Make Time Go Faster By Creating, Not Consuming

[WokeTortoise]

All the time, we are waiting for something to happen. We are waiting for our friends to get out of work so we can hang out with them, or we are waiting for the previews to finish so we can enjoy the movie we paid for, or maybe we are just waiting for the day to end so we can get to sleeping and time travel to tomorrow.

What do we do in these restless gaps to pass the time?

If we are diligent, we already scheduled our days, our weeks, so this question has already been answered with planned rest or activity.

If we are social, we might seek out our friends or family by calling them or meeting with them. In the above example of waiting for the movie to start, we may already have a friend around, so we are talking with them.

Or, we might be bold so we exercise our curiosity on strangers, and possibly make new friends.


I think most of us don't do any of that. That is why I have read so many Fastlane Forum posts already, and that is why you are reading this essay.

AMATEUR TIP: Skip to next "Amateur Tip"

This afternoon I had something I was waiting to do. My grandmother was dropped off early this morning to my brother's home to take care of my sick niece while her parent's were working. Usually one of the parent's were home by 2pm, and I was expecting a call to pick my grandmother up when one of the parent's had arrived.

That morning I did my usually thing, which is read a few chapters in a few books, and catch up on watching new videos in my Youtube subscriptions. Today we had a friend come over, so my mother and I went to eat lunch with her.

We returned around 1pm, so to me it wasn't too long before I had to leave. I watched some more videos, read through a few more Fastlane Gold threads, and waited for 2pm to arrive. It did, no call came.

By 2:30pm I got bored and a little frustrated staring at text all day, so I opened up my text editor and started typing whatever came up.

At first I started typing about how much I liked my text editor, Blinky, because I loved the aesthetics and sound effect, although the nostalgia will never affect me since I never lived through those early CRT terminal days. Then I began meditating on how amazing the feeling of lucidity, calmness, and focus felt, which are things I have felt ever since I quit University. Plus, I have been marathoning the Star Wars sage, so I am learning to be more mindful of my thoughts.

Then, I started planning. I made a plan to learn Source Film Maker at the suggestion of my friend. I often feel that I am not skilled at anything, so learning any technology thoroughly will always be an advantage. With SFM, I will learn animation, timing, story telling, and many other things.

Next, I began writing about the programming languages I will learn, going through their advantages, and wondering how in time they will become the tools that allow me to create the things I need, create value for others, and open doors that before were literally unknowable. The languages are Smalltalk (Pharo, Squeak, Cuis, and Amber), Clojure, Haskell, and Lua.

Finally, I started writing about an idea for a website I wanted to build, after I (of course) flesh out my Wordpress and Neocities accounts.

At this time it was 4:40pm when my grandmother called me, and I was still eager to continue fleshing out the function of this website!

I never noticed a single minute that passed me by.

AMATEUR TIP: Resume Here!

What most of us do is pick up a book, or browse new content on our social media account, or simply laze around getting caught comatose in our own thoughts until an external alarm brings us back.

We consume, and if we chose right we revel in a experience born from the glorious machinations from the best of humanity. We may even be so inclined to share this revelation with the people we love, or even with total strangers.

If we chose wrong, we feel that we have wasted our time. We may even take offense and blame the creators for lowering our quality of life, going so far as to attack them and conspire to somehow assassinate their careers, so that they never hurt anyone again!

No.

Everyone is here because we want something more for ourselves and the people we love. We are exasperated with the status quo and the endless ceremonies instituted by academia and corporate entities, spinning the story that we can't have success until we earn every level of degree or certification, or that we must go through our lives climbing ladders in order to reach the top. Also, we don't get to choose were we place those ladders; they have been placed for you.

Essentially, we are here because we are tired of waiting.

This essay is already full of negativity. I won't write anymore explaining why creating is better than consuming.

You already know why. You are just waiting for a clever story to motivate you one more day, or a powerful argument that validates your need to break away from the status quo, one you can tell to the people who don't believe in you.

Fill in those hidden moments with the value you give to others. Bridge the gap with your glorious machinations, and enter the stratus of the best of humanity.

 

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[Leo Hendrix]

Podi, et e Djsotvoep O cimoiwi xi esi nefi op Huf't onehi, xjodj cetodemmz niept xi esi emtu dsievust.

Xi giim gammz emowi epf iphehif xjip xi esi dsievoph, sidipvmz O jewi ciduni vosif ug ipfmitt opqav/siefoph veloph op opgu epf tjogvif gudat up uavqav. Qeam Hsejen xsuvi e huuf ittez up vjot, depv gopf vji qehi pux. Cav ji nipvoupif tunivjoph ecuav huoph cedl vu dsievoph/uavqav et tuup et zua gopotj tuni uvjis vetl us edvowovz. O jewi ciip qsedvodoph vjot et nadj et quttocmi sidipvmz, xovj tuni huuf sitamvt.