- Report this article
Laura Vanderkam
Laura Vanderkam
Writer, Author, Speaker, and Podcaster
Published Oct 30, 2023
+ Follow
I strive to be efficient. I’m sure you do too. There’s something beautiful about a schedule where the work projects get done on time, the chores and errands happen expeditiously, family time and hobbies fit in, and there is still enough time for sleep.
That said, I’ve seen thousands of schedules in my years of studying time management, and I’ve never seen a week where all 168 hours were devoted to top priority matters. It just doesn’t happen. And that’s OK. Indeed, consciously wasting a little bit of time can even make you feel like the time equivalent of rich.
I’ve been thinking of this lately as a few things have changed in my life. First, my youngest child is getting older (as children do!) and he no longer needs quite so close supervision. He also now goes to a sitter’s house during the day for a few Saturdays a month. A key reason for this was so we could manage the older kids’ activities without carting him everywhere, but a side effect is that it makes Saturdays feel more relaxed.
At first, I felt pressure to use every open minute of this toddler-free weekend time very well. I would go to art museums and symphony matinees! I would do elaborate workouts and read multiple chapters in important books!
I do some of that. But when I truly absorbed that this was happening multiple Saturdays per month, and that I could sometimes read or sit on the hammock with the little guy around, I realized it was also OK to just chill. If a weekend wasn’t perfectly edifying, it was OK. There would be another weekend soon enough.
Now that’s not an excuse for total laziness, but as part of this reckoning I remembered that I also do spend a lot of time on my top priorities. I seem to be reasonably productive professionally. The household runs well. I do most of the things on my seasonal fun lists. It’s OK to waste a little time.
A generally smart schedule is the time equivalent of maxing out your retirement accounts and spending a low percentage of your income on set costs like housing. If you do those things, it’s OK to not watch every penny. Indeed, it can be quite fun to be a little profligate. Personally, I like going to the grocery store and buying the red peppers. They’re always more expensive than the green peppers, so I get a little thrill from feeling flush enough to spend the big bucks on vegetables.
Likewise, it’s OK not to watch every minute. If you are confident that the bulk of your time is spent on the good stuff, then you can scroll for a bit or stare at the ceiling. Indeed, such time profligacy just might make you feel flush. I have so much time I can even waste a little! Given that time is our most valuable resource, that’s not a bad mindset at all.
Help improve contributions
Mark contributions as unhelpful if you find them irrelevant or not valuable to the article. This feedback is private to you and won’t be shared publicly.
Contribution hidden for you
This feedback is never shared publicly, we’ll use it to show better contributions to everyone.
Like
Celebrate
Support
Love
Insightful
Funny
7
1 Comment
Sebastian Bates
Founder at The Warrior Academy & The Bates Foundation | Operating across 7 countries in 4 continents | Sponsoring 4,000+ Orphans & Street Kids | Award Winning Entrepreneur | 2x Best Selling Author
8mo
- Report this comment
Absolutely, sometimes a little time extravagance can lead to the best moments!
1Reaction
To view or add a comment, sign in
More articles by this author
No more previous content
- This is when you get stronger Jul 5, 2024
- Best of Both Worlds podcast: The best career advice and much more with Jessi Hempel Jul 3, 2024
- Yesterday is every day Jul 2, 2024
- You can go a long ways in a weekend Jul 1, 2024
- Embrace temporary habits Jun 28, 2024
- Best of Both Worlds podcast: Mid-year check in, 2024 Jun 26, 2024
- Remember a childhood summer Jun 25, 2024
- Observations from a few weeks off social media Jun 24, 2024
- Wait for a pitch you like Jun 21, 2024
- Summer struggles — bedtime, bathing suits, bugs, and beyond… Jun 19, 2024
No more next content
Sign in
Stay updated on your professional world
Sign in
By clicking Continue to join or sign in, you agree to LinkedIn’s User Agreement, Privacy Policy, and Cookie Policy.
New to LinkedIn? Join now
Insights from the community
- Strategy What do you do if your work-life balance is slipping away in late career and retirement?
- Team Building What do you do if you're a late career professional struggling to balance work and retirement preparation?
- Executive Coaching Here's how you can transition to part-time work after retiring as an executive in late career.
- Product Design What do you do if your health and wellness decline after retiring from product design?
- HR Consulting Here's how you can make the decision to retire or continue working as an HR Consulting professional.
- Senior Stakeholder Management What do you do if your late career and retirement are overshadowed by work-life imbalance?
- Stress Management You're retired and feeling stressed. What can you do to relax?
Others also viewed
- The future of work is....to take breaks throughout your career Peter Cosgrove 7y
- Work Early - Retire Early - Live Happy - Live Long. John Wilfred Gnanaraj 8y
- What I Don’t Miss Larry Moneta 2y
- On Leisure and Work: In Support of Philosophy George Lorenzo 7y
- Get back to work! Working past 'retirement age' is beneficial Sean McDermott 7y
- Financial Experiments in Quarantine Elena Peerson, MBA, C(k)P, CPFA 4y
- 4 ways to enjoy a healthy, happy retirement Lee Ann O. 6y
- Work Life Goal Analytics Tariq Chauhan 6y
- Your Retiree Routine Carroll W. "Bill" Hayes 4y
- The 'Destination Happiness' balance Tanya O'Shea 6mo
Explore topics
- Sales
- Marketing
- Business Administration
- HR Management
- Content Management
- Engineering
- Soft Skills
- See All