Why are Adults so busy? • Hacker News Board

Re: Why are Adults so busy?

#271

Post by mabramo » Wed, Sep 14, 2016, 2:45 PM UTC

geezerjay wrote: post #35

sagischwarz wrote: post #21

The numbers seemed very high to me so I created a list on my own and thought I'd share it (single, no kids, full time job). 1. Work: 40 hours 2. Cooking: 3 h (who the hell cooks three times a day?) 3. Laundry: 0.5 h (once a week) 4. Cleaning: 1 h (and I am very clean, I just avoid producing dirt) 5. Buying stuff: .5 h (I try to avoid buying too much stuff I don't really need) 6. Bills: 0 h (they a are paid automatica…

> 2. Cooking: 3 h (who the hell cooks three times a day?) People who enjoy cooking, and people who actually care for their health.

Time spent cooking isn't a factor when determining the health of the meal.

I make five medium sized breakfast burrito's on Sunday night and refrigerate them. One every morning. That's a whole wheat wrap, a couple eggs, green peppers, and chopped onions. This takes me about a half hour on Sunday including cleanup and 5 seconds to grab one out of the fridge each morning. I supplement it with a granola bar.

I won't claim to be ultra concerned with my dietary balance, but you definitely don't need to spend a ton of time cooking to be healthy.

Re: Why are Adults so busy?

#272

Post by JoeAltmaier » Wed, Sep 14, 2016, 2:47 PM UTC

sapphireblue wrote: post #245

anexprogrammer wrote: post #236

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 i…

I also wonder how we manage to stay busy given that most home tasks (dishwashing, laundry, cleaning (roombas) and even cooking - see multicooker devices) are already automated, with "doing laundry" meaning merely loading and unloading the washing machine. I think you have a good point about idle time being gadgeted away. Also I think there is a tremendous potential in automation of physical labor (including remaining…

Simone Giertz:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3KEoMzNz8eYnwBC34RaKCQ

Re: Why are Adults so busy?

#273

Post by branchless » Wed, Sep 14, 2016, 2:51 PM UTC

randomdata wrote: post #269

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!

> Try explaining rent to kids. When it comes to kids, we often call it sharing. Billy has a toy truck you want to play with. You have a action figure he wants to play with. If you each share what you have, then everyone is happy. That is all rent is. Billy has a house, you have cash. He wants to play with cash, and you want play house. If you each share what you have with each other, everyone is happy. Pretty simple.

It's a very simple analogy that in no way reflects the real world complexity of fiat money and limited land supply.

Re: Why are Adults so busy?

#274

Post by lagadu » Wed, Sep 14, 2016, 2:51 PM UTC

emodendroket wrote: post #162

bryanlarsen wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's your commute like? Can you arrange things to combine commute and de-stress time? In my experience the best way to de stress is to walk, but that's obviously not feasible for most. It's worth moving to make it possible, in my opinion. Mass transit is pretty awesome too. Even if it takes longer, you can plug in your headphones and zone, netflix and chill, or best of all, take a nap. Biking in urban areas can be…

Trying to cram in your relaxation time during your commute is, like, the opposite of relaxing.

Sit on the train and read your book or take a nap for 30 minutes isn't relaxing? I love my commute time.

Re: Why are Adults so busy?

#275

Post by branchless » Wed, Sep 14, 2016, 2:52 PM UTC

sapphireblue wrote: post #237

lgieron wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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).

It's called "land enclosure". There is no common land and you must pay someone to stand anywhere.

I don't expect to exist for free given all the services the state supplies, such as healthcare, policing, roads etc. I also don't expect someone to own some land forever and derive rent from it as the workers pay taxes to build up infrastructure which augments the land value.

Re: Why are Adults so busy?

#276

Post by shade23 » Wed, Sep 14, 2016, 2:53 PM UTC

But.These things are not a part of it.I will not call it multitasking.But an important part of my daily schedule is planning things to make sure that I avoid time where I just day dream,it could be waiting for a build process,washing clothes,cooking etc.While all these tasks are defined as "time-consuming",they basically require more efficient management(you can ask any working parent,they will be able to explain to you important time management becomes). So adults seem busy because they are doing more than one thing simultaneously(not to be mistaken with multitasking).

Re: Why are Adults so busy?

#277

Post by dazc » Wed, Sep 14, 2016, 2:55 PM UTC

ktRolster wrote: post #263

dazc wrote: post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 fairl…

The grammar required to put those words together is another matter though. I wrote down a grammar card with all the verb conjugations (-AR, -IR, -ER verbs) and carried it in my pocket everywhere. When I couldn't remember, I (as soon as practical) pulled it out of my pocket and double-checked. The most difficult one for me was getting la/el correct. Although by that point I knew the correct gender of each noun, it did…

I have started doing something similar - I have a notebook with some basics that I can refer to while attempting a conversation.

It helps, a bit, and is lot more convenient than firing up google translate every two minutes (which isn't that much use for a lot of grammar anyway).

Re: Why are Adults so busy?

#278

Post by lagadu » Wed, Sep 14, 2016, 2:56 PM UTC

sqren wrote: post #112

Maybe this should be worded: Why are American adults so busy. I've been living in the US for a couple of years, and have thoroughly enjoyed it, but it occurs to me that life is more "rushed" than I'm used to from Denmark. RE: 1) Have Money The standard work week is 37 hours. I love my job, but this leaves me plenty of time to do other stuff I enjoy. RE: 6) Bills, Bills, Bills Living in the US for a couple of years ta…

It's the impression I got as well: it seems to be an exclusively american list. All bills are set up to be paid automatically and the whole "financial planning" thing that there's effectively no need to do here.

Re: Why are Adults so busy?

#279

Post by cortesoft » Wed, Sep 14, 2016, 2:56 PM UTC

branchless wrote: post #95

lgieron wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

The land is the price. Maintenance is not much. They exploit the system, no way do most add the value they derive. They are parasites forcing up costs.

Ok, so we do away with private property ownership... How do you determine who gets to live where? Can I just build my house wherever I want? Can I block your doorway with a house I build right in front of yours?

Re: Why are Adults so busy?

#280

Post by anexprogrammer » Wed, Sep 14, 2016, 2:57 PM UTC

sapphireblue wrote: post #245

anexprogrammer wrote: post #236

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 i…

I also wonder how we manage to stay busy given that most home tasks (dishwashing, laundry, cleaning (roombas) and even cooking - see multicooker devices) are already automated, with "doing laundry" meaning merely loading and unloading the washing machine. I think you have a good point about idle time being gadgeted away. Also I think there is a tremendous potential in automation of physical labor (including remaining…

Laundry - we have an order of magnitude more clothes than in the 1900s, and wash them much more frequently - far beyond what's needed to not be dirty or smelly. Kids have the same amount, and variety, as adults. Any time saved is far more than compensated for by sheer quantity and frequency compared to olden days.

Dishwashers help with the bulk, but you end up with more dishes in the household (not worth firing up the dishwasher til it's full). With the things they can't do, and the baked food they sometimes miss, the rinsing beforehand, the loading and unloading, the saving is marginal. But 20 mins a day with hands in soapy water isn't fun, so...

Cooking -- we make more interesting things with far more ingredients, as the fridge is the size of a 60s house, rather than just keeping milk and cheese fresh. Or order takeout.

So track record says whatever future inventions bring us to save time, work (and chores) will expand to fill time available, and we'll be even more fragmented, with even more stuff.