Thread by @david_perell

~ New essay ~

This one is more philosophical than normal. It’s about my tormented relationship with time and achievement.

It explores a single question: “How should we spend our time?”

perell.com/blog/dont-kill…

Time is scarce, and once gone, it disappears forever.

We all know these things. And yet, at work and at home, we’re so lost in a trance of distraction that killing time has become a chronic disease.

If you’re okay with killing time, it’s not scarce enough.

Much of modern leisure is slothful.

It’s spent in a state of passive, shoulders-slumped consumption where we inhale processed foods that make us fat, TV shows that numb instead of inspire, and advertisements that create anxieties that only shopping can relieve.

The Greeks saw leisure as a time for learning. In fact, the etymology of “school” comes from the Greek word for leisure, skole.

But the synonymous relationship between school and leisure disappeared in our work-governed, productivity-obsessed world.

If we see time and money as two sides of the same coin, then time spent not making money is wasted.

Thus, our obsession with productivity has the side-effect of demonizing leisure. But only in leisure can we hear the birds chirping or listen to the echoes of the universe.