The Restless Consumer: Caedes Tempus

by Just Ed

They say that time flies, and I guess that’s true — except when it crawls, like a snail, leaving a slime trail of pain behind. They also say life is short, and I suppose it is in the cosmic sense, but who thinks in epochal terms when dealing with free time? Ah, but of course, there’s the rub. What is this “free time” of which you speak; where does it come from and where does it go? What do you do with it, and what do you do when you need more of it, or wish you had less? How do you make your time more productive?

Productive — now there’s a keyword. A Google search for “productivity” yields no fewer than 70 million English-language pages, ranging from Wikipedia expositions of labor productivity to dictionary definitions to business solutions. Entire reference works, countless web sites, and myriad software suites are devoted to getting things done and getting the most out of your time. Doing more with less time, prioritizing your time, maximizing your potential.

Trying to keep up with all of this would no doubt result in the dearth of the very thing one is trying to preserve, free time, and prevent one from doing with one’s time whatever one wishes (like exploring the Internet a little more, or checking back on those RSS feeds just one more time to see if anything new has been posted).

But there are solid guides for those who spend time in front of a computer doing things of slightly more permanence than looking at the latest kitteh videos on YouTube. One of my favorite web sites is Lifehacker, founded by Gina Trapani (who has moved on to her own blog, Smarterware, but still contributes occasionally to Lifehacker). Lifehacker is part of the Gawker Media network and “features tips, shortcuts, and downloads that help you get things done smarter and more efficiently.”

The site updates daily and does not restrict itself to news of software and freeware. It also includes posts on do-it-yourself home craft projects, like “DIY Mood-Lighting Wine Bottle” or “Build a Cheap Free-Standing Bike Repair Stand with Pipes.” A third element is recommendations from readers, such as the recurring “hive five” feature, which gathers and summarizes votes on various topics along with the editors’ take on the topic at hand. There is also a thriving comment community, in which the editors participate. In addition to the “hive five,” commenters frequently suggest alternatives or corrections of the posts.

Growing out of this was Gina Trapani’s book, Upgrade Your Life: The Lifehacker Guide to Working Smarter, Faster, Better. This is geared much more toward software and task management, with 11 chapters ranging from “Control Your Email” to “Organize Your Data” to “Manage Multiple Computers.” In addition to software and hardware, Trapani looks at behavioral suggestions (“Trick Yourself into Getting Done”). As with all technologically oriented publications, some of the suggestions may be a bit dated already (it was published in March 2008), but there is also a wealth of timeless and useful information for the GTD crowd.

So, thus armed, you can sally forth into the world confident in your ability to handle any and all tasks, distractions, jobs, and sundry necessities of life. I know I feel better equipped to do so. And I have so much time, now, time enough at last, all the time I want and all the time I need … Has anybody seen my glasses?