Some Frightening, Frightening Math
Let me motivate you with some frightening, frightening math.
If you were hoping to read this before you jumped into bed, let me warn you: you’ll have a hell of a time sleeping tonight.
And if you’re just catching this first thing in the morning, let me assure you: you’ll have no need for coffee once I’m through with you.
My hope is that by sharing some simple math with you, you’re going to be a much more productive and thoughtful person. If you hold these simple facts dear to your heart every day, you’re going to spend a multiple of years – sleep not included – doing the things you love.
Because if you fall into the category of average human being, and you’re, say, 30 years old, then you have likely already spent five years of your life watching TV. Really. (And that’s time spent awake – if you want to factor in sleep, then maybe it’s more like eight years.)
You’ve spent more than 16% of your life watching TV. Just think of all the shitty commercials you’ve had to endure!
Let’s break it down.
There are 365 days in a year. Every day has 24 hours. And thus, there are 8,760 hours in a year.
8,760 hours. You lucky minx. You get those every single year. Aren’t you amazed? And I know what you’re thinking – Well, there’s so many hours, why not spend just one a day watching TV? Or surfing the net? Nothing wrong with it, right?
If you’re like me, then there is something wrong with it.
If you spend just one hour a day doing X (365h), then after 24 years, you’ve spent one entire year doing X. (365h x 24 = 8,760 hours OH SHIIIIT!!)
But the average human doesn’t watch TV for one hour a day. The average watches it for more than four and a half hours. To be generous, I’ll round down to four hours.
Four hours x 365 days = 1,460 hours. 8,760 hours in a year ÷ 1,460 hours = 6 years.
If you’re 30, then you have probably, indeed, spent five years watching TV.
How about I share something a little more horrific?
| 1 hour wasted a day | 365 hours wasted a year | Every 24 years you’ve wasted one year |
| 2 hours wasted a day | 730 hours wasted a year | Every 12 years you’ve wasted one year |
| 3 hours wasted a day | 1,095 hours wasted a year | Every 8 years you’ve wasted one year |
| 4 hours wasted a day | 1,460 hours wasted a year | Every 6 years you’ve wasted one year |
| 5 hours wasted a day | 1,825 hours wasted a year | Every 4.8 years you’ve wasted one year |
| 6 hours wasted a day | 2,190 hours wasted a year | Every 4 years you’ve wasted one year |
| 7 hours wasted a day | 2,555 hours wasted a year | Every 3.42 years you’ve wasted one year |
| 8 hours wasted a day | 2,920 hours wasted a year | Every 3 years you’ve wasted one year |
| 9 hours wasted a day | 3,285 hours wasted a year | Every 2.66 years you’ve wasted one year |
| 10 hours wasted a day | 3,650 hours wasted a year | Every 2.4 years you’ve wasted one year |
| 11 hours wasted a day | 4,015 hours wasted a year | Every 2.18 years you’ve wasted one year |
| 12 hours wasted a day | 4,380 hours wasted a year | Every 2 years you’ve wasted one year |
Pretty scary stuff, right?
Basically, if you’re only spending 30 minutes a day doing something you love, then at the end of 48 years, you can only then say, “Yeah, I spent one full year of my life doing something I loved.”
Some of you may be more than okay with that. If you are okay with that – spending 23 1/2 hours a day doing things that don’t align with your vision of your ideal self – then good on you. Really. But not for one minute do I believe you actually exist.
Do things you want to do. Fill in your free minutes with activities and people you enjoy. (Except for Minecraft. Please no Minecraft. I know it’s an awesome game [I play it, too], but wouldn’t you rather craft your own life, instead?) And if you can’t justify to yourself that spending a year of your life watching re-runs of a show you don’t actually love is a good use of your time, then welcome to the point of this site. I’m happy to have you here.
A few years ago, I posted a video on Youtube about learning Japanese. Much of the statistics from this post are contained in this little gem (by gem, I mean an authentic documentation of my rapidly-fading English syntax and vocabulary):
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