Spendthrifts Of Time

The Daily Stoic for December 9th, “Spendthrifts Of Time”.

“Were all the geniuses of history to focus on this single theme, they could never fully express their bafflement at the darkness of the human mind. No person would give up even an inch of their estate, and the slightest dispute with a neighbor can mean hell to pay; yet we easily let others encroach on our lives—worse, we often pave the way for those who will take it over. No person hands out their money to passersby, but to how many do each of us hand out our lives! We’re tight-fisted with property and money, yet think too little of wasting time, the one thing about which we should all be the toughest misers.”

—SENECA, ON THE BREVITY OF LIFE, 3.1–2

Today’s stoic meditation really resonated with me. It’s amazing that, centuries ago, Seneca was able to depict such a current and, at the same time, timeless reflection. How we should put the same care and consideration into time that we do into our belongings or our money.

Spendthrifts Of Time

During the last years, time has become more and more important to me. It was the main motivation behind quitting my job and starting freelancing and, eventually, behind becoming an entrepreneur and digital nomad.

Today, our time is money for a lot of people. Apps, social media and entertainment sites fight for our attention and engagement. Ultimately, our time means money for them, mainly through advertising. We are surrounded by screens and carry the perfect distraction and procrastination tool in our pockets: our smartphones. 

That, some time ago, helped me be more aware of how I was spending my time and who was deciding how I spent it. I realized that, every time I opened Facebook because I had received a notification, it was not me who was deciding how I spent the next one, two or even ten minutes.

That, in turn, led me to develop strategies to be able to perform deep work, avoid distractions and recover the control of my time. What about you? 

Conclusion

Today’s Daily Stoic, “Spendthrifts Of Time”, discusses time again as the most important asset we have, the only one that cannot be recovered once it’s lost.