The time we waste...

[fokas]

Copied from this article:
http://blogs.smh.com.au/executive-style/allmenareliars/2009/12/03/thetimewewas.html

...the time I've wasted.

Drugs and booze, crap relationships, **** jobs, watching moronic TV, gossiping, pointless internet surfing, negative self-talk, insecurity, worrying about what others think and plain old laziness - so much of life is wasting time.

Hey, whattaya up to?

Nothing much, just killing some time.

In reality, you're killing yourself: minute by minute, day by day.

A few years ago, I shared a flat with a guy named Jack, who suddenly pulled stumps and headed off to China to learn Mandarin.

He got back to Australia last week and, though he's not completely fluent, he reckons it'd take a smart Chinese person half an hour to throw him a word that would confuse him.

Two and half years of studying, three hours a day, and the guy's set himself up with an enviable life skill that is somehow made all the more surprising because he's 6' 2", blond-haired and blue eyed and looks like the last person you'd expect to speak excellent Mandarin.

It got me wondering what I've done with the last two and half years of my life, how the days drip by and, before you know it, filled a swimming pool of either sloth or industry, instant gratification or patient building.

We often don't notice how fast the time goes until an anniversary like today hits and we reflect it's been two years since Kevin Rudd was sworn in as our Prime Minister ... eight years since the September 11 attacks ... nine since the Sydney Olympics opening ceremony.

You could have moved mountains in that time, you could have learned Mandarin, French and German; most of us have just got older and fatter.

I first used this quote by commentator Phillip Adams back in August 2006, when All Men Are Liars debuted and it's as relevant then as it is now.

"When people say how do you do so many things? I often answer them, without meaning to be cruel, 'How do you do so little?'" said Adams.

"It seems to me that people have vast potential. Most people can do extraordinary things if they have the confidence, or take the risks. Yet most people don't. They sit in front of the telly and treat life as if it goes on forever," he said.

Tick tock, people.

BABB BLOG

 

[Ausprop]

duno about the effectiveness of committing 2.5 years to learnign a language!!

 

[vbplease]

duno about the effectiveness of committing 2.5 years to learnign a language!!

Depends how you measure "effectiveness".. financial gain or for the fun of it? I can see benefit in both.

Horses for courses if you want to spend 2.5yrs in a foreign country though.. I know I would

 

[Aaron Sice]

since 2001 i have increase my net worth 10 fold, my income 10 fold, got married, had 3 kids, started and continued my own business, travelled, learned about trading indicators, understood futures markets, renovated 2 homes, built a third, dipping into comm research and lately - US RE investing.

i'd consider that enough. prob coulda done more but how much can one do without going insane...? i like drinking beer on a sunday and nuthin' else.

 

[ianvestor]

Along these lines, I highly recommend a book called the 4 hour workweek. Someone else on the forum may have also mentioned it recently... definitely worth reading.

 

[cu@thetop]

Along these lines, I highly recommend a book called the 4 hour workweek. Someone else on the forum may have also mentioned it recently... definitely worth reading.

That may have been me. I think the author suffered from ADHD though (or ADD "Adult deficit Disorder" as one of my clients once called it).

 

[Rob Williams]

Along these lines, I highly recommend a book called the 4 hour workweek. Someone else on the forum may have also mentioned it recently... definitely worth reading.

Great! So now I've got to double my working week?
This is all getting too hard.

 

[lizzie]

hmm - last two and a half years.

renovated our ocean views ppor. spent 10 months in south australia, tripping around and working. moved back and bought another property that we are currently renovating (almost finished). got townhouse site cc approved and quoted. ran an online shop to learn that it's not what i want to do. i'm sure there' a thousand other things - but after moving 10m3 of mulch i am buggered tonight.

 

[HiEquity]

The time I waste...

.... surfing this forum would have probably been put to better use growing our portfolio lately. There's a lesson there for me!

 

[our obsession]

Yes, actually I would be interested in learning more languages. There's a thought, thanks Fokas.

The idea pleases me.

 

[Bill.L]

Hi all,

so much of life is wasting time

Garbage, utter garbage.

All time is used by doing exactly what you want to do with it. It is always your choice.

Drugs and booze, crap relationships, **** jobs, watching moronic TV, gossiping, pointless internet surfing, negative self-talk, insecurity, worrying about what others think and plain old laziness

I shared a flat with a guy named Jack, who suddenly pulled stumps and headed off to China to learn Mandarin.

The 'choice' between the two is judgemental by others, nothing to do with wasting time.

bye

 

[jaycee]

no one said it was being done against people's own will, but I've been guilty of wasting time and feeling like I could have done more with it before.

 

[kathryn d]

The last 7 years I've been learning a new language. I even find myself using them in my everyday speech.
Before I know it, I'm throwing words around like carpark, bench top, dole bludgers etc.

I think it is great to do nothing. I wish I had more time to do it.It's when your mind and body can repair itself.
It's not like most of us here don't lead full lives.

 

[aussierogue]

A huge percentage of the population know two languages - because they are first generation migrants (wherevenr they may live) - not sure how muych this has changed the quality of their lives.

Have to agree with reading the 4 hor working week. That book has changed the direction of my life over the last 12 months. The irony of that book is to spend your time learning something so that down the track you can spedn time doing more of nothing...

I guess it depends on your definition of NOTHING

 

[jaycee]

I think knowing 2 languages has helped me in one way or another, but then again, I know no other way of life either so hard for me to compare...

 

[Strannik]

what's wrong with wasting time?
life is about enjoyment, it's not a rat race to a coffin

if you enjoy wasting time, it's not a wasted time

 

[wylie]

I enjoy wasting time. I shake my head at people who think watching TV is wasting time. I enjoy it .

 

[AndrewT]

I think wasting time is when you sit around thinking about something you wish you did, or wish you had done differently. That's just wasted thoughts and time!

I enjoy playing some FIFA on the xbox every now and then....I don't think its wasting my time

 

[HandyAndy888]

See, the problem with this post, or the irony if you will, is that I'm wasting time sitting here posting.

 

[craigb]

i don't see time wasting as the issue , because time is what most investers need , to create those gains, but i see it as "time wasted" when, folks continualy put off the purchase or start of a portfolio,
then the age of 55 creaps up and " O my gosh " i need to invest for my retirement,
But i hope that at the age of 55 i will be wasting time , Fishing, Golfing, Sailing, Traveling , yep i will try and be the biggest time waster on the planet,