Writer Oliver Burkeman, the author of 4000 Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, does an excellent job of investigating how humans view time. If we can agree that time is our most precious resource, then determining how to spend one’s time is a most worthwhile endeavor.
The book is titled 4000 weeks because that is the average amount of time most of us will spend on this planet. And while disciples of The Longevity Path can reasonably expect to live significantly longer than the average person, at the end of the day we are still human. And at some point our time will run out. Knowing this fact is crucial because it can provide clarity on how to lead a fulfilling, meaningful life.
If our time is finite no matter how healthy we are, then “doing what you love” serves as some sage wisdom on how to live a good life. No matter if you pursue what you love as a career or not, it is extremely important to engage in work and/or activities that you are passionate and excited about as much as possible, as your mental health and wellbeing will benefit big time. Find a career, craft, art and/or sport that you love to do and do it with as much as you can.
Burkeman makes another profound insight about time and attention in a recent interview. He states that “attention is your life.” That is to say that the experience of being alive consists of the sum of what you pay attention to.
Based on the way most of us lead our lives, it is clear that Burkeman’s wisdom is not being practiced. Most of us spend too much of our waking hours embroiled in petty battles with others or worried about what people think, or working on projects that do not fulfill us.
Even those of us who have meaningful work and a great network of friends/family will invariably find ways to distract ourselves with activities that provide neither joy nor growth. Instead we find ways to use our precious time and energy on political drama, the latest cat video on social media or some mindless show on a streaming platform.
I’m not saying that there isn’t a place for downtime or to completely ignore all news. What I am saying is that we need to be extremely mindful of where we invest our attention. We are finite beings and if we want to experience rich, meaningful lives we need to identify the people, places, projects, activities and things that give us the most fulfillment and focus most of our attention on them.
To do this successfully necessarily means that we have to say no to just about everything else. A life well lived requires trade offs. It means saying yes to a small minority and a resounding NO to the rest.