This blog is inspired by a life changing book I read recently called: 4000 weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman.
Together, we’re going to confront mortality, and discuss which life activities will bring us the greatest return in value. And I hope you take what I share and incorporate these ideas into a strategy for your life. To kick things off, I’m assuming most of us have a budget or an understanding of where our money has gone. Do you have a similar idea for how your time is being spent?
I’d like to introduce an idea for an app that tracks where your life force is being spent and I’m trademarking this idea and you’re all my legal witness for Mortality LLC. If I received a weekly notification for Jake Bardsley, it would probably show a graph:
- 25% sleep 😴
- 6% in traffic (average person spends 5 years in traffic and lines) 🚗
- 33% working 🔨
- 18% entertainment 📺
- 4% Gym 💪
These hypothetical numbers don’t hold a lot of weight, unless you have an understanding that time is finite. So, we’re going to calculate how much time we have to be alive, and once we have a projection of how much time each of us has left, I’m going to provide 3 informed and statistically proven ideas for getting the most value out of it.
Let’s do this together, and I’ll use myself as the guinea pig.
Calculating Your Mortality death ☠️
According to the CDC the average lifespan of a person today is 76 years. If you convert that into weeks it equals roughly 4,000.
To calculate your mortality…
- Calculate the # of weeks you’ve been alive.
- Subtract that # from 4000.
- To find the percentage divide the 4000 weeks by the number of weeks you’ve been alive.
- Next multiply that decimal by 100 and you’ve got your percentages.
Here are my mortality calculations and summary:
I’ve used ~42 of my life, and I have an estimated ~60% left.
I have 2330 weeks left to live if I’m average.
These numbers make me anxious but grateful. I’m almost at 50%, at that point I’ll probably have a midlife crisis, make some silly decisions, buy a motorcycle, or get a “Mom” tattoo across my chest.
Productive Anxiety: Making Anxiety Work For You
The label I’d use for what one feels when they’re reminded of their mortality is “productive anxiety.” A less macabre example of productive anxiety would be an approaching deadline on a project. You know you’ve got to be efficient and meaningful with your time. That same principle applies when you realize that each day of your life is like a shortening time frame on a project, but this project is your life!
I’m not trying to give anyone anxiety. On the contrary I want to make YOU very aware of how much time you have estimated live, so you don’t squander it. Each of us has been given a gift of approximately 4 thousand weeks of life. The question is, where does that time get the most value?
Investing Time for the Greatest Returns
There was a case study done in a book called “The Regrets of the Dying: A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing.” The author recorded the life regrets of patients on their deathbeds. The most common answers were that people wish they spent more time with loved ones, that they had lived more authentically, and had a greater work life balance. That’s where our time gets the most value. These are:
- Prioritizing Relationships 💕
- Living Authentically 🧠
- Work Life ⚖️
Let’s break this down together.
Prioritizing Relationships
Prioritizing relationships takes effort. Rick Warren said, “
You may think that love is spelled L-O-V-E. But a better way to spell love is this: T-I-M-E.” 🕰️
Maintaining relationships with friends, family, or even having the courage to create new ones is one of the keys to happiness and having a healthy life. Healthy relationships lead to increased happiness and longevity, has a positive effect comparable to quitting smoking. Human beings are naturally social creatures. We need companionship, emotional support, connections, and a sense of belonging.
Healthy relationships lead to increased happiness and longevity, has a positive effect comparable to quitting smoking. I challenge each of you to find opportunities to cultivate a positive social connection. Join a club, go to church, ask the cashier at Publix how their day is going. Spend time with people who bring you joy and make you better. If you find yourself with energy vampires, run away or draw boundaries. Remember Vampires don’t go where they’re not invited.
Living Authentically
Living authentically means expressing ourselves and having the courage to be yourself. To live authentically we have to be able to learn how to appropriately express our feelings. You can do this with a friend, family member, spouse, a therapist, or journal! It leads to stress reduction, stronger immune systems, relationship satisfaction, and overall well-being.
Living authentically means having the courage to be yourself. Living authentically means having the courage to be yourself. Take risks, take care of yourself first, pursue your interests. There’s no one else like you, you’re the hero of your story. Be an inspiration to those around you. Have self-respect and accept what makes you unique.
Work Life Balance
Do you know anyone on their deathbed that wished they had spent more time at the office? Long working hours have been associated with increased risk of health issues such as cardiovascular disease, depression, and anxiety. Work life balance doesn’t have to just be time spent in the office or at the computer. If your work makes you so miserable or stressed that it’s always occupying your mind, that’s a sign that there needs to be a change. It will affect you, and you most likely will pay for it later in life so you may be saving money doing something for suitable to your unique talents and passion.
Look out for yourself, have boundaries, and have a separation of work and your personal life.
Conclusion
After you’ve calculated your mortality, manage and budget your time! And please do so with more care than you do with your finances.
In summary, where you’ll get the most value, is:
- Prioritizing Relationships
- Living Authentically
- Work Life Balance
Thank you for humoring me today as we confront our mortality. In closing, I’d like to share words from the great Miami poet himself, Pitbull. At birth we were like a car driving out of the dealership. We immediately began to depreciate, so let’s enjoy the ride. And when death pulls up next to us and smiles, the best thing we can do is smile back.
“Every day above ground is a great day.” ⛅️
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