A couple of years ago Patrick McGinnis wrote a book for people working ho-hum, pay-the-rent-type jobs but who weren’t exactly ecstatic with their ho-hum-rent-paying and had dreams of something bigger. McGinnis’ aim was to tell motivated people how they could start living their dream.
He looked at time, pointed out that we all have free time – downtime, thumb-twiddling, idling, worthless and frittering time. He figured that all of us can carve out ten percent of our day because we pretty much waste that on pointless things. 10% he said. Do something with your wasted 10%.
Of course, it was a business book aimed at entrepreneurial-type guys who wanted to be successful and make a bunch of money. But that number caught my attention – 10% seemed like a big number to classify as wastage. Ten percent of a sixteen-hour day is 10% x 960 minutes = 96 minutes. More than an hour and a half every day. Basically wasted.
So…note to MHJ: whatever excuse I use if I fail to read through in 2020 remember: do not use I-didn’t-have-enough-time (at least not if Patrick McGinnis is around).
Notes: Patrick McGinnis The 10% Entrepreneur; Live Your Startup Dream Without Quitting Your Day Job (Portfolio: NY, 2016)