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Why are Adults so busy?

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Re: Why are Adults so busy?

#121

Post by coldtea »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #117
coldtea wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Which ones are those? I'm from an European country and one of the biggest sources of internal stress for me is just noticing how much of my life gets wasted by having to have a job. Check out most small towns (200K or less) and villages in places like France, Italy, Spain, Greece, etc -- the one's I know off. Or are small town residents not "adults"?

I'm a resident of 1M city. May be a part of the problem. > Or are small town residents not "adults"? Didn't mean to imply that. I was just whining about my own life ;).

>Didn't mean to imply that. I was just whining about my own life ;).

Heh, I added that part to refer to the original parent's question.

From what I've seen (and lived myself) in such places, work is mostly something you do, quite casually, for 8 hours or so, and then (or even in between work, e.g. with "siesta" etc) there's lot of socializing, slower everyday pace, etc. And everybody knows everyone else. People are not "ambitious" in the stereotypical "make it big" US idea.

That said, this also holds in "smalltown USA" too -- well, except for the unfortunate souls who work as employees in nationwide firms like Walmart, et al. But for those with own businesses, farms, etc, it's mostly like that.

Of course in larger cities you can easily work 14 hour days for shit pay.

Re: Why are Adults so busy?

#122

Post by microcolonel »

lucaspiller wrote: post #115

I'm going to go against the norm: I recently bought my first car (I'm nearly 30) and am amazed how much time it saves and freedom it gives me. I've always lived in European cities with good public transport, but even here having a car is worthwhile. Instead of taking a train and bus 30+ minutes to work, I leave when I want and know it will take me around 15 minutes to get there. Maybe I'm weird, but I find driving a…

A lot of people think too rigidly to accept that some people could really benefit from owning a car.

For me it's a much tougher decision because the costs are much higher due to mandatory both-ways insurance being required. I basically can't afford to have both savings and a car where I live. Damn shame though, because I would benefit immensely from having a light truck (something the size of a Hilux). If I want to bring handguns to a range, the law basically requires that I own an automobile. If I want to get construction materials or inexpensive/exotic Korean groceries, I need an automobile.

Your estimate for the cost of owning your vehicle is actually considerably lower than just having a public transit pass for that same year where I live.

Re: Why are Adults so busy?

#123

Post by matwood »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #84

I never realized how much free time I had until I started blowing my responsibilities off and watching TV series or playing video games. The point is, a lot of the things we do in our adult lives are bullshit errands that exist only because of habit, custom or societal expectations. I'm in progress of trying to get rid of as much of them as possible (and automate others), to reclaim some free time for actually produc…

This is a good point. For example, I hate going to the grocery store. Buying good food to cook for a night is fun, but the general grocery shopping is a horrible experience. A combination of Amazon Subscribe and Save, Pantry, and services like Blue Apron mean I rarely go to the store. And things like subscribe and save mean I never have to think about when I'm out of toilet paper, it just shows up on a schedule which I have figured out now.

Re: Why are Adults so busy?

#124

Post by grondilu »

coldtea wrote: post #80
Pikago wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But "why" is still a good question, and it remains unanswered. Because maintenance takes time and it's not handled by your parents anymore.

And yet people in certain European countries and tons of other parts in the world with different work attitudes can have tons of free time, despite having children et al.

Except this post was not about work but rather about everything else.

Re: Why are Adults so busy?

#125

Post by Tepix »

So, most of the things on these list are avoidable. Some are not.

Doing the laundry is a good example. With a 4 person household, this takes up a lot of time! A robot to take this chore away from me would be extremely valuable. I can't wait for technology to advance so these become available.

Re: Why are Adults so busy?

#126

Post by grondilu »

branchless wrote: post #70
jdimov10 wrote: post #13

The article doesn't really answer the question. It says adults are busy because they have too much stuff to do (duh..) But "why" is still a good question, and it remains unanswered. The answer is that, as we grow up, we tend to develop the belief that our well-being needs to be justified somehow. In other words, we start to believe that we are not by default worthy of living a good, joyful, care-free, abundant life..…

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!

> We have to pay to exist?

No. Existing is free. You have to pay in order to live in a dwelling you could not afford.

Re: Why are Adults so busy?

#127

Post by dazc »

coldtea wrote: post #118
dazc wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am from Yorkshire. Take the point though.

Heh, didn't know it, no offence meant. Was mostly referring to all the urban poor, crime, domestic violence etc that goes on in large parts of the UK.

There are certainly area of the UK where this is true, but not all. I guess it can seem that way because we have dense areas of population where the good and bad parts are so close together?

Re: Why are Adults so busy?

#128

Post by dasboth »

lucaspiller wrote: post #115

I'm going to go against the norm: I recently bought my first car (I'm nearly 30) and am amazed how much time it saves and freedom it gives me. I've always lived in European cities with good public transport, but even here having a car is worthwhile. Instead of taking a train and bus 30+ minutes to work, I leave when I want and know it will take me around 15 minutes to get there. Maybe I'm weird, but I find driving a…

> I find driving a lot more relaxing than public transport

+1 from me. Public transport in London is a nightmare during rush hour, I'd happily trade that for an equivalent drive. Probably wouldn't be (much?) more expensive either.

Re: Why are Adults so busy?

#129

Post by jefe_ »

Wash & Fold Laundromat changed my life. Am able to eliminate a massive chore for $17-22 per week. Every Tuesday on my way to work, I drop off my clothes and on the way back, I pick up my clothes, hung and folded as if they were brand new. I was never able to achieve the level of consistency with a laundry schedule when I did it myself.

Re: Why are Adults so busy?

#130

Post by dangravell »

lucaspiller wrote: post #115

I'm going to go against the norm: I recently bought my first car (I'm nearly 30) and am amazed how much time it saves and freedom it gives me. I've always lived in European cities with good public transport, but even here having a car is worthwhile. Instead of taking a train and bus 30+ minutes to work, I leave when I want and know it will take me around 15 minutes to get there. Maybe I'm weird, but I find driving a…

I've got to say I've had the opposite experience, moving from London to rural England, where a car is necessary to have any sort of flexibility (to go to work, shop, take kids to nursery etc).

I'm learning to hate cars. The damn things are a time sink. In the UK we have to take cars for MOT each year and generally we service once a year. That's two half days gone, but I try to make best use of the time by working in a coffee shop while it happens.

Then there are the unforeseen things. Door locks breaking. Tyre replacements. Punctures. Remembering to top up the air in the tyres. Washing them (I pay for someone to do this, but it's still something on your mind). Replacing wipers. And the wiper fluid of course. Checking oil and tyre pressure.

Just the sheer time I spend in petrol stations. Why aren't all petrol stations self pay? I try to avoid ones where I have to go into a shop but it's not always possible.

Insurance. Oh great, the yearly "you raised my premium 10% but I can see I can get it cheaper online" phone call. I resent having to make this.

And then there's the cost.

Sorry, that turned into a rant.

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