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I logged my activities at 15-minute intervals for the whole year

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Re: I logged my activities at 15-minute intervals for the whole year

#301

Post by AriseAndPass »

OJFord wrote: post #289

Should 'travel' really be a category? Won't 'time spent in buses/cars/planes etc', unless driving them, always also be time spent 'idle', 'procrastinating', 'culture>books', or one of the others? This sort of thing is what always stops me or is the problem I hit in categorising anything. Labels/tags are the usual solution, but that doesn't really work in this case, since you can't then say how you spent your time usi…

She did actually use tags, not mutually exclusive categories:

> Another cool feature of the way I was logging my data was that I could log more than one activity into a single time slot (walking and listening to a podcast is a classic). This means that the total time spent on all activities sums up to more than 365 days - you can see this as 'extra days' on the plot above. Turns out that this year, I had 395 surplus hours or 16.5 surplus days. I hope I didn't spend them on human function.

Re: I logged my activities at 15-minute intervals for the whole year

#302

Post by tartoran »

WalterBright wrote: post #255
Draiken wrote: post #49

I am always baffled how sad this extreme focus into productivity makes me. If you discovered you were going to die in a year, would you continue to spend all your time being "productive"? I figure almost everyone would shift all their focus on doing things that "really matter". Sadly I believe the world managed to make us feel guilty when we're not doing something that makes someone else rich (majority of jobs). I'm…

> I figure almost everyone would shift all their focus on doing things that "really matter". My focus is on things that would be expected to pay off before my life runs out. The less life I have left, the more I do things for short term gain rather than long term. For example, at age 18 investing in college for 4 years is an excellent investment. Doing it in your 60s doesn't make a whole lot of practical sense.

It depends. When I went to college I remember this lady around 70 years old who was a student. I forget what major she was in or other details but remember talking to her then. I don’t think she was getting something practical out of it but maybe something personal. I remember her saying something like college was something she always wanted to do and now she had a chance to. She was very bright and quick witted and it surprised me she didn’t have a college degree. So in this case this is what mattered to her. I was amazed at the time but found out she was not a singular case at the time, some people do return to school late in their life

Re: I logged my activities at 15-minute intervals for the whole year

#304

Post by gumby »

Draiken wrote: post #49

I am always baffled how sad this extreme focus into productivity makes me. If you discovered you were going to die in a year, would you continue to spend all your time being "productive"? I figure almost everyone would shift all their focus on doing things that "really matter". Sadly I believe the world managed to make us feel guilty when we're not doing something that makes someone else rich (majority of jobs). I'm…

> I'm a pessimist so I'd probably get very sad at some real data telling me how many hours I have wasted making someone else money.

Wouldn't that be useful? Considering your own example: might that not send you one a path to change the fraction of time you do something you don't like.

And what's wrong with "making someone else money" if it also provides you something you want (presumably in this case, also money)? If you were earning money "making someone else a meal" would that be equally bad?

Re: I logged my activities at 15-minute intervals for the whole year

#305

Post by syndacks »

l33tbro wrote: post #248
syndacks wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We still very much live in a Foucauldian world: - we're constantly surveilled (school, jobs, gov't) and mostly we willingly submit to this - r.e. "21st century is no longer a disciplinary society", yes it is, see my point above. we (they?) just succeeded in making the discipline less overt, more complicit. we don't need jails anymore we just need smartphones (see Social Dilemma) - that list is not one of an "achievem…

You've missed the point - which is often the problem with posting quotes. I agree that we still live in a Foucauldian world and that many of those factors remain. But what Han is getting at (and his broader thesis in 'The Burnout Society') is that a new series of societal dynamics have propogated from the modern citizen's raison d'etre of serving one's own aspiration, rather than that of the collective. In Han's view…

Hey br0, appreciate the thoughtful response.

> a new series of societal dynamics have propogated from the modern citizen's raison d'etre of serving one's own aspiration, rather than that of the collective.

Yes, this is exactly what I'm saying in my points (if you exclude the 'discipline' part of them).

Not sure I agree with Han's lack of The Other...see American politics, European politics but hey I guess I have to read the Burnout Society (thanks for rec) and debate ole Han, not you.

Re: I logged my activities at 15-minute intervals for the whole year

#306

Post by dv35z »

8bitsrule wrote: post #238
Draiken wrote: post #49

I am always baffled how sad this extreme focus into productivity makes me. If you discovered you were going to die in a year, would you continue to spend all your time being "productive"? I figure almost everyone would shift all their focus on doing things that "really matter". Sadly I believe the world managed to make us feel guilty when we're not doing something that makes someone else rich (majority of jobs). I'm…

I often feel the same sadness when thinking of how so many get pulled into losing their most vital years. Decades ago I spent a day travelling with a company salesman. That afternoon we spent an hour non-productively talking. In a candid moment he confessed that, out on the road, he'd missed most of his children growing up. He encouraged me not to make that mistake. Somewhat later in another place, a college professo…

Just wanted to say - this is excellent writing!

Re: I logged my activities at 15-minute intervals for the whole year

#307

Post by l33tbro »

syndacks wrote: post #305
l33tbro wrote: post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You've missed the point - which is often the problem with posting quotes. I agree that we still live in a Foucauldian world and that many of those factors remain. But what Han is getting at (and his broader thesis in 'The Burnout Society') is that a new series of societal dynamics have propogated from the modern citizen's raison d'etre of serving one's own aspiration, rather than that of the collective. In Han's view…

Hey br0, appreciate the thoughtful response. > a new series of societal dynamics have propogated from the modern citizen's raison d'etre of serving one's own aspiration, rather than that of the collective. Yes, this is exactly what I'm saying in my points (if you exclude the 'discipline' part of them). Not sure I agree with Han's lack of The Other...see American politics, European politics but hey I guess I have to r…

It's funny. I re-read it after posting that quote. A lot of his ideas very similar to Baudrillard. Especially stuff to do with the Other and difference. That being said, he still manages to have a pretty original perspective (to me, at least).

His books are very difficult book to track down (the English translations especially). But you're welcome to borrow my copy: cutt.ly/jjs6mL0 (I will delete this in a day)

Re: I logged my activities at 15-minute intervals for the whole year

#308

Post by vntok »

lemming wrote: post #259
vntok wrote: post #240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Completely depends on where you live. Many countries have sane defaults for simple cases.

No country can have a sane default for “who should look after my kids if both parents die suddenly?”. That will always be a very personal decision that depends very much on your family situation.

The sane default is that the family is functional enough that the closest living relative will know best.

Re: I logged my activities at 15-minute intervals for the whole year

#310

Post by wodenokoto »

Draiken wrote: post #49

I am always baffled how sad this extreme focus into productivity makes me. If you discovered you were going to die in a year, would you continue to spend all your time being "productive"? I figure almost everyone would shift all their focus on doing things that "really matter". Sadly I believe the world managed to make us feel guilty when we're not doing something that makes someone else rich (majority of jobs). I'm…

If I discovered I was going to die in a year, I would burn through all my savings.

As humans we need a balance between living in the now and preparing for the future.

In college, one girl in my class died tragically, and we all discussed the meaning of spending hours cramming for exams. Those hours were definitely wasted on her, but I am still happy that I passed my exams.

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