I think about time a lot. Like a whole lot. There’s so much I want to do in my lifetime. So I worry that, unless I make the most of every minute, I won’t get to everything. This anxiety has made me very susceptible to productivity and hustle culture. The Grustle Monster is, obviously, the embodiment of my anxiety. I have conversations like this with him every day.
But lately, my relationship to time and achievement has been changing. Part of that has been due to several big personal events in the last year. Part of it is due to reading the book 4000 Weeks by Oliver Burkeman. Now I’m trying to think about time as this beautiful, limited resource of unknown quantity. This lovely video from my old boss Ze Frank sums it up nicely.
So do you have a Grustle Monster in your head? How do you deal with him?
Transcript
Panel 1 : Int. Kevin’s Apartment – Day
Kevin lays on his couch, looking at his phone. Behind him, The Grustle Monster stands with his arms crossed.
Grustle Monster
Eight hours for sleep. Eight hours for work. Two hours for meals. One hour for exercise.
Panel 2 : Int. Kevin’s Apartment – Continuous
The Grustle Monster continues.
Grustle Monster
That leaves five hours per day for your side-hustle. You say you don’t have time, but it’s your discipline that’s lacking.
Panel 3 : Int. Kevin’s Apartment – Continuous
Annoyed, Kevin retorts.
Kevin
You forgot: two hours for commute, three hours for family, two hours for bathing and chores…
Panel 4 : Int. Kevin’s Apartment – Continuous
The Grustle Monster does the math.
Grustle Monster
That’s twenty-seven hours per day.
Kevin
So piss off.
Bonus Panel : Int. Kevin’s Apartment – Moments Later
Kevin, still on his couch, still looking at his phone.
Grustle Monster
Where does ‘Scrolling Social Media for Two Hours” fit?
