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Why are Adults so busy?

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Re: Why are Adults so busy?

#231

Post by cableshaft »

Xcelerate wrote: post #190

As someone who just finished grad school, I'm preparing my future for "minimum maintenance" so that way I can have lots of free time for interesting projects. Shopping, cleaning, commuting, and house maintenance are not on my list of interesting projects, so I would like to minimize the time spent doing these things. * Shopping — Don't shop, except for the necessities (and when you need them, buy in bulk). I generall…

There are apartments in the suburbs too, and near the same schools (maybe slightly farther away, but the school bus should get your children there just the same).

Re: Why are Adults so busy?

#232

Post by mooreds »

Automate all the things!

If you are spending an hour a week tracking bills, or even 1/2 hour, you aren't taking advantage of your bank. We set up auto bill pay whenever we can. I prefer to have it through my bank or my credit card rather than through the service provider doing EFT, because it's easier to shut off and it centralizes the view.

That doesn't mean you can totally put this task on autopilot, just that automation can make sure you don't have late fees and that you don't spend money on stamps.

Re: Why are Adults so busy?

#233

Post by theandrewbailey »

thebigspacefuck wrote: post #152

I keep catching myself thinking or using the excuse I have no time, but I mostly spend my time on the internet or watching TV. Some nights I do the dishes or actually go for a walk, go grocery shopping, but mostly I'm just hanging on, making sure I'm ready for he next day. I'm freaking addicted to information and the internet, which leave me feeling frantic. I forgo sleeping for the internet and it brings me little p…

I know the feeling. In the last few months, I've wanted to play though some video games so I can "review" them on my blog... but there's not much point since I haven't gotten around to setting up my web server since I reformatted it last month with the new Ubuntu LTS and encrypted it.

What have I been doing instead? Riding my bike around town. Hanging out with friends. Not bad, but I've also taken up watching Youtube for hours every night.

Re: Why are Adults so busy?

#234

Post by dazc »

patates wrote: post #212
dazc wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, learning Spanish is tough and July/August is pretty hot, so much so I returned to the UK for 2 months.

I can speak maybe 5 words in Spanish but I was usually told that it was easy to learn?

I find the vocabulary isn't that hard to learn as you pick up new words each day and eventually they stick. The grammar required to put those words together is another matter though.

It really does depend on your situation though. I have one to one lessons twice a week but it's not really enough as I manage to get by without having to speak that much during the week.

However, I know people who have picked it up fairly quickly because they are working in a public facing environment where they really have to learn fast.

Re: Why are Adults so busy?

#235

Post by VLM »

kale wrote: post #205
zaroth wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The OP clearly doesn't have kids for how glossed over the point is. Amazing that they come up with just 10 spare hours a week without even really factoring kids into the equation. For those of us who have kids, you just sit back some days and wonder... How little we recognized at the time, the sheer freedom of being able to just head out for dinner or a drink any day of the week, plop down and watch whatever movie we…

Nothing can prepare you for the "crap I can't do anything spontaneous now" like having children. I recently had to let tickets to a concert go (that I was really looking forward to) because the babysitter had a family emergency. And this is a deep confession that I've never really told anyone: I envy my divorced friends with kids. Every other week they (usually) are child free. And get to do things like mow grass, ha…

"I won't admit this out loud, though."

You should give it a try, my wife and I get occasional nights and weekends off, its pretty nice. Also we live in an area with an active city parks and rec, and we have a childless date night with each other this very Friday night, I don't even know what parks and rec class my wife signed the kids up for (probably the fall kickball tournament, the Halloween party is next month). We also send them to day camps a couple times each summer so we have some married adult time while the kids are theoretically getting exercised, educated, and socialized.

My experience is "For profit" camps tend to charge what the market will bear ($$$$$) and always have openings. Parks and rec charge what it actually costs to provide the activity (maybe $20/day/kid?) but reservation slots fill up fast every year.

Re: Why are Adults so busy?

#236

Post by anexprogrammer »

Well this is clearly written by someone without committments and children. Young adults used to be having children.

With young kids around, the laundry and responsibility for dependents figures become hours daily, not weekly. When they're a bit older there's less cleaning but now you're running them around more and ensuring they meet their commitments.

With more gadgets, chemicals and domestic appliances we've just invented higher standards and hundreds of new things to do. The to do list is 20x longer, but each task takes less time.

Whilst we might not want to return to weekly bathing and keeping a room, only for visitors, "for best" of Victorian times, some rebalance might be a good idea. Might even turn out to be good for skin and gut bacteria and the rise of eczema etc.

What we don't have, as it's been gadgeted away, is downtime. Kids, and many adults, today can not cope with being bored (the normal state for kids in the 70s for perhaps an hour or two daily). I saw that very clearly with my own kids and all their friends over the years. What used to be a trigger for inventing a game, building a den, or making something new with lego is far more filled with minutes on YT. More and more we've filled every second with things to do - by "necessity" and by choice.

In trying to make life easier most of us no longer seem to have time (or often inclination) to just chill watching the world go by for an hour a day.

Seems it all got too fragmented.

Re: Why are Adults so busy?

#237

Post by sapphireblue »

lgieron wrote: post #90
branchless wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Try explaining rent to kids. We have to pay to exist? We have to pay how much? And they are right! I don't have a problem doing nothing. I don't care what others think. But I have to work far more than necessary because of the labour skiming rentiers. They are living off my back. Edit: landlords of HN unite to downvote!

That's just how the world is, you know. Back in prehistoric times, you didn't just happen to find a free shack and live in it - you needed to build it and maintain it. Right now, landlords take care of that for you - for a price.

Building a shack isn't that hard, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P73REgj-3UE

Try building it in the forest though - it is most likely illegal due to some rentier (or government) already owning it. I think the grandparent has some truth to their words.

Existing outside the dwelling is illegal. Dwellings are owned by the elite rentier class, so you need some money just to exist (unless you are a rentier).

Re: Why are Adults so busy?

#238

Post by dazc »

gglitch wrote: post #139
dazc wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having grown up in the UK I've always felt guilty about not doing anything in my free time. Partly because everyone else seems to be living such a busy and rewarding existence (or so they would have me believe). Now, living in Spain, I feel it's OK not to do anything. Just sitting in the shade for 6 hours watching the world go by doesn't make me a weirdo, like it does back home.

The original author's distribution of time over responsibilities is not identical to mine, but it's similar enough to make me wonder where you're getting those 6 hours from. I'm not saying it's "weird," in fact I think it sounds lovely. But I doubt I could find six contiguous free hours in the next six months, except maybe if I spend my holidays with my in-laws. Edit: typing on phone

During the week it would be tough but on weekends I have all the time in the world.

Re: Why are Adults so busy?

#239

Post by greenshackle »

pc86 wrote: post #222
Retric wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In theory you're right. However, the expectation is someone will respond with ~"Thx, in meeting" unlike a phone where you may just let it go to voicemail, there is no message failed to get though feedback. So, you get sent a text and people will generally assume you are ignoring them unless you respond.

I don't know anybody that assumes that unless you let it go for days. Texting is asynchronous just like email, for a reason.

It's possible you two just hang out in social groups with different norms.

Re: Why are Adults so busy?

#240

Post by rdiddly »

pharke wrote: post #75
ianai wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see it more as people wanting to experience everything they can. Plus, modern life adds on many demands.

> I see it more as people wanting to experience everything they can. I call this the buffet approach to life. Some people seem to want to cram a tiny bit of every thing onto their plate, nibbling at everything there is to offer. The alternative being a full course dinner with superbly executed dishes that compliment each other. Or you could just eat steak, whatever you prefer.

Or you can do like me and spend the first half of the meal eating so much junk food that you end up having to have veggies for dessert.
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