The optimized person
I saw a short video online the other day depicting a husband and wife duo and their day in the life. Here's what the husband's day look like:
The husband wakes up incredibly early, something obscene around 3:15am. He starts off with a coffee, starts preparing meals for his family, films and does a workout, before preparing breakfast/coffee for his wife. He then goes about his day to feed his farm animals, does chores and house work until 3pm in the afternoon. This guy has been up for 12 hours now before he starts to unwind and do archery, go to the sauna. Not sure what happens after the sauna, but I assume something like a dinner before going to bed at 8pm.
Generally speaking, I don't think day in the life of videos are representative of how people live. I think it's a highlight reel, that doesn't show all the boring stuff like washing dishes, paying bills or arguments between couples. Maybe none of it was real, or maybe that's genuinely how most days look like for him.
I must admit, I was beyond impressed after watching this video. I thought to myself, wow, if this person could wake up this early everyday and do all that, he must be incredibly disciplined and capable of doing anything. I wish I was this badass and woke up early to workout, before going about and maximizing my day. Carpe diem. I unconsciously wanted to be like this guy without noticing it.
As my day went on, the more I thought the video was strange and something was weird. Why in the world would I want to optimize the hell out of my day like the guy in the video? Some how, waking up at 3 something in the morning (even if it was 5am) is admired and or even perceived as remotely normal? How did we arrive in the 21st century and think it's fine to cram our schedules full, so that each hour and each minute of our day is "un-wasted"?
It dawned on me that I've been conditioned to make the most of my day and my waking hours, and that I should never waste any time. Have you ever heard of sayings like "time is money" or something about "time is finite"? How did we normalize the "rise and grind" culture?
As a species and civilization, we have invented and created technologies to better our lives for more leisure. Yet somehow, we have less time to relax and to sit alone with our thoughts (I speak for myself, but I am sure most of you out there will agree). I am trying to cram everything into each day, instead of just doing a few things well at a slow, breathable pace.
Not sure what the answer is. Deep down, I still want to be that person who wakes up early and does something interesting with his life. At the same time, I'd love to enjoy my mornings and just have a cup of coffee in peace, or take a nap without feeling guilty that I didn't "accomplish something".