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If Money Doesn't Make You Happy, Consider Time

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Re: If Money Doesn't Make You Happy, Consider Time

#31

Post by mark_l_watson »

mark_l_watson wrote: post #30

I am 60 and for almost my entire life I have only worked 32 hours per week, first for large companies (e.g., SAIC) then for a few smaller companies, and for the last 13 years as a consultant. Lately I have been trying to cut back and partially retire but that is tough since I usually enjoy my work. I have friends and business associates who thrive on long work hours. We all need to figure out what we need out of life…

One more thing: I have a general problem with not having enough time for everything that I want to do. I find that cutting way back on TV and stop watching movies or reading books that I decide just aren't worth the time helps a lot.

Re: If Money Doesn't Make You Happy, Consider Time

#32

Post by mattgreenrocks »

mark_l_watson wrote: post #30

I am 60 and for almost my entire life I have only worked 32 hours per week, first for large companies (e.g., SAIC) then for a few smaller companies, and for the last 13 years as a consultant. Lately I have been trying to cut back and partially retire but that is tough since I usually enjoy my work. I have friends and business associates who thrive on long work hours. We all need to figure out what we need out of life…

I'm trying to rein my relationship with work in, and limiting myself to 30 hours a week is one way to do that. Now that I consult, I just have to learn to give myself vacations. :)

Re: If Money Doesn't Make You Happy, Consider Time

#33

Post by [deleted] »

Swizec wrote: post #17
bwh2 wrote: post #5

You have two ways to value yourself - time and money. I worked in NYC and had a +3 hour rountrip commute. Moving to Boulder, my roundtrip is 10 minutes. I regained 3 hours per day. That's 750 hours per year or 31 days. IMO, nobody sits on their death bed wishing they worked more or made more money - they all wish for more time with their family and friends. Glad I realized that at 26.

Here's the thing, what about all those people who sit on their death bed thinking "If only I had devoted more time to the projects I loved. Then maybe I could have been a somebody"

[deleted]

Re: If Money Doesn't Make You Happy, Consider Time

#34

Post by Pwnguinz »

Swizec wrote: post #17
bwh2 wrote: post #5

You have two ways to value yourself - time and money. I worked in NYC and had a +3 hour rountrip commute. Moving to Boulder, my roundtrip is 10 minutes. I regained 3 hours per day. That's 750 hours per year or 31 days. IMO, nobody sits on their death bed wishing they worked more or made more money - they all wish for more time with their family and friends. Glad I realized that at 26.

Here's the thing, what about all those people who sit on their death bed thinking "If only I had devoted more time to the projects I loved. Then maybe I could have been a somebody"

Or in similar veins, thinking "I wish I worked harder and earned more money so that I could afford that life saving that would have gotten me out of this deathbed."

Re: If Money Doesn't Make You Happy, Consider Time

#36

Post by batista »

marshallp wrote: post #25
batista wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Actually, these aren't "hard" problems in the sense that physics disallows them. We have existence proofs of them. It's is just a search problem. You have to set up robotic systems that search the space. So the problem is really one of collective stupidity ie. most people are dumbasses debating they value of time and spending it family/friends, or whether gays should be married, when instead they should be demandin…

So you're saying people should give up on the idea of living to a millions years old and just suck it in by spending more time with the families/friends in the few years they have? Death is a solvable problem. There are species and cell types that are essentially immortal. It exists in nature. We have the capability to manipulate things at the cell/molecule level. I'm not sure what you mean by "colonized by industria…

>So you're saying people should give up on the idea of living to a millions years old and just suck it in by spending more time with the families/friends in the few years they have?

People in general (as in "humanity") no. But individual people, as you and me, yes, we should definitely "just suck it in by spending more time with the families/friends in the few years we have". As in, don't waste your life for pie in the sky ideas...

>Death is a solvable problem. There are species and cell types that are essentially immortal. It exists in nature.

Lot of things exist in nature. It doesn't mean they also apply to us, or that we can achieve them in a timespan of 100 years or less. Speed of light also exists in nature. But I doubt we'd see a spaceship approaching 80% of it in the next couple of centuries...

Also, that "solvable" part. As it pertains to humans, citation needed.

>We have the capability to manipulate things at the cell/molecule level.

>I'm not sure what you mean by "colonized by industrialization". If you think things are too industrialized, maybe you should give up the laptop you're writing from and go live in the jungle without any plastics r metal.

Right, because thinking that something has gone too far implies you have to go to the limits of the exact opposite direction, eh?

Actually, I would love to. I've actually lived long stretches of time without internet, or even a laptop.

I like programming, but with a beautiful landscape or a nice beach, friends, women, food, good books, and something to keep me warm, I could care less if I never saw another line of code or another tweet or another phone call.

Which is kinda like 60% of the world's population lives, with the exception that lots of them lack food and water. They could care less for the rest. Take a look at the (subjective but that's the purpose) index of world happiness: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Planet_Index

Given the essentials (ie. no lack of food, water etc as in parts of Africa), it seems the less "modern" life, the better.

Re: If Money Doesn't Make You Happy, Consider Time

#38

Post by brnstz »

redwood wrote: post #7
bwh2 wrote: post #5

You have two ways to value yourself - time and money. I worked in NYC and had a +3 hour rountrip commute. Moving to Boulder, my roundtrip is 10 minutes. I regained 3 hours per day. That's 750 hours per year or 31 days. IMO, nobody sits on their death bed wishing they worked more or made more money - they all wish for more time with their family and friends. Glad I realized that at 26.

Oy, I'm moving to NYC

Live in Brooklyn. You'll be fine.

Re: If Money Doesn't Make You Happy, Consider Time

#39

Post by spodek »

mattgreenrocks wrote: post #29
spodek wrote: post #19

After I figured out my priorities (took years of challenging myself and introspection) I figured out how to spend my time. Now I do what's important and don't waste my time with other things. I don't try to "life-hack" or make myself as efficient as possible because if I'm only working on my most important things I know I'm spending my time well. I cut my working hours down to one or sometimes two days a week, someti…

You say to want less; do you have specific examples of how you apply this?

Here are some examples.

Having less stuff: http://joshuaspodek.com/less_please. By this point I cringe when someone gives me a material gift, knowing I'll want to get rid of it soon. Most friends have learned I prefer a bottle of wine or scotch as a gift to anything to stick on a shelf.

My exercise regiment has me in as good physical shape as I've ever been (including when I ran marathons and competed at Nationals level in Ultimate Frisbee). Here's how I work out every day with no gym membership, cost, or equipment, enjoying it: http://joshuaspodek.com/how-begin-workout-routine and http://joshuaspodek.com/knew-minute-day-workout

Personal development for free, the equal of any multi-thousand-dollar seminar: http://joshuaspodek.com/vipassana-meditation

Lots of other examples if you dig through my blog.

Re: If Money Doesn't Make You Happy, Consider Time

#40

Post by adambratt »

Swizec wrote: post #17
bwh2 wrote: post #5

You have two ways to value yourself - time and money. I worked in NYC and had a +3 hour rountrip commute. Moving to Boulder, my roundtrip is 10 minutes. I regained 3 hours per day. That's 750 hours per year or 31 days. IMO, nobody sits on their death bed wishing they worked more or made more money - they all wish for more time with their family and friends. Glad I realized that at 26.

Here's the thing, what about all those people who sit on their death bed thinking "If only I had devoted more time to the projects I loved. Then maybe I could have been a somebody"

This is a very very good point
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