Working Hours
A handful of studies of hunter-gatherer societies exist covering how much work an leisure time they had. On average, it appears they worked about 5 hours a day.
During the early Industrial Revolution, middle class workers were clocking in 12-16 hour days and barely getting by. Thanks to regulation and unionization, most of the modern world moved to 8 hour days by the early 1900sâââitâs even codified into the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Today, the average workers in the US are working between 7.9â8.4 hours per work day. That leaves ample time for leisure!
The Tech Revolution
Modern leisure, between 5â5.5 hours a day, involves 2â4 hours of TV time a day, on average. An average American spend nearly 3 hours of this time on a smartphone!
Even worse, a lot of tech and knowledge workers are bound to their devices, spending off hours on Slack or email. And still, even more spend this time in a âside hustleââââworking on freelance projects, writing, editing photos, doing PDF layout, and all sorts of things. What little leisure time that isnât spent idly staring at one screen is spent actively staring at another.
People have been sold the idea of becoming a millionaire from their garage, that with just a little bit of effort, they too can make it big and all their worries will be over. âAll I need is one published articleâ, they think. âThis will finally be the app that makes it bigâ.
But what is this costing them?
Lack of Leisure Time Physical Activity
In the US 36% of adults engage in no physical activity in their leisure time, and only 43.5% engage in the government recommended levels of activity (150 mins/week of moderate intensity, or 75 mins/week of vigorous intensity).
Lack of this physical activity has been associated with higher mortality, higher levels of obesity, lower general longevity, and decreased quality of life. The recommended levels are not all that highâââroughly 22 minutes of moderate activity, like walking, per day. And exceeding the recommended levels of activity by 3 or even 5 times can improve longevity and quality of life even more!
Still, 56.5% of people donât even hit the recommended levels. These people are expected to die sooner and have a lower physical quality of life with regard to their general vigor and bodily pain.
The Path Forward
One article by a random guy isnât going to fix the world. Thereâs systemic problems involved here. But you, dear reader who has made it this far, you must be looking for something. Some way to be better. I present to you, my simple advice for remaining active and not wasting your leisure time.
Find a thing you enjoy or want to enjoy. It doesnât matter what it isâââparkour, dog walking, rock climbing, fly fishingâââget a hobby that gets you off the couch. Find something that will excite you intrinsically.
This new activity you have? Donât post about it on the internet. Find a real community in the actual world. Go to a gym of like minded individuals, or a meetup with other bird watchers, or take that stand-up paddle board class you always wanted to. Having a real space to talk about this major interest is going to motivate you to leave your safe space and socialize with others.
TV shows can be addicting, and Iâm a stickler for good stories. But a lot of what is idly watched isnât actually good, itâs just good enough. Try putting off watching new episodes for days, or weeks. Record them or wait for them to come to your chosen streaming service. By the time you get around to it, youâll be able to tell if your interest is real or not.
Stop trying to turn every hobby and interest into something you can monetize online. Try doing something just to do itâââdonât post about it on Instagram or Facebook. See how freeing it feels.
Spend time with people you care about, tell them about your hobbies and interests, and learn about theirs.
Memento Mori
Memento mori is a refrain in Latin that roughly translates to: remember that you will die. Humans have been searching for immortality for centuries. Death came for those searchers, and will come for you. The time you have here, right now, is important.
Itâs easy to get in the âsomedayâ mindsetâââsomeday I will learn karate, but right now I need to relax; someday Iâll take that walk up to Crater Lake, but right now thereâs a new episode of Game of Thrones; someday, someday, someday. Eventually, someday becomes never. And those things you do to escape your âsomedayâ become what defines you.
Spend some time outdoors, with real people, in the real world. Move your body, and live the best life you can, as long as you can. Because this is your shot, and everything you do here matters.
âIf nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do.ââââAngel. S02E16, Epiphany
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