avatarOllie Brunchers

Summary

The article discusses how modern life is filled with distractions, particularly from social media, phone use, and TV watching, which can cumulatively steal a significant portion of one's life.

Abstract

The author reflects on a personal journey of examining time management and identifies three major time-thieves: social media, phone distractions, and TV watching. These activities, while seemingly harmless, can consume a substantial amount of time over a lifetime. For instance, social media can take up almost a year of life if used for 20 minutes daily over 60 years. Similarly, phone distractions and TV watching can lead to 1.25 years and a staggering 10 years, respectively. The article suggests strategies to mitigate these time sinks, such as deleting or limiting app usage, configuring devices for productivity, and setting personal rules to reduce screen time. By doing so, individuals can reclaim years of their lives and invest that time in more fulfilling activities that contribute to personal goals and happiness.

Opinions

  • Social media platforms are designed to keep users online for as long as possible to increase ad revenue, treating users as the product rather than the customer.
  • The author acknowledges the difficulty of completely abandoning social media but emphasizes the importance of reducing time spent on these platforms.
  • Phone distractions are seen as a deliberate feature of smartphone design, aimed at increasing device dependency and sales.
  • Watching TV, despite being a common form of relaxation, is criticized for not providing true rest and potentially leaving individuals feeling more drained.
  • The article suggests that the time spent on these distractions could be better used for personal development or activities that lead to a happier life.
  • The author advocates for a more mindful approach to technology, proposing practical steps to minimize its intrusive effects on daily life.
  • By making conscious changes, the author claims to have gained back years of life

How Much Is One Year of Living Worth to You?

3 time-thieves that steal 29% of your life

Pricture from Gerd Altmann, Pixabay

I always wanted to write but never had the time for it! About one year ago I did a critical examination of my life. I didn’t think I was moving forward. I did a horrifying analysis of my time and why I didn’t have enough time to fulfill my dreams.

Life is limited. You will approximately have 80 years to live, some of them are already behind you. For the sake of this article. I am close to 40 so living an average life, I am halfway through. But enough about me, let’s assume you have 60 years left to live. How are you spending those?

My analysis identified 3 time-thieves who stole an extreme amount of time from my life. Much more than I had expected.

Let’s have a look at the 3 thieves and maybe you can recognize them too.

Thief #1 — Social Media

The goal of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, and others is simple. Keep you online! The more you stay online, the more commercials you will see and the more money they will make.

“If you are not paying for it, you’re not the customer; you’re the product being sold.” quote Andrew Lewis.

Their sole goal is to take your time, get you hooked for as long as possible. That’s why it is free. They make money on your time and your data.

It doesn’t have to be great content, not even good. As long as it keeps you watching it doesn’t matter.

“The best minds of my generation are thinking about how to make people click ads.” –Jeff Hammerbacher

Let’s do a little fun math. Let’s assume you have been on social since 2010 and you are one of the good guys, you only spend about 20 minutes on SoMe every day. (Data suggest 144 minutes) No big deal, right?

Well in those 10 years you have spent 51 days on SoMe, that’s almost two months without sleeping just watching cat videos. That is also equivalent to 150 workdays, that’s about 7,2 months worth of working time, if you are curious. (Try taking 7,2 X Your monthly salary. That’s an interesting number, isn’t it?)

If you keep that up for the rest of your life. Let’s assume 60 years. Then it will total almost a full year of your life spent on watching people fall into a pool or doing silly dance moves. (304 days).

Almost 1 year of your life, spent on SoMe

Well, enough about that. You are probably thinking that’s not going to happen.

You can make sure it doesn’t.

You can simply choose one of the below routes and give yourself a year back of your life.

  1. Delete all social media (Haha, yes I know. Hilarious. I can’t do that either. But it is the best way)
  2. Configure yourself away from Social media @coach Tony has made a great guide on setting up your iPhone. Get that time down!

Thief #2 — Phone distractions

Just like Social media, your phone is doing everything it can to get your attention. The more you use your phone, the more likely you are to be utterly dependent on it.

That means you will buy the next one. And don’t forget the heavy economic gains in selling you all those apps you have on it.

Your phone is designed to get your attention with banners, badges, noises and you only have to look at your phone for it to spring to life. Your phone will tempt you with all the colorful apps just waiting for you to jump in and get entertained.

You are probably so addicted to your phone that you look at it while walking? I do, sometimes at least. Mostly indoor. Not proud of it and really trying to stop that.

But the problem has become a traffic hazard and they are now putting down traffic lights on the pavement so “smartphone zombies” aren’t run over.

Take a look at your “Screen time” report, if you have one such on your phone. How much time are you spending on your phone? I average 1:30, not too bad, right? The average American spends 3 hours, without counting SoMe.

My phone, screen time report

And it’s probably only about 30 minutes of those that are a complete waste of time. So same math as above, that going to be 1,25 years of your life.

Damn. Now we are at a bit more than 2 years in total.

Your choice is the same

  1. Delete your apps (at least delete the worst time wasters, come on)
  2. Configure yourself away from distractions @coach Tony has made a great guide on setting up your iPhone

Thief #3 — Watching TV

Yes, TV, I know it's Netflix, HBO, Disney+ and all those, I am not a dinosaur. Passive entertainment is not all bad. It’s the way you relax. Right?

“It definitely feels relaxing, and can release endorphins that make us feel good while we watch.” Vice.com

The problem is, we are not resting. The brain is still in full gear. The passive nature of the TV does not make us relax. Studies suggest that it can make us feel even more depleted when turning off the TV.

Well, this is not about TV. I love watching TV and I will continue to do so, but not as much. Did you know that Americans across age groups watch more than 4 hours of TV every day?

Wow, the math on that will make your head spin. That is 60 days per year in front of the TV. 3 months of work extra every year, almost enough to start a second career. Let’s sum it up in a 60 year lifetime it’s 10 years in total!

“The average American is spending 10 years of their life watching TV”

That is something to change. Imagine what you could do with all that time?

So maybe you could

  1. Throw your TV, PC, Tablet, and other devices out and buy a typewriter and a bunch of books. Okay, not funny. but seriously. Make rules. remove TV and devices from your bedroom. Do something else, before you turn on the TV. Break your default modes.
  2. Stop watching so much TV and find something else to relax on. (Take a look at these from Jessica Stillman)

In summary

So worst-case scenario, for the next 60 years, you are going to spend 6 years on SoMe, 7.5 years on your Phone, and 10 on watching TV. That is a whopping 23.5 years in total or 29% of your life. Sounds utterly insane right? If you don’t believe it, do the math yourself and check it out.

If you are one of the good guys, then you probably spend about 20 minutes on SoMe, another 30 wasted on your phone, and let’s say 2 hours of TV time a day. That will sum up to 12% of your day. Or 7 years of your life.

Conclusion

Don’t let addictive corporations steal the most valuable resource you have. Your time. It is the only thing you cannot get more of.

What have I done? I removed my TV from the bedroom and forbid any devices from entering there too. I hid SoMe apps on my phone and deleted a few. I have shut all notifications, banners, badges, and alerts from my phone. Even on email. And I am now writing for at least 30 minutes before turning my TV on. That has given me 3 years back.

And it gave you this article. I hope you enjoyed it.

Decide what you are worth. What your time is worth. And start spending (at least some) of that time on reaching your goals or doing something that will increase your odds of a happier life.

Psst.

If you don’t believe me, watch “The social dilemma”. It will only cost you 0,00019% of your life. That is an eye-opener on so many levels.

Life
Creativity
Self
Productivity
Psychology
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