Well-written blog that combines great quantitative analysis, research, and writing, as always! I've been intently reading every single one of these pieces.
I do have a few counterpoints/corrections to make:
1. (correction) "…so if reading Brainpickings can shave even 5 seconds off your day, then you should be willing to tolerate 12 hours worth of spam." Shouldn't it be 2 hours according to the table? (I do gladly read all of Brainpickings still.)
2. (disagreement) "It’s worth closing by proposing a strategy: you should purchase all of the time-savings that cost less than your hourly wage." The major thing I think this post overlooks is that we usually can't convert time to money whenever we want, as you referenced: "Most of us are working eight hours because that’s the only denomination available!" Your refute is that "In expectation, you earn more when you work more;" my objection to this is that returns on this time are also sharply diminishing—extra compensation in food and Ubers is a benefit worth much less than the hourly wage for the workers who get these benefits, and the company is encouraging this overtime because it benefits *them*, not so much their employees as a group.
I once read a showerthought that "If Bill Gates dropped a $100 bill, it wouldn't be worth his time to pick it up." But, as commenters argued, if he picked it up, he would still be $100 richer: He would have earned the same money anyways; much of our earnings are already fixed "in the background." And so because of this, I can only take about half of the proposals you make. 😅
Keep up the great work! I really love how you can quantify and explain parts of life that seem otherwise routine and immutable.
This article goes into an increasingly rare category of modern writing that is both complex and obviously not written by an LLM (probably 😅).
I immediately subscribed and I look forward to your next piece!
That said, time is indeed fungible but is not the universal currency that is described here. I think you have fallen into the philosopher's trap of saying things that align with your theory (and not a bad theory in my opinion), but if you take a step back and think about it in the context of everyday life, they may start to sound maybe a little bit silly.
An obvious example is when you talk about the value of tax filing apps. Consider the potential cost in hours of making a mistake when filing your taxes. And consider the potential cost in the quality of your free hours while under the stress of being audited by the IRS. I'm talking in the language of hours here, but people don't think like this, and rightfully so (it's needlessly over-complicated). So yes, I would say that your characterization on the ROI of a tax filing app is a bit off the mark.
Furthermore, not everyone prioritizes themselves. Some people prioritize their children's future. This means that chart of green/red activities does not apply to them whatsoever. Instead the utility of every task is measured in perceived value for their child. That perceived value isn't measured using the green/red chart either, it is probably measured in their child's gained skills/experience or future money saved. (Yes each hour is still valuable to them but it's not an obvious dichotomy anymore, a parent probably considers their lifestyle as a holistic effort to raise their child)
Anyways that's my two cents, I didn't take too much time to think about it but I do think these are some important things to consider alongside this (very well written) article.
Thanks for your reply! You make a good point and I don't think I acknowledge it fully. To put it another way, time spent on different activities has externalities outside of how you much you enjoy the time. To give another example, eating out may save time, but also is probably more unhealthy. That might explain why people actually prefer to cook.
Wherever I can, I've tried to correct for this. For food, my calculations are for the same meal, eating out vs. making it at home. Where I haven't, I think the size of the effect is small, or goes in the direction of preferring to save time. For example, it is not only faster to file with tax software, but also less stressful and more accurate, which amplifies the cost-effectiveness. And, it's safer on a per-mile basis to take transit than to walk in an urban setting.
Your point about raising kids is spot-on. The externalities of activities/time-saving devices go a long way to explaining why some forms of time are more expensive. For example, a babysitter probably won't do as good a job as you as taking care of and educating your child. But a professional lawn mower will probably make your greenery look better than you could've achieved. So this objection turns out to be pretty illuminating!
My friend Neeyanth suggests Brick (https://getbrick.app/shop), an expensive but highly potent distraction blocker
Well-written blog that combines great quantitative analysis, research, and writing, as always! I've been intently reading every single one of these pieces.
I do have a few counterpoints/corrections to make:
1. (correction) "…so if reading Brainpickings can shave even 5 seconds off your day, then you should be willing to tolerate 12 hours worth of spam." Shouldn't it be 2 hours according to the table? (I do gladly read all of Brainpickings still.)
2. (disagreement) "It’s worth closing by proposing a strategy: you should purchase all of the time-savings that cost less than your hourly wage." The major thing I think this post overlooks is that we usually can't convert time to money whenever we want, as you referenced: "Most of us are working eight hours because that’s the only denomination available!" Your refute is that "In expectation, you earn more when you work more;" my objection to this is that returns on this time are also sharply diminishing—extra compensation in food and Ubers is a benefit worth much less than the hourly wage for the workers who get these benefits, and the company is encouraging this overtime because it benefits *them*, not so much their employees as a group.
I once read a showerthought that "If Bill Gates dropped a $100 bill, it wouldn't be worth his time to pick it up." But, as commenters argued, if he picked it up, he would still be $100 richer: He would have earned the same money anyways; much of our earnings are already fixed "in the background." And so because of this, I can only take about half of the proposals you make. 😅
Keep up the great work! I really love how you can quantify and explain parts of life that seem otherwise routine and immutable.
This article goes into an increasingly rare category of modern writing that is both complex and obviously not written by an LLM (probably 😅).
I immediately subscribed and I look forward to your next piece!
That said, time is indeed fungible but is not the universal currency that is described here. I think you have fallen into the philosopher's trap of saying things that align with your theory (and not a bad theory in my opinion), but if you take a step back and think about it in the context of everyday life, they may start to sound maybe a little bit silly.
An obvious example is when you talk about the value of tax filing apps. Consider the potential cost in hours of making a mistake when filing your taxes. And consider the potential cost in the quality of your free hours while under the stress of being audited by the IRS. I'm talking in the language of hours here, but people don't think like this, and rightfully so (it's needlessly over-complicated). So yes, I would say that your characterization on the ROI of a tax filing app is a bit off the mark.
Furthermore, not everyone prioritizes themselves. Some people prioritize their children's future. This means that chart of green/red activities does not apply to them whatsoever. Instead the utility of every task is measured in perceived value for their child. That perceived value isn't measured using the green/red chart either, it is probably measured in their child's gained skills/experience or future money saved. (Yes each hour is still valuable to them but it's not an obvious dichotomy anymore, a parent probably considers their lifestyle as a holistic effort to raise their child)
Anyways that's my two cents, I didn't take too much time to think about it but I do think these are some important things to consider alongside this (very well written) article.
Cheers!
Thanks for your reply! You make a good point and I don't think I acknowledge it fully. To put it another way, time spent on different activities has externalities outside of how you much you enjoy the time. To give another example, eating out may save time, but also is probably more unhealthy. That might explain why people actually prefer to cook.
Wherever I can, I've tried to correct for this. For food, my calculations are for the same meal, eating out vs. making it at home. Where I haven't, I think the size of the effect is small, or goes in the direction of preferring to save time. For example, it is not only faster to file with tax software, but also less stressful and more accurate, which amplifies the cost-effectiveness. And, it's safer on a per-mile basis to take transit than to walk in an urban setting.
Your point about raising kids is spot-on. The externalities of activities/time-saving devices go a long way to explaining why some forms of time are more expensive. For example, a babysitter probably won't do as good a job as you as taking care of and educating your child. But a professional lawn mower will probably make your greenery look better than you could've achieved. So this objection turns out to be pretty illuminating!