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Time anxiety: is it too late?

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Re: Time anxiety: is it too late?

#2

Post by Ancalagon »

I agree with basically all of the points of this article, one thing I wanted to point out though is that's also important to make time to _try new things_. And I don't mean just try them once, sometimes I've found I need to form a habit out of whatever it is I'm trying before I really enjoy it. Take exercise (or running) as an example. Running when you're out of shape sucks. But give it a couple weeks of running, gradually increasing the length of time and distance you run, and it can become a very enjoyable activity.

That said, its a balancing act, and you cant spend all your time trying new things.

Re: Time anxiety: is it too late?

#3

Post by hinkley »

I know there are some people disproving parts of Malcolm Gladwell's theories, but sometime in the last year or two it occurred to me that one of the consequences of the 10,000 hours theory is that you actually have time to get expert-level good at three or four things in your life even if you spent part of it 'fucking around'.

I've expanded that into a philosophy about 'Software eats the world": the only way that doesn't end up in a dystopian hellscape is if Software Developers go out and meet the World. Dive into hobbies. Get good enough at them to be a Product Owner. Make software that supports that hobby.

You'll also have something to talk to people about at parties other than what you do for a living.

Re: Time anxiety: is it too late?

#4

Post by CalRobert »

I believe the word for this is Torschlusspanik https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Torschlusspanik - and sums it up nicely.

I'm a kind of morbid person by nature, but the more time goes on the more I realize that awareness of my mortality is helpful for getting me off my ass to get things done. Not necessarily work, just life in general. I wanted to live abroad "someday" and finally tried it when I was 30 (in the nick of time, it turns out). I wanted to start a company, and see now how it would've been 50 times harder to do it with a child than without. In my 20's I always thought I'd get around to going on X trip, maybe asking out Y girl, etc. and instead wasted 9 years in the same town doing not much of anything. Fortunately, the last 9 years have had a lot more going on.

Re: Time anxiety: is it too late?

#5

Post by overcast »

Welp, this article can't have come at a more appropriate time in my life. Definitely struggling with these exact thoughts, constantly. Finding something meaningful, and rewarding to be a part of has become obsessive. Always thinking I'm wasting time if I'm not somehow maximizing it, with the end result being I spend more time worrying about it than actually doing it.

Re: Time anxiety: is it too late?

#6

Post by TheGRS »

Ancalagon wrote: post #2

I agree with basically all of the points of this article, one thing I wanted to point out though is that's also important to make time to _try new things_. And I don't mean just try them once, sometimes I've found I need to form a habit out of whatever it is I'm trying before I really enjoy it. Take exercise (or running) as an example. Running when you're out of shape sucks. But give it a couple weeks of running, gra…

I do believe you need a balance of habitual activities and trying new things. Doing stuff you've never done before and going to places you've never seen has the effect of slowing down the perception of time, which is great if you have the sort of time anxiety described.

Re: Time anxiety: is it too late?

#7

Post by non-entity »

> Future time anxiety: thoughts about what may or may not happen in the future, which are the cause of worry and “what if” types of internal questions.

gah, this has been torturing me for the past year, as I discover more and more what I wish I was doing. I'm only 21 right now, so a lot of my anxiety may be unfounded, but so many things I want to do require major risks, opportunity cost, or more importantly monetary costs. I want to stop worrying about the what-if's, but it just seems so much more complicated than that

Re: Time anxiety: is it too late?

#8

Post by Ancalagon »

overcast wrote: post #5

Welp, this article can't have come at a more appropriate time in my life. Definitely struggling with these exact thoughts, constantly. Finding something meaningful, and rewarding to be a part of has become obsessive. Always thinking I'm wasting time if I'm not somehow maximizing it, with the end result being I spend more time worrying about it than actually doing it.

Maybe you're like me, maybe not, but meditation and CBT helps with this a bit. Also - and I'm gonna say this may make your anxiety better, it may make it worse - think about the most influential people in the last 100 years: Einstein, Turing, FDR, Obama, etc. Now think about the most influential people in last 1,000, then the last 10,000. How many people can you name from over a thousand years ago (hopefully you're not a historian)? My point is, even the greatest people today, although their contributions were great, will probably not be remembered by very many 10,000 years from now. We all ultimately go to the same place, great or not. Time is the great equalizer.
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