How to Live on 24 Hours a Day‍

Younger me, 20-26

The way to live life is to make optimal use of my time. To use my time efficiently, I must learn time management skills.

I must become productive.

I must plan my days, weeks, months, quarters, years - and even 3-year, 5-year, and 10-year plans - so that I move efficiently towards my long-term goals.

I must review my weeks to ensure I did my best and determine whether I can change anything to be more productive next week.

I must schedule my day meticulously. Task A has exactly 45 minutes because Task B might take 2 hours, while Tasks C, D, and E are grouped together to be completed one by one after lunchtime.

‍To-do list max.

When I fail to adhere to my perfectly logical structure for my days, weeks, months - my very existence - I must berate myself for being a failure, for not being good enough, for not working hard enough.

If only I had planned better, tried harder, been smarter.

If only there were clones of me, 1 or perhaps 10, who I could assign tasks to in parallel and then absorb all the knowledge at the end of each day into my one true self.

Time is the only currency I own.

If only I had more than 24 hours a day.

Older me, 27-31

Time is finite. I can't do everything, but I can do a few things well.

I get new ideas daily. This is interesting, that is exciting, I should read that, I should watch that, I should try this new thing.

But I have learned that I must choose what I want to do most, even though that is a difficult choice to make.

Some days are about flow state, where my creativity can be unleashed. I might yield 1 hour of productive output from this flow state, or on some days I might get 4 hours.

I don’t get to decide in advance. But I must accept whichever I get as the blessing of the day.

Some days are about admin work - the checklist of things that don't tickle my creative mind, but nonetheless need to be done.

I don't maintain a to-do list anymore.

Priorities are simple. What’s most important right now? If it’s not obvious and top of mind already, then it’s not a priority. So forget about it.

What’s a deadline but a made-up, arbitrary timestamp? I do things at a pace I’m proud of.

If I’m slacking, instead of mentally whipping myself into productivity, I ask myself “what unpleasant feeling am I avoiding by slacking?”

If my work is done today, well, then the deadline is met.

If something unexpected comes up in life and I’m unable to do the things I planned, I try to simply appreciate that I get to experience this moment - this event, this friendship, or some other serendipitious encounter.

I fully accept that this here and now is the only moment that has ever existed and will ever exist.

There are times I feel irritated if something interrupts my flow state or prevents me from finishing what I was working on. I'm human, after all. But almost every time, I wouldn’t trade the serendipity or moment for the task getting done.

Time is the only currency I own.

I have 24 hours a day. And the greatest wealth I have is learning to be present within it.

—

Inspired by the book Four Thousand Weeks, by Oliver Burkeman.