What are we doing with our lives?

Posted by Ian and Steve on Nov 23, 2011 in Hints and Tips | 0 comments

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Submitted by guest blogger Keith Beechener.

A few days ago I was doing my daily browse through all the usual online suspects (email, social networking, forums) and came across this disturbing statistic.  Facebook’s active users spend 700 billion minutes per month on the site. If we look at Facebook’s own statistics we can work out that every one of their 800 million users spends an average of 875 minutes (about 14.5 hours) on that site each month.  It’s interesting to note that if I hadn’t engaged in social networking online I might not have encountered this fact.

What is even more disturbing is that a short while later, while enjoying some fresh air and strolling in my shopping centre, I spotted a sign in a charity shop window which said ‘We need volunteers’.  That hit me harder than the earlier statistic.  This is a real hard fact of life.  There are charities and people out there who need our time and effort, yet we waste the equivalent of around half a working day each week telling our friends things that will ensure they spend even longer online.

What can we do about it?  Well recently, when moving home, I tried to give away a mattress that was in a good condition.  I used the online environment (www.freecycle.org/) to offer it free to anyone who wanted it.  No takers.  I phoned a local hospice shop who had advertised that they might take this type of thing.  They would only take it if it had no marks on it and had a fire safety tag.  It had a scuff mark along one edge so I failed yet again.  You just can’t give things away.  I did have one small measure of success in the recent move.  I managed to recycle two old guitars to people who were going to learn to play for the first time.

Now that’s music to my ears.

How are you managing your time? (A Useful Guide to Time Management)