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Because we humans have a lot of idle time. We feel like we're wasting it, and we feel we should instead spend time archiving goals, to better ourselves, to do

Because we humans have a lot of idle time. We feel like we're wasting it, and we feel we should instead spend time archiving goals, to better ourselves, to do something more meaningful. But that is not how life works. You are just unnecessarily burden yourself with guilt. Thinking you should be doing something else. There are so many things to learn about, so many things to experience, right? We fear on missing out on life, chasing something, but what exactly we don't really know. But maybe you just don't need to? Most of us are exactly fine with where we are. Of course you should always strive to improve, but truth is "killing time" is a big part of life. Especially for top of the food chain animals like humans. Watch some livestreams of lions on youtube, what do they do? 99% of the time they just sit under a tree doing absolutely nothing, and I bet they don't feel guilty about it. People used to walk labyrinths for hours and hours, just to kill time. This whole notion that you need to make the most out of every moment, live life to the fullest, see all the places, chase the uncomfortable! - I don't think it's necessarily the best advice, the happiest people I've met tend to have very simple boring routines.

minroot 4y ago
> People used to walk labyrinths for hours and hours, just to kill time. I walk and ride bicycle just to kill time to this days
Sujeto 4y ago
I agree with this. Not to mention that being idle still involves complex thought processes, like treating traumas and understanding concepts.
pugets 4y ago
Maybe that’s true, but it doesn’t provide me with any comfort. I’m only going to live once. When I’m old and bound to a chair (hopefully due to frailty and not because a psychiatrist strapped me to it), I want to feel like I achieved something more than a passive human existence. All these hours spent consuming forgettable garbage on Reddit, YouTube, Facebook, and in video games… these are hours not spent learning recipes, making music, writing programs, lifting weights, or practicing Spanish. If I could channel my energy towards these things, then the long-term payoff would be much more enriching. Not only that, but I’d probably be a happier person if I was disconnected from whatever daily drama social media wants me to care about. If I spend the next 10 years of my life the way I spent the last 10, I’ll approach my midlife with no discernible talents, ambitions, or meaningful lived experiences.
- Daishiman 4y ago
  > All these hours spent consuming forgettable garbage on Reddit, YouTube, Facebook, and in video games… these are hours not spent learning recipes, making music, writing programs, lifting weights, or practicing Spanish. If I could channel my energy towards these things, then the long-term payoff would be much more enriching. Not only that, but I’d probably be a happier person if I was disconnected from whatever daily drama social media wants me to care about. I do all those things and I still waste a ton of time on Youtube. And it's fine; your brain cannot dedicate all of its waking time to high-intensity intellectual endavours, you just end up burning out. I worked full-time and studied for a few years. Remarkably, I still had a share of free time, but I couldn't do anything "productive" with it as I had no mental energy to do perform these tasks. You _have_ to just hang out and do nothing. The most productive people I know waste a ton of time outside of their chosen specialty, and it's not a coincidence.
  - overgrownzygote 4y ago
    This is such a key insight. For me at least, “time management” is really about managing my energy levels more than anything.
- paulcole 4y ago
  You’re saying one thing and doing another. It’s not on anybody but you if you end up living a passive human existence. Either change what you’re doing or accept that your dreams will stay dreams.
  - Apocryphon 4y ago
    Their comment doesn't blame anyone for their situation.
    - paulcole 4y ago
      If they see their comment as a negative thing (which I think it’s clear that they do), then lack of blame is exactly what you don’t want to see. They need to be blaming themselves, not nobody.
frankus 4y ago
I think most people would like if they could be productive 24/7 (or more realistically, consistently productive during their waking hours), but I think there is some amount of "waking rest" that humans need, or at least that modern human existence makes it hard to avoid. This same post could have been written 30 years ago, but it would be about mindlessly switching channels on the TV, watching vapid sitcoms interrupted by a handful of commercials you've seen dozens of times. Maybe before that people would read the local fish-wrap newspaper or same stupid book they've read dozens of times.
Crabber 4y ago
>Watch some livestreams of lions on youtube, what do they do? 99% of the time they just sit under a tree doing absolutely nothing, and I bet they don't feel guilty about it Lions are at peace with the world. They sit around with clear minds, watching nature go by. They are content with the world and their place within it. This is absolutely not the same as a human who spends 4 hours a day doomscrolling through twitter and reddit and can't help checking their phone every 5 minutes.
- soared 4y ago
  The point is that lions are chasing down prey 100% of the time, and so humans also don’t need to be actively doing something 100% of the time either. Doomscrolling isn’t a great example, but is comparable to the leisure of lions.
  - Crabber 4y ago
    The point I was trying to make is that even within "unproductive time" there are extremely healthy, and extremely unhealthy ways to spend it. Someone introduced me to the idea of "mental diet" a while ago. I find it to be an interesting concept. We know not to spend hours of our time eating junk food because it's not good for our physical health, why do we never consider our mental health in a similar way? Doomscrolling is just filling your brain up with mental junk. Most content on the modern internet is just mental junk honestly. And spending hours reading and getting invested in all of this crap really does affect your headspace for the rest of the day. Lions, by comparison, have a very pure and healthy mental diet.
- rchaud 4y ago
  > Lions are at peace with the world. They sit around with clear minds, watching nature go by. They are content with the world and their place within it. Maybe for an adult lion at the peak of its powers. An elderly lion will end his days alone, cast out from the pack, surviving on its fading wits until....
- thomashop 4y ago
  I feel like you are romanticising animal nature.
331c8c71 4y ago
Excellent points and a fresh perspective. We should be happy we have a few hours to "waste". Enjoy it instead of punishing yourself pointlessly. If you wish to force yourself into a habit of doing something else instead -- take steps but also question the intent.
warabe 4y ago
agreed. We are not a robot, but a living creature. However, I think key part is how to shorten that idle time. I am trying meditation for now, but I cannot see any improvement, unfortunately. Maybe I am missing something.
zyemuzu 4y ago
Return to monke. That is the solution.

minroot 4y ago

> People used to walk labyrinths for hours and hours, just to kill time. I walk and ride bicycle just to kill time to this days

Sujeto 4y ago

I agree with this. Not to mention that being idle still involves complex thought processes, like treating traumas and understanding concepts.

pugets 4y ago

Maybe that’s true, but it doesn’t provide me with any comfort. I’m only going to live once. When I’m old and bound to a chair (hopefully due to frailty and not because a psychiatrist strapped me to it), I want to feel like I achieved something more than a passive human existence. All these hours spent consuming forgettable garbage on Reddit, YouTube, Facebook, and in video games… these are hours not spent learning recipes, making music, writing programs, lifting weights, or practicing Spanish. If I could channel my energy towards these things, then the long-term payoff would be much more enriching. Not only that, but I’d probably be a happier person if I was disconnected from whatever daily drama social media wants me to care about. If I spend the next 10 years of my life the way I spent the last 10, I’ll approach my midlife with no discernible talents, ambitions, or meaningful lived experiences.

Daishiman 4y ago
> All these hours spent consuming forgettable garbage on Reddit, YouTube, Facebook, and in video games… these are hours not spent learning recipes, making music, writing programs, lifting weights, or practicing Spanish. If I could channel my energy towards these things, then the long-term payoff would be much more enriching. Not only that, but I’d probably be a happier person if I was disconnected from whatever daily drama social media wants me to care about. I do all those things and I still waste a ton of time on Youtube. And it's fine; your brain cannot dedicate all of its waking time to high-intensity intellectual endavours, you just end up burning out. I worked full-time and studied for a few years. Remarkably, I still had a share of free time, but I couldn't do anything "productive" with it as I had no mental energy to do perform these tasks. You _have_ to just hang out and do nothing. The most productive people I know waste a ton of time outside of their chosen specialty, and it's not a coincidence.
- overgrownzygote 4y ago
  This is such a key insight. For me at least, “time management” is really about managing my energy levels more than anything.
paulcole 4y ago
You’re saying one thing and doing another. It’s not on anybody but you if you end up living a passive human existence. Either change what you’re doing or accept that your dreams will stay dreams.
- Apocryphon 4y ago
  Their comment doesn't blame anyone for their situation.
  - paulcole 4y ago
    If they see their comment as a negative thing (which I think it’s clear that they do), then lack of blame is exactly what you don’t want to see. They need to be blaming themselves, not nobody.

frankus 4y ago

I think most people would like if they could be productive 24/7 (or more realistically, consistently productive during their waking hours), but I think there is some amount of "waking rest" that humans need, or at least that modern human existence makes it hard to avoid. This same post could have been written 30 years ago, but it would be about mindlessly switching channels on the TV, watching vapid sitcoms interrupted by a handful of commercials you've seen dozens of times. Maybe before that people would read the local fish-wrap newspaper or same stupid book they've read dozens of times.

Crabber 4y ago

>Watch some livestreams of lions on youtube, what do they do? 99% of the time they just sit under a tree doing absolutely nothing, and I bet they don't feel guilty about it Lions are at peace with the world. They sit around with clear minds, watching nature go by. They are content with the world and their place within it. This is absolutely not the same as a human who spends 4 hours a day doomscrolling through twitter and reddit and can't help checking their phone every 5 minutes.

soared 4y ago
The point is that lions are chasing down prey 100% of the time, and so humans also don’t need to be actively doing something 100% of the time either. Doomscrolling isn’t a great example, but is comparable to the leisure of lions.
- Crabber 4y ago
  The point I was trying to make is that even within "unproductive time" there are extremely healthy, and extremely unhealthy ways to spend it. Someone introduced me to the idea of "mental diet" a while ago. I find it to be an interesting concept. We know not to spend hours of our time eating junk food because it's not good for our physical health, why do we never consider our mental health in a similar way? Doomscrolling is just filling your brain up with mental junk. Most content on the modern internet is just mental junk honestly. And spending hours reading and getting invested in all of this crap really does affect your headspace for the rest of the day. Lions, by comparison, have a very pure and healthy mental diet.
rchaud 4y ago
> Lions are at peace with the world. They sit around with clear minds, watching nature go by. They are content with the world and their place within it. Maybe for an adult lion at the peak of its powers. An elderly lion will end his days alone, cast out from the pack, surviving on its fading wits until....
thomashop 4y ago
I feel like you are romanticising animal nature.

331c8c71 4y ago

Excellent points and a fresh perspective. We should be happy we have a few hours to "waste". Enjoy it instead of punishing yourself pointlessly. If you wish to force yourself into a habit of doing something else instead -- take steps but also question the intent.

warabe 4y ago

agreed. We are not a robot, but a living creature. However, I think key part is how to shorten that idle time. I am trying meditation for now, but I cannot see any improvement, unfortunately. Maybe I am missing something.

zyemuzu 4y ago

Return to monke. That is the solution.