Tag Archives: Time

SET YOURSELF UP TO ENJOY THE PASSAGE OF TIME

This post is part of a new direction at Dyingwords.net where I find lifestyle topics that interest and resonate with me in my Stoicism journey, and I think they might do the same with you. These posts aren’t sent out on my bi-weekly mailing list notification every second Saturday morning. Rather, I just publish them on the blog and if they’re found, they’re found. Sort of like notes to myself with attributions to the originator.

I get a weekly newsletter from Shane Parrish who hosts Farnam Street which I think is one of the best motivational and introspective sites on the internet. This morning his podcast guest was Brian Halligan, the founder and CEO of HubSpot. During their conversation, Brian mentioned a quote by music legend, James Taylor. It went, “The secret to life is to enjoy the passage of time.”

Talk about powerful. I Googled the phrase and found this short piece on The Daily Quoter Substack. With full attribution to the host, here’s what they said:

James Taylor, the iconic singer-songwriter known for his introspective lyrics and soothing melodies, once penned a line that has resonated with generations: “The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time.” While seemingly simple, this statement holds immense depth and offers a powerful perspective on how to approach our often-fleeting existence.

Taylor’s message isn’t about hedonism or chasing fleeting pleasures. It’s about cultivating a deeper appreciation for the present moment, the very act of being alive, and the ever-changing tapestry of experiences that make up our life journey. It’s a gentle nudge to shift our focus from the anxieties of the future and regrets of the past to the vibrant possibilities unfolding right now.

But how do we truly “enjoy the passage of time”? Here are some key takeaways from Taylor’s wisdom:

Embrace the Present

We often get caught up in planning for the future or dwelling on the past. However, the only moment we truly have control over is the present. Mindfulness practices like meditation or simply focusing on our five senses can help us anchor ourselves in the here and now, appreciating the sights, sounds, and sensations around us.

Find Joy in the Everyday

Taylor reminds us that “any fool can do it.” Enjoying the passage of time doesn’t require grand adventures or expensive outings. It can be as simple as savoring a cup of coffee, noticing the beauty of a sunset, or connecting with loved ones in meaningful conversations. Cultivating gratitude for these everyday moments fosters a sense of contentment and appreciation for the simple joys of life.

Let Go of Control

The human tendency is to control everything, but the reality is that life is inherently unpredictable. Accepting this and learning to flow with the changes, both expected and unexpected, can significantly reduce stress and allow us to find joy in the unfolding journey.

Find the Ride in the Glide

Taylor uses the metaphor of “sliding down a hill” to describe our journey through life. We might not know where we’re headed, but we can choose to enjoy the ride! This perspective encourages us to embrace the adventure, bumps and all, and find amusement and wonder in the unknown.

Open Your Heart and Connect

While Taylor primarily focuses on individual enjoyment, true fulfillment often comes from connecting with others. Opening our hearts to love, compassion, and genuine connection adds another layer of richness to the experience of life.

Ultimately, James Taylor’s “secret” isn’t a secret at all. It’s a gentle reminder to slow down, appreciate the present, and find joy in the ordinary. By adopting this perspective, we can transform our everyday experiences into a meaningful and fulfilling journey, one moment at a time.

And to quote Brian Halligan, “Set yourself up to enjoy the passage of time.”

 

SUPERCHARGE YOUR SCHEDULE: THE GAME-CHANGING 100 BLOCKS STRATEGY

There’s only one area where we humans are truly equal. Time. Each of us are given exactly the same amount of time in our day. 24 hours. 60 minutes. 60 seconds. It’s how we use, track, and manage our time that sets us apart. Think of what you could accomplish with your time, and your energy, if you were able to supercharge your schedule with the game-changing 100 blocks strategy.

This strategy of dividing your waking time into 100, 10-minute blocks and tracking it comes from Tim Urban. Tim is a thought leader and prolific writer who hosts the popular website Wait But Why. I’ve followed Tim Urban for years, and I find him a fascinating man. One of his posts was titled 100 Blocks a Day. With credit to Tim for the images and graphs, I’ll paraphrase and personalize the content.

You probably sleep 7 to 8 hours per night. That leaves you with about 1,000 active minutes in your day. If you break that into 10-minute intervals, you isolate 100, 10-minute blocks.

Click Here or on the Image to Print This Graph

Throughout your day, you spend your time progressing through the 100 squares of blocks. When you wake, you’re in the first block and you run out of blocks when you go to bed. By stepping back and looking at what you’ve done in each block, you gain immense clarity from which you can supercharge your schedule.

By time tracking with blocks, we can readily see where we’ve been productive and where we weren’t. We can see time management efficiency, or we can see a complete waste of this priceless resource called time. We can see where to cut back and where to double down.

Ask yourself if each time-block furthered your definite purpose in life and which block was merely enjoyed for its moment. Ask if each block was a time gain or a time suck. Ask if each block allowed you to constantly create, to continue to consume, or to just comfortably cruise.

If you imagine your time blocks laid out on a 10×10 grid, you’d get a total screenshot of your day. How much of it was spent at work, and how much of that work time was productive and necessary? Or unnecessary? How much of your leisure time was worth the lack of effort? How much of your family time and friend time was enjoyed? And what really mattered in your day?

Graphing and tracking time blocks lets you think about everything you spend your time on in context of value per 10-minute block. Preparing dinner might take 3 to 6 blocks. Ordering in takes none. Meditation might take 1 block and a yoga session 3 blocks. Ask what the dollar-per-hour or return-on-investment might be.

2 blocks of reading per evening might add 15 books per year to your mental library. Writing a novel might take 20 blocks per day, and researching/writing/formatting/publishing something like this 675 word post takes 23 blocks or 3.8 hours. I know because I tracked it on the 100-block graph.

As part of this post, I recorded my entire day from the time I awoke to the time I shut down. I’ve always kept a journal and loosely tracked my time, but this was the first crack at being so detailed. Here’s a screenshot of my 10-minute time blocks for June 28, 2024.

I have to say this exercise was enlightening. It made me focus intently as I moved from morning to night. In my writing world, I have a massive project underway called City Of Danger. It’s in its third year of production, and it’ll be a year or two more before release. From this point forward, I’m going to religiously track the City Of Danger production time with the 100 block strategy. I’m curious if I’ve finally found something that can increase my focus and productivity.

Tim Urban of Wait But Why has three more insightful graphs. One is a 90-year period of human life in years. One is a 90-year period of human life in months. The other is a 90-year period of human life in weeks. Feel free to download them and begin plotting your blocks, supercharging your schedule, and changing your game.

Click Here to Obtain These Charts From Tim Urban

HOW TO SCAM NIGERIAN FUNDS FOR YOUR TIME MACHINE

If you don’t know about Nigerian scams then you’ve probably never used the internet. Seems like every couple weeks these West-African crooks drop me an email thinking I’m dumb enough to bite. Some people must or the cons wouldn’t keep trying. So it was no surprise when I checked my inbox Tuesday morning and found another Nigerian grab at my wallet.

But it was different this round. For a change, I had little on my plate and time on my hands so I decided to turn the tide on this guy. Here’s what “Mr. Martins Logan Scott” from Nigeria wrote me. Then I’ll show you my reply  🙂

—– Original Message —–
From: “Martins Logan Scott” <voldemars@ngn.lv>
Sent: Tuesday, March 7, 2017 4:24:23 AM
Subject: Investment Proposal

Attn: Sir — We have gone through your country’s investment profile and history and we are interested to invest in it, we will be willing to partner with you and invest a substantial amount of money in your company if you have an existing company or we can also partner with you to set up a new one, provided you have a substantial and complete feasibility study and a well prepared business plan on the business/company you wil need us to partner with you.

Our group is a major player in investment in the middle east, Africa and the United States of America, we believe in pursuing a positive goal, in which your ideas can be enhanced potentially for mutual benefit.

As we seek new frontier and opportunities, we look forward to partner with you. Your prompt reply will be most welcome.

Best regards — Martins Logan Scott — martin.loganscott@gmail.com

—– Original Reply —–
From: “Garry Rodgers” <garry.rodgers@shaw.ca>
Sent: Tuesday, March 7, 2017 7:48:09 AM
Subject: Investment Proposal

Good day Mr. Logan Scott,

Thank you for your investment interest. I trust this reply finds you well and in accordance with the situation.

I appreciate your due diligence in appraising my investment profile and history. That is the primary mark of a careful and prudent investor as I’m sure you and the major players in your group are.

Your unsolicited offer comes at a timely stage in a current venture I’m working on.  I was planning to release investment offerings by-invitation-only prior to a NYSE IPO. However, I’m open to prioritizing your group’s investment of a substantial amount of money during my project’s Research & Development (R&D) stage. Therefore, I’d be pleased to accommodate you and your esteemed business associates in safely appropriating your funds.

With an understanding of your agreement to confidentiality, my project involves a revised form of hyper-velocity, multi-directional transportation. The concept for analogous movement between distant portals, both historic and forthcoming, is nothing new. Space-time dilation based on the Einstein-Rosen bridge theory has been conceptualized for decades. Practical application of Faster-Than-Light (FTL) amplification was bottlenecked due to tachyon condensation which restricted Portal Entrance and Exit (PEE), but there’s now a clear and unique opportunity for a massive breakthrough.

I’m sure you’re familiar with the 1985 works of Dr. Emmett Brown and his DeLorean model. Unfortunately, it’s been three decades since Doc vanished in a timely experiment. Although I patiently await his return, progress must move forward. With this, I’ve acquired Doc’s patent rights to the Flux Capacitor (FC) – the propulsion device central to warping the Space-Time Continuum (STC). Early technology restricted FC Input/Output (I/O) to 1.21 jigawatts, however… I’ve found a method of quadrupling I/O to 4.84 jigawatts, theoretically making the trip four times faster.

An additional advancement is planned in STC vehicle adaptation. The initial Entry/Reentry Velocity (ERV) difficulties experienced by the DeLorean vehicle proved dangerous. It’s now identified the angular, gull-wing profile created a Disturbance-In-The-Force (DITF). Evolving trials using a rounded VW Beetle prototype was thought to calm FTL/STC/PEE/DITF/ERV vibration – also known as Tolman’s paradox. Quickly, I learned the bulky Punch-Buggie (PB) approach brought no returns and I took a hit.

Compounding the situation is the original 1.21 jigawatt FC only required an 88 mph ERV. With a four-times capacity 4.84 jigawatt FC, it’s boosted the ERV to 352 mph. I realized… Great Scott! That’s a lot of ground speed. Fortunately, I’ve identified the new Aston Martin AM RB-001 Valkyrie as the perfect design. Now—here’s where you come in.

As you know, the Valkyrie is a highly advanced work of technology and produced in 25 unit allotments. I’ve placed an order for one Valkyrie to be refitted as a PEE vehicle, however, the Aston Martin Corporation requires pre-payment in full. With your timely offer of substantial investment capital, in return, I’m offering you the exclusive opportunity to fund my Valkyrie acquisition as the PEE vehicle of choice. It’s noble you believe in pursuing a positive goal and ideas than can be enhanced potentially for our mutual benefit.

Appreciatively, I’m accepting your group’s investment of $3.12 million USD. This covers the Valkyrie purchase, shipping, and handling. Please make an immediate monetary transfer via Western Union for deposit into my account #6105-883-464-0901 at Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada. In lieu of cash, your direct purchase of the AM RB-001 PEE Valkyrie can be delivered to my Vancouver Island R&D facility.

Thank you for your generous offer, Mr. Logan Scott. Once my project is operational, I confidently assure your investment will be returned to you, along with accrued interest, to any point you prescribe in time. Your prompt reply will be most welcome.

I remain, sir, humbly indebted.

Garry Rodgers

It’s now Saturday morning. I’ve yet to hear from Mr. Martins Logan Scott but I trust he’ll be back in the future.