"I don't want to be saved, I want to be spent," Fritz Perls.
So, today, the topic is about time management. We atheists have no delusions of an afterlife, we have a wonderful life to focus on. Is it ethical to waste our short lives? Is it ethical to waste our lives on non-developmental tasks? On the other hand, is it ethical to rabidly seek productive activity every second? What is the balance between personal development and recreation? How does our example to and our appeasement of others fit into our ethical up-rightness?
I recently read a book called Mastery by George Leonard. I would not recommend it as a whole, but it did have an excellent chapter on "Getting Energy" that focused on the importance of effective living. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People also has a lot of good advice on the matter.
One thing I would suggest as a minimum standard is to do an activities audit and budget. Financial planners often suggest cataloging everything we spend money on. Knowing we only have a certain amount of money in the bank, we are careful to ensure we have the money we need. Time is a commodity as well, and for many of us, it is a commodity more scarce than money.
Do you spend 4 or 5 or 20 hours a week watching TV? How about sleep? How about the 12 blogs you like reading? Then start to think about all the things you've been meaning to do and how nice it would be to finally get to do them. As much as you might enjoy "Idol," how much would you rather lose 10 or 20lbs by walking during that time? These trade-offs can be very exciting. Cut off the most frivolous 10% or so and expand the most fulfilling 10%.
I recently had the cable turned off. Not to mention the calming effect it had on my nerves, I freed up several hours each week. That was just the first step. I feel like I'm honoring my life more and extracting even more enjoyment out of the life I have.
Jason
So, today, the topic is about time management. We atheists have no delusions of an afterlife, we have a wonderful life to focus on. Is it ethical to waste our short lives? Is it ethical to waste our lives on non-developmental tasks? On the other hand, is it ethical to rabidly seek productive activity every second? What is the balance between personal development and recreation? How does our example to and our appeasement of others fit into our ethical up-rightness?
I recently read a book called Mastery by George Leonard. I would not recommend it as a whole, but it did have an excellent chapter on "Getting Energy" that focused on the importance of effective living. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People also has a lot of good advice on the matter.
One thing I would suggest as a minimum standard is to do an activities audit and budget. Financial planners often suggest cataloging everything we spend money on. Knowing we only have a certain amount of money in the bank, we are careful to ensure we have the money we need. Time is a commodity as well, and for many of us, it is a commodity more scarce than money.
Do you spend 4 or 5 or 20 hours a week watching TV? How about sleep? How about the 12 blogs you like reading? Then start to think about all the things you've been meaning to do and how nice it would be to finally get to do them. As much as you might enjoy "Idol," how much would you rather lose 10 or 20lbs by walking during that time? These trade-offs can be very exciting. Cut off the most frivolous 10% or so and expand the most fulfilling 10%.
I recently had the cable turned off. Not to mention the calming effect it had on my nerves, I freed up several hours each week. That was just the first step. I feel like I'm honoring my life more and extracting even more enjoyment out of the life I have.
Jason
