MAKING A MEANINGFUL USE OF YOUR TIME
B. Characteristics of a good vision
7) Health enhancing
Does it help me stay healthy or improve my health?
Now, let’s look at specific examples to help you understand each criterion more deeply. For instance, just a few weeks ago I was watching Netflix for many hours each night. Now, was this a good use of my time? Well, let’s find out using the criteria above.
Was it meaningful? No. No, I cannot say it was meaningful in any way.
Was it enjoyable? Yes, in a sense I can say it was, at times. But can I say I genuinely enjoy watching Netflix for so many hours? I’m not sure.
Was it challenging? No. Though I watch movies in English and Japanese and
don’t always understand them one hundred percent, I wouldn’t exactly call it challenging.
Was it memorable? No. I will have created no valuable memories from watching Netflix. In truth, I could spend hours watching TV or Netflix every day—thousands, if not tens of thousands of hours over my lifetime—and have basically created no positive memories from having done so.
Did it enhance my self-worth? No. If anything, it made me feel bad about myself after a while.
Was it effective? No. I did not actively engage in it as part of my work or study, so this doesn’t apply. It’s certainly not an effective use of my time.
Was it healthy? No. There is nothing remotely healthy about lying on the couch, watching a screen for hours on end.
To conclude, while watching movies on Netflix once in a while might be fine, based on the seven criteria mentioned above, in this specific situation, I cannot consider it an effective use of my time.
Now, one of the main reasons I wasted so much time on Netflix is because I hadn’t filled my schedule with more meaningful activities. So, I figured out that adding extra activities to my evenings would prevent me from wasting so much time.
So, I sat at my desk, took a pen and a sheet of paper, and wrote down all the wonderful things I could be doing instead of wasting so much time watching Netflix. I love studying, so I scheduled time to study Estonian and Japanese each day. I also started an online course on economics and signed up for a course on how to learn more effectively. Meanwhile, I unsubscribed from Netflix and removed distractions by blocking Facebook, YouTube and other websites on my computer. While I will probably relapse in the future, my current program is working pretty well so far.
The lesson here is, whenever you try to remove a toxic activity or behavior, you need to replace it with something else that is both more productive and more enjoyable. Make sure your new activity incorporates some of the criteria mentioned previously. That is, it should be meaningful, enjoyable, memorable, self-worth enhancing, effective and/or health-enhancing. The
more exciting and meaningful the activity is, the better. For example, your activity could be part of an exciting long-term goal or dream. Perhaps, you want to:
Study Spanish because you’d like to move to Spain one day, Learn how to play the piano simply for the joy of music, Write articles, poems or books, or
Bake cakes for your family and friends.
Whatever you may be interested in, when you learn to use your time more effectively, you can accomplish almost anything you desire. And the stronger and deeper your desire is, the more motivated you’ll be to do the work every day. Once you’ve built effective systems to ensure you remain consistent, you’ll become unstoppable.
Now, let’s see what an example of an effective use of your time may look like.
I’ve been living in Estonia for over a year and a half now, but I barely know any Estonian. I spent months wondering whether I should learn the language.
I kept telling myself, “the population is so small, and most Estonians speak English so why should I bother?” Conversely, I wanted to become part of the society, which required me to speak the language. So, instead of wasting hours every day on unproductive activities, I finally decided to learn Estonian. I downloaded an app called Speakly and put a daily routine in place. I also hired a private teacher.
Now, compared to watching Netflix, how good a use of my time is studying Estonia? Using the same criteria, let’s work it out.
Is it meaningful? I would say yes since it will allow me to use Estonian in my daily life and feel more at home.
Is it challenging? Yes. I have to learn a whole new language and deal with new sounds I’m not used to hearing. Estonian isn’t easy!
Is it enjoyable? Yes, I enjoy learning foreign languages and the app I’m using makes it fun and easy.
Is it memorable? Not really. However, speaking Estonian may allow me to create great memories when I make new Estonian friends.
Does it enhance my self-worth? Yes, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with learning a new language. Also, being able to speak Estonian will help me to feel better about myself (as opposed to feeling guilty for not speaking the language).
Is it effective? Yes. I think the app I’m using in combination with my private lessons should allow me to make progress faster.
Is it health-enhancing? Not really. However, learning something new is really good for my brain.
Overall, we can say that studying Estonian in my specific case is a fairly effective use of my time.
The bottom line is, with the help of the above seven criteria, you can increase the (subjective) value you put in each unit of time you spend subsequently.
What about you? How could you increase the value you get from your time?
How could you use it more effectively, every day, so that you can achieve your goals and dreams? What new activities could you start focusing on?
What unproductive activities could you eliminate once and for all?
Action step
Using your action guide, look at all the activities you engage in during a typical day/week. (To help you, review the time log you created earlier.)
Then, using the seven criteria described above, assess how much value you’re actually gaining from each activity.
Finally, select one unproductive activity and replace it with a new more meaningful one.