Time Spent

I don’t particularly enjoy the process of making a podcast: there are elements of it I find fulfilling and this process allows me to produce things I want to see in the world, while also contributing to my livelihood.

But if there were a button I could push that would allow me to convert all the things I want to convey, automagically, into a well-made podcast episode, I would push that button immediately—the outcome of investing that time and effort is what I’m after, not the spending of the time and effort itself.

In other cases, though, the spending is the point.

There are quick, casual ways of making coffee that I’ve experimented with, but I’ve (thus far) always gone back to using a little hand-grinder (with a one-cup capacity) and an AeroPress.

This process takes something like 5-10 minutes, all told, and I like it! I miss it when it’s not there; using those minutes in that way imbues the act with additional meaning and a visceral satisfaction I don’t benefit from when I (in some cases literally) push a button to receive a coffee.

I try to ensure there are little activities of the non-button-pushing kind scattered throughout my day, as striking a balance between outcome-oriented tasks and endeavors in which I languidly, leisurely indulge seems to help me maintain a sustainable pace.

This approach, in my mind at least, is similar to deciding to strengthen and maintain not just one’s muscles, but also one’s tendons, ligaments, connective tissues, and all other aspects of the body: it’s considering and attempting to establish equilibrium across the whole of the system, rather than just wailing on the biceps of life.

It’s possible to get really good at whittling one’s responsibilities down to the bare-minimum in terms of time and effort commitment, and it can be satisfying to figure out and apply efficiencies to the button-pushing elements of our days.

But it’s also important to be capable of embracing and enjoying things that are their own purpose, psychologically sprawling and basking in their raw, grotesque inefficiency, lest we find ourselves (on the other side of all our optimization efforts) with liberated time we don’t know how to spend.

If you found value in this essay, consider buying me a coffee :)





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