Improvements.

That is the name of the game. I recently read an article defining life as a video game (great metaphor). The main focus of the piece described time allotment and the division of time as having the utmost importance. Each person actively chooses how they will spend their day. Such a novel idea, right?

24 hours in a day, 168 hours in a week, 672 hours in a month [roughly], and 8,760 hours in a year. Whew! I can do math.

Now, onto the point [possibly]. With all of this math, we should not solely sum up the total amount of time we are given. Though, it is important to realize that we should not take this time for granted. It has been GRANTED to us. For whatever reason. Whether by God’s will, the gods, Mother Nature, or nothing—whatever you believe, the fact remains: we have time. So, we should get busy livin’ or get busy dyin’. [Shawshank, anyone?]

Moving on: let’s start subtracting time. On average (a loosely defined average based on 6 to 8 hours of sleep each night), we will sleep away 2,190 to 2,920 hours each year! That’s not taking into account insomnia, an overreacting imagination, all-nighters, and the like. If you aren’t getting your full nights sleep, go talk to a doctor or start doing your own math...

Now, after we’ve taken all of that out, let’s assume we are working or going to school as well. Average work week is 30 - 40 hours a week, so let’s go with 35 hours a week. This is LOW for most people, especially if you have multiple jobs or just one job that has taken over your life. Love it or leave it, we all gotta work. So, we've taken another 1,820 hours away from each year. Even if you find your work fulfilling and uplifting, your life’s work is literally eating away at the time you've been given. 

Okay, that’s enough of mathematics for now. What are we left with? 4,020 hours or 167.5 days or about 45.89% of our year left. Plenty of time to circumnavigate the world only using technology from the 19th century—in fact, you could circumnavigate the world twice with trusty (or not so trusty) Passepartout and still have a week left over for that holiday in Rome that you’ve been planning. 

So, what have I been doing with all of that extra time. To be fair, some of those hours are chiseled away in the preparation and consumption of food, commuting, and other mundane/obligatory acts of la vie quotidienne. I’m still left with a bushel of hours—plenty for a pie or two. 

And some hours, I do just that: I look up recipes (the latest: croissants and pain au chocolat), and I bake. Oh what a joyous occasion. And other hours are spent in front of my early 20th century Wurlitzer, I’ve mastered a most basic Clair de Lune, a simplified rendition of Nearer My God To Thee, and a somewhat tricky arrangement of Greensleeves. However, most (if not all) of the extra hours of my life are spent in a mindless stupor, a state that is supported by my endless desire to procrastinate. 

Procrastination could outline an entire book with me. My favorite thing to say on the subject is, “Procrastination is an art form.” Such an art takes on many different forms and media: Netflix, house cleaning, computer games, social networks, StumbleUpon, my piano, and sometimes even baking. The article that I mentioned before said this was common. We replace the hard tasks or the less “enjoyable” tasks with something easy and immediately rewarding (even if the croissants took two, possibly three, days to complete…). 

In my struggle to come to a point, let’s just say that I’m trying harder to have a point. Not solely a point to my existence, but something to affirm my existence. I know that I’m here, I know that I can’t be anywhere else, and I know that no matter how hard I try, I’m still me. In the end, if I can’t be somebody else, then I might as well try to be the best me I’ve ever been. 

Here’s to improvements. *raises glass* *clink* Cheers! 

Note: If you're interested in reading the article I mentioned a few times, here is the link.