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Seneca pointed out that people tend to be reflexively stingy with their money, but almost comically wasteful with their time. There are at least two ways to take this. One is that Seneca thought he used his time better than you and I do, and maybe he did. Another interpretation is that everyday life, for most people, is an untapped […]
2 weeks ago

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More from Raptitude.com

What’s Taking Up Your Mental Bandwidth Right Now?

Just as your eyeballs are, your mind is always pointed at something, and it matters what it is. If you spent most of your day preoccupied with thoughts about a past failed relationship, for example, that makes for a different kind of day than one in which you’re preoccupied with solving a computer programming problem. Your mood, your actions, and […]

a week ago 10 votes
The Tiniest Mission

Sometimes doing a small thing can be extremely satisfying, out of all proportion to how easy it is: placing a jigsaw puzzle piece into the right slot, wiping your phone screen spotless, returning a tool to its designated hook, or making a nice diagonal cut across a lovingly-made sandwich. This simple kind of satisfaction seems to come haphazardly. Much of […]

a month ago 30 votes
How to Avoid Getting Lost in Thought

Say you’re walking through Death Valley, trying to find your way back to the highway. Luckily you’ve got a good paper map. As you walk, you scan the territory around you for landmarks. You see some large-scale details: hills, rock formations, and gullies. Also some minute ones: pebbles, gangly plants, trails through the dust where snakes have been. These smaller […]

a month ago 61 votes
How It Seems vs How It Is

The other day I replaced an old, cracked mirror in my bathroom. When I took the existing one down, suddenly the room seemed to lose half its size. Turns out it’s just a claustrophobic little room with a toilet, sink, and tub. The sense that there’s open space in front of me while I brush my teeth is an illusion, […]

2 months ago 27 votes

More in life

Introducing: Slos

This is not a joke.

14 hours ago 4 votes
Blog questions challenge

I’m answering questions in the blog questions challenge!

12 hours ago 3 votes
widening the spectrum of future possibilities

I used to really dislike washing dishes. I would leave them in the sink, and they would feel overwhelming when I finally had to do them at the end of the day....

yesterday 5 votes
The Music Business is Healthy Again? Really?

I express deep skepticism

2 days ago 2 votes
The End of Cheap Progressive Signalling

And Why That Might Be a Good Thing For Progressive Causes

2 days ago 4 votes