Our lives are governed by time, whether we like it or not. No matter how much we despise the notion, our time is constantly trickling away; acknowledging this and allocating our time with intention is key to long-term happiness and productivity. The ancient Stoic philosopher, Seneca, was an excellent thinker. His ideas surrounding time management and procrastination are still very relevant today, although they are seldom applied. Applying Seneca’s 6 lessons on time management can yield excellent results for how effectively our time is used and can actually make us happier at the same time.
Lessons From Seneca
1. We Waste Too Much Time
It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it. Life is long enough, and a sufficiently generous amount has been given to us for the highest achievements if it were all well invested. But when it is wasted in heedless luxury and spent on no good activity, we are forced at last by death’s final constraint to realize that it has passed away before we knew it was passing. So it is: we are not given a short life but we make it short, and we are not ill-supplied but wasteful of it… Life is long if you know how to use it
– Seneca, On the Shortness of Life
Seneca was a contrarian to modern-day thinking despite the fact he died almost two thousand years ago. “Life is short” is a frequently uttered phrase in our society; this phrase is a generally accepted belief, and it is fair to understand why. It seems like chapters of our lives speed past us at unbelievable rates. How well do you fully remember your childhood? How about your experiences in high school? What about college? Even the experience of raising your children seems to have gone by in a blink. It appears reasonable to say “life is short” when all of these experiences exist within a few snapshots inside your memory. However, Seneca argues this point. “It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it”.
The reason life feels so short, Seneca argues, is that we spend too much of our attention on things that do not matter. Do you recall the last time you were working on a demanding project, and you continued to get distracted? How about the last time you binged a Netflix show? When was the last time you worked on a goal with zero distractions (no phone, email, or anything that demands your attention)? These distractions, as satisfying and comfortable as they are, are big time wasters.
Think about how often you check your phone. According to eMarketer, the average U.S. adult spends about three hours and fifty-four minutes on their phone every day in 2021. That equates to almost sixty days per year. Even scarier, starting at 18 and assuming that this pace continues for the rest of our lives (despite this number increasing every year), that equates to a decade of our lives spent on our phone. Obviously, life will seem shorter if we cut off a decade of our lives to mindlessly scroll! Granted, it is unlikely we will use smartphones for the rest of our lives, so one could argue that this number is unrealistic. Clearly, the newest technology will continue to be released until we die. But this likely means that the devices being produced will become even more addictive. Still, the decade of distraction is exclusively from our phones. There are even more distractions we submit to every day! This is a warning; reduce the time you spend on distractions. Of course, this is not exclusive to phones. Reduce the time you spend on anything that does not directly benefit any area of your life. For the majority of society, this includes phones, email, and entertainment. It is not necessary to stay up to date on news or ‘essential’ emails every hour of the day, despite what far too many people believe.
It is extremely apparent that we give too much of our time to these unnecessary and unfulfilling activities. Seneca was arguing this point two-thousand years ago, it is time to put his wise words into practice. If we stop wasting our time so frequently, we have the ability to reap all of the benefits life has to offer.
2. Memento Mori
You live as if you were destined to live forever, no thought of your frailty ever enters your head, of how much time has already gone by you take no heed. You squander time as if you drew from a full and abundant supply, though all the while that day which you bestow on some person or thing is perhaps your last.
– Seneca, On the Shortness of Life
As previously stated, our time is limited. We often forget how limited it actually is. Seneca states that death should be contemplated often because “you live as if you were destined to live forever”. Thinking about your eventual death, as morbid as it may sound, can actually greatly improve your life. Living blindly and disregarding the future is not only a sign of blissful ignorance, but it is rather irresponsible.
We, as impressionable and goal-driven humans, have virtually infinite potential. Although, there is a time limit to when this potential can be fulfilled. Being conscious of this time limit is essential to fulfilling your maximum potential. Seneca once said, “Let us prepare our minds as if we’d come to the very end of life. Let us postpone nothing. Let us balance life’s books each day. … The one who puts the finishing touches on their life each day is never short of time,” This concept, Memento Mori, actually eases the mind after seeding it in your conscience. Living each day is if it were your last is a beautiful idea, one we should all strive to achieve.
In fact, Steve Jobs practiced the concept of Memento Mori every day. If you would like a more detailed description of his morning routine and advice to make your own, see our article on Morning Routines). Every morning, Jobs would look in the mirror and ask himself, “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” If the answer was ‘No’ too many times in a row, Jobs would change something in his life. This was an excellent routine, it worked beautifully for Jobs.
Consider implementing something similar in your life. Make a habit of practising the philosophic idea of Memento Mori. Despite the surface-level negativity of the idea, there is an underlying wealth of wisdom and happiness once you practice this idea. With enough practice, you will begin to capitalize on the time you have. Your time will be prioritized excellently, with focus and intention.
3. Premeditatio Malorum
Set aside a certain number of days, during which you shall be content with the scantiest and cheapest fare, with coarse and rough dress, saying to yourself the while: ‘Is this the condition that I feared?’
– Seneca
Seneca, along with many other Stoic philosophers, do not hide away in fear. Seneca suggested staring your fears down, not to hide away from them. This practice is known as Premeditatio Malorum which literally means ‘the premeditation of evils’. This concept is also referred to as ‘Negative Visualization’.
Seneca encourages the idea of imagining the worst-case scenario in every aspect of your life. This can include losing your job, losing your house, or even the death of a spouse or loved one. Similar to Memento Mori, this concept will be difficult at first. Nobody wants to think about these horrible thoughts. But, Seneca argues that it will make you more prepared and braced for potential tragedies in your life. Seneca once said, “What is quite unlooked for is more crushing in its effect, and unexpectedness adds to the weight of a disaster. This is a reason for ensuring that nothing ever takes us by surprise. We should project our thoughts ahead of us at every turn and have in mind every possible eventuality instead of only the usual course of events… Rehearse them in your mind: exile, torture, war, shipwreck. All the terms of our human lot should be before our eyes,” Sometimes, the anticipation is the most intimidating component of a potential event. Seneca prompts us to ask the question, “Is this the condition that I feared?” when practising Premeditatio Malorum. You may begin to realize that it might not be as bad as you first thought. It would be unfavourable of course, but probably not the end of the world. Of course, this practice may not apply to every possible scenario, but certainly a surprising majority. Still, visualizing a catastrophe before it occurs can help us prepare, both mentally and physically.
If you were to deeply reflect on the possibility of losing your job, even if it is completely unlikely, it will still make you uneasy. You will probably look at your finances to ensure they are in proper order. And if they are not, you may begin to put them in proper order if such a scenario were to ever take place. Even if you did not materially prepare for such a bad scenario, just the mental preparation can take a significant weight off your shoulders. Rather than defaulting to panic, you are mentally equipped for rational thinking and are able to carefully navigate through the disaster.
Regardless of the scenario, Premeditatio Malorum reduces anxiety and helps you prepare for worst-case scenarios. Asking yourself, “Is this the condition that I feared?” when contemplating these disasters, may spark a realization within yourself; this ‘disaster’ is certainly manageable, and I will be okay. Practising Premeditatio Malorum, these anxieties and mental distractions will be out of your conscience, and you can focus on activities that are the most important in your life. Prioritizing and planning becomes clearer while your focus is sharpened and perfected.
4. Begin Immediately
Lay hold of today’s task, and you will not need to depend so much upon tomorrow’s. While we are postponing, life speeds by. Nothing is ours, except time. We were entrusted by nature with the ownership of this single thing, so fleeting and slippery that anyone who will oust us from possession.
– Seneca, Moral Letters
Procrastination is something every productive person struggles with. Typically, this procrastination is coupled with anxiety that intensifies over time, either until the task is completed or when we give up completely. Although even after the task is completed, the anxiety may still linger. Seneca once stated, “Putting things off is the biggest waste of life: It snatches away each day as it comes and denies us the present by promising the future. The greatest obstacle to living is expectancy, which hangs upon tomorrow and loses today…The whole future lies in uncertainty: Live immediately,” The idea Seneca portrays in this quote is that we are robbing ourselves of our own potential with procrastination. But of course, most people already know this. Seneca adds one small detail to this general idea that ingrains a much deeper value within it. The small detail is, “The greatest obstacle to living is expectancy, which hangs upon tomorrow and loses today,” Seneca argues that through procrastination, we lose a day of our lives. Seneca perceives life as if it had a fixed quantity attached to it, a fixed quantity of ‘days left to be alive’. Delay only crosses off one of those days and accomplishes nothing in the process. So, how can we overcome procrastination? Well, we have several articles detailing many different ways to stop putting off work. A good place to begin is our article on the Pomodoro Technique, followed by Parkinson’s Law. These two articles provide excellent value to your productivity and will greatly improve your time management.
5. Time is Your Most Valuable Resource
People are frugal guarding their personal property; but as soon as it comes to squandering time they are most wasteful of the one thing in which it is right to be stingy
– Seneca, On the Shortness of Life
Similar to the first lesson, Seneca states that we are wasteful of our time; the one asset we have every right to be stingy with. Our money is often perceived as our most valuable asset; it can be converted into anything we desire, so long as we have enough of it. However, time is far more valuable than money. Imagine time as an odd form of currency. Time can be converted into any ability we want to improve or cultivate, any relationship we want to develop or create, and it can even be converted into actual currency! The largest difference between money and time is that we can use our time to get more money. Unfortunately, we seldom have the ability to use our money to get more time.
So, why is it that we guard our money with extreme carefulness, but carelessly misuse our time so frequently? I hypothesize that this imbalance is caused by the greater resistance to use our time effectively than to use our money effectively. Essentially, it is much more difficult to spend two or three hours each night building a side business than it is to simply not spend as much money on unnecessary things.
At the end of each day, we crave relaxation and giving in to laziness. This, of course, is not always bad. Rest and relaxation are important things that should not go ignored unless you are striving for burnout. But too much rest causes laziness, the opposite of what Seneca is trying to teach us in his writings. ‘Too much rest’ varies greatly on the person, but you can likely cut your rest time by 50% or more and not feel mentally drained for quite some time. Furthermore, allocating specific days for rest is far better than doing it every single night. Focusing on where your time is going and truly assessing each activity you engage yourself in may help you notice some time wasters you did not see prior.
6. Know When to Rest
We must go for walks out of doors, so that the mind can be strengthened and invigorated by a clear sky and plenty of fresh air. At times it will acquire fresh energy from a journey by carriage and a change of scene, or from socializing and drinking freely. Occasionally we should even come to the point of intoxication, sinking into drink but not being totally flooded by it; for it does wash away cares, and stirs the mind to its depths, and heals sorrow just as it heals certain diseases.
– Seneca, On the Shortness of Life
After reading the previous lesson, this point may come as a shock. I just said that rest and relaxation could likely be cut by 50% or more every day, and productivity would still remain about equal. This does not mean rest should be ignored. Rather, mindless and wasteful breaks should be avoided.
Mindless and wasteful breaks typically take the form of eating lunch in the same place you work, scrolling on your phone, or checking email and social media. Unfortunately, this is what most peoples’ ‘breaks‘ look like. Daniel Pink, author of When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing praises the ‘vigilance break’. In Pink’s talk at Google, he discusses the vigilance breaks that surgeons, nurses, and anesthesiologists take together before performing the surgery. As Pink stated, they “take a step back – they take a break, look at the checklist, go over everything again“. Pink encourages the audience to ask themselves “am I following the procedures? Am I being as vigilant as possible?“. Further expanding on this idea, Pink explains that “our cognitive abilities don’t stay the same throughout the day.. Our decision-making abilities don’t stay the same throughout the day“. In When, Pink emphasizes the importance of taking breaks when our cognitive abilities naturally falter throughout the day. The best types of breaks include nature walks (even 5 minutes will suffice), moving around (stretching, exercise, etc.), and socializing. These breaks vastly improve our productivity and allow for more productive work hours in the day.
Furthermore, days for active rest rather than idle rest are much better for longer-term relaxation. While the terms ‘active’ and ‘rest’ seem contradictory, they actually recharge the mind quite well. Active rest simply means taking time to be mindful and learn, rather than waste time and watch the clock’s hands turn. Seneca describes idle rest as “leisure without study is death – a tomb for the living person“. Days for rest are very important, but idleness is always something to avoid. Even something as simple as reading, taking a walk in nature (and being mindful of the nature walk), or meditation are all examples of active rest. Put simply, do not spend your weekends wasting away on a couch. I recommend spending your rest days doing something that inhabits about 40-50% of your average cognitive activity during a weekday. Anything more may feel like work and could lead to burnout long-term. Anything less starts to become idle rest, which lowers our ability to maintain our productivity during the weekdays.
Conclusion
Seneca’s ideas are excellent guidelines to abide by when determining how to effectively manage our time. Accepting that we have wasted much of our time in the past is the first step to controlling the rest of it in our future. Furthermore, repeating the mantras ‘Memento Mori’ and ‘Premeditatio Malorum’ remind us that we are not immortal. Our goals do not have an unlimited timespan where they can be completed. Beginning immediately on important and meaningful tasks will benefit you in the present and in the future, as you will feel satisfied that your demanding tasks have been completed and grateful in the future that you demanded the most out of yourself. Our time is one of the most valuable assets in our lives; once we begin treating it as such, our overall life satisfaction will benefit from it. Lastly, taking the time to actively rest is very important for sustainability. Knowing when it is time to take a break from the office and pick up a book is essential for mental recovery and long-term productivity. These lessons from Seneca are 2000-year-old ideas that have worked for millennia. All we have to do is apply them.
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