George Carlin had a bit talking about driving on the highway. Everyone who’s going slower than you is an idiot, while everyone who blasts past you is a maniac.
Last week and this week I’ve been traveling and living in other people’s houses. You get to see the way people pace their lives when you’re a houseguest, and it’s an invitation to reflect. What’s the right amount of busy? Am I an idiot or a maniac, going at the speed I ordinarily choose?
A long time ago I had a colleague who used to say about time, “I have more than enough time for what matters.” Sometimes it was a grim mantra, chanted with the intent to remind herself. Other times she seemed more convinced. I’ve held on to it all these years because I think it’s a useful, and slippery, frame of mind. It’s how I want to feel. We get to choose the “what matters” part.
I’m reading Time Smart now. It’s familiar ground, covering the social science on how time use impacts well-being, and what pitfalls prevent us from making good decisions. It’s a quick skim, but you might get just as much benefit from picking a podcast with the author and listening to it on 1.5x speed.
