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How do you find the time to have a life?

Leareth

Leareth

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Nov 11, 2004
1,569
6
Vancouver
I am finding myself with too much to do , and not enough hours in the day to get things done, never mind actually having fun.
Once I am done my daily work, house work , groceries . cooking , cleaning etc. there isnt any time left to go out with friends and do fun stuff. On the weekends I catch up on sleep as well as household tasks that could not get done during week.

So my question to macrumor members: how do you find time in your life to actually have a life beyond work, sleep eat work ?
or is this normal adult working life ?
 
hahahahahahaha

I was just telling my wife (68 years old) that her 24/7 on the computer is stupid while the dust piles up and the bathrooms are getting dirty.

Her response was you haven't talked to me in years since you got your first computer :)

It is truly habit forming to have so much info and fun at your fingertips. I'm sipping wine as I type this listening to the baseball game and checking out the forums.
 
flopticalcube said:
LOL! Just wait until you have kids. I never realized how much free time I had before kids came along until after they did!
Click to expand...

You ain't kidding. Not only do you have to try to find time for your life, but you have to spend time helping them develop a life as well. Very tiring. And wine inducing.
 
Your situation is prefectly normal unfortunately.

I don't have any time at all. That's why the real world sucks. When I was a kid complaining about school my parents always said wait until you see the real world! They were right.

Why do you think so many people play the lottery?

Life is way overrated. I often question whether life is better than no life at all. But I can't answer that.
 
flopticalcube said:
LOL! Just wait until you have kids. I never realized how much free time I had before kids came along until after they did!
Click to expand...

I would have to have the time to find someone to have kids with!


I enjoy my work most of the time. I just realized that I have no hobbies/activities outside of work related stuff.
I still read a lot but most it has been a while since I could sit down and just spend an afternoon reading for fun.
My friends have pretty much narrowed down to the people I work with.
 
The topic title is presumptuous. Who says any of us here have one, whether by choice or not?

And the way you have a life is by combining the mundane with the pleasurable. Do your chores with your loved ones. Have lunch with your coworkers (and talk about things other than work). Listen to music while you work, and cram in some exercise during your breaks. It's all about time management really. Naps help too. :)
 
I hardly see my friends anymore, if I'm lucky, once every 2 months. :(

My fiancee and I have a set schedule every week for our hobbies, it's paid for and it's pretty expensive if we miss it, so we make time to go. We both have 2 jobs, so it's not much time left for other stuff. We work hard now and try to save as much as possible so we can enjoy life after 50.
 
I'm a medical student. We look upon people who claim they have "no life" as pretty amusing.

I work all day, then I study all night. If I don't work hard, or study, I am throwing my $250,000 education in the crapper. I will graduate with a ton of debt just in time to go get a residency and work 80 hour weeks for years on wages that won't even enable me to make payments on that annoying debt.

Have a life? Medicine became my life, every facet of it, and it will remain that way for a few more years. After residency (and arguably after the first year or two), things pan out a bit, and you get more time to yourself. Otherwise, you go nuts thinking about all the things you're missing.

I steal little bits of time here and there to read Internet stuff, catch up, etc. An hour a day, tops.
 
I have the time to have a life, and I STILL have no life. Outside of work, my free time is spent surfing the web, watching TV, eating and sleeping. The most social thing I do is play Modern Warfare 2 in multiplayer mode..

..with strangers.

I'm not kidding. :rolleyes:
 
Xfujinon said:
I'm a medical student. We look upon people who claim they have "no life" as pretty amusing.
Click to expand...

I find the attitude " i'm a medical student, We look upon people who claim they have "no life" as pretty amusing." as pretty patronizing and mocking of those who are not medical students ,
are not able to have one thing be their focus of their life, who have so many things on their plate; juggling family life, work, studies and possible health issues as well, who will not have a well paying job after a few years of tedium/stress.

I posted this thread to see if there were others who felt that their daily life has become a schedule of must-do rather than want-to-do activities.
and how they deal with it. as well to see if I am doing something wrong in my life.
 
Do something you love. Then the rest of the chores of living won't seem nearly as bad. Money isn't everything. Especially when you don't have time to spend it on things you like. And material belongings aren't the goal. Just ask the myriad of people on these forums who saved and waited for some computer/gadget and found it lacking in some way.
 
Leareth said:
I am finding myself with too much to do...
Click to expand...
FWIW, you must learn to prioritize your time.

flopticalcube said:
LOL! Just wait until you have kids. I never realized how much free time I had before kids came along until after they did!
Click to expand...
Snort! :)

Frisco said:
Life is way overrated.
Click to expand...
Baloney.

Life is precious -- make the most out of it.

Leareth said:
I just realized that I have no hobbies/activities outside of work related stuff.
Click to expand...
Generally speaking, this is not a healthy way to live.

Leareth said:
My friends have pretty much narrowed down to the people I work with.
Click to expand...
Try to find some interest (hobby/sport/activity) outside of work where you can meet others.

I would venture to say that few individuals have free time. We all fill up our days with the tasks at hand. It's all about priorities. What is important to each of us. For example, take posting on MacRumors. Let's say that it takes a member an average of 10 minutes (reading & writing) to make a post and that member has 1,000 posts. That means that they've been on Mac Rumors for 10,000 minutes, or 166-2/3 hours or almost 7 days (24/7).

The key is to fill up your time with the most important activities first. The rest of your time will be filled up with everything else. :)
 
Xfujinon said:
I'm a medical student. We look upon people who claim they have "no life" as pretty amusing.

I work all day, then I study all night. If I don't work hard, or study, I am throwing my $250,000 education in the crapper. I will graduate with a ton of debt just in time to go get a residency and work 80 hour weeks for years on wages that won't even enable me to make payments on that annoying debt.

Have a life? Medicine became my life, every facet of it, and it will remain that way for a few more years. After residency (and arguably after the first year or two), things pan out a bit, and you get more time to yourself. Otherwise, you go nuts thinking about all the things you're missing.

I steal little bits of time here and there to read Internet stuff, catch up, etc. An hour a day, tops.
Click to expand...

You make my future career sound so terrible.

I think this thread has misinterpreted "life" with a more general "things I find enjoyable." If you don't think you have a life, then you may be living the wrong one. Time to start doing what you want to do, instead of what you just ended up doing.
 
cleanup said:
You make my future career sound so terrible.

I think this thread has misinterpreted "life" with a more general "things I find enjoyable." If you don't think you have a life, then you may be living the wrong one. Time to start doing what you want to do, instead of what you just ended up doing.
Click to expand...


That's the thing, it ISN'T terrible in the long run, it's just that the short run is years long, and often involves lots of thankless drudgery. All of it is beneficial in the end, but tell that to the person in the coal mines 15 hours a day.

I love what I do, but by necessity it does not leave much time for peripheral involvements at this juncture. My wife and I spend time together, just not as much as we would like.

I'm sorry if my post came out patronizing or snarky, it was not meant to be. Perspective is important in all things, I guess I have become somewhat grizzled listening to how much everyone else is busy, or how their life sucks, when in comparison to mine it seems like they're on vacation!

It's true, you should do what you love, and it should be balanced with other interests, obligations, and enjoyments. However, many things in life come at a price, and sometimes you have to pay it up front. I work my ass off now so I can retire comfortably and do whatever I want, whenever I want, thanks to some careful planning now.

I echo someone above's sentiment that real life is a lot less enjoyable than being 10 years old, but then again, I couldn't drink beer, have sex, or shoot guns when I was 10 either, so in comparison I'll just stay the age I am and enjoy it. Life wasn't "better" when I was 10, I just had less crap I was responsible for. We all yearn for that, from time to time.
 
Leareth said:
I just realized that I have no hobbies/activities outside of work related stuff.
Click to expand...

Probably should look into why this is so. Is there no hobby of interest to you that you can fit in your budget and schedule? Are there things you would like to try that you haven't yet?
 
I decided that sleeping is just too wasteful. I used to sleep 8 hours a night but then I realized how ridiculous it was to spend a third of your life asleep. Now I'm just sleep deprived.
 
I have free time outside of work. However, there are more things that I want to do/need to do than I have time for. I often wish days were 34 hours long instead of 24 hours....

I have too many interests and hobbies. But I can't prioritize them since I love them all. :(

If I could get away with working only 3 hours a day, I could spend the rest of my time pursuing the things that make me really happy. If somebody could help me figure out how to achieve this, I would owe you greatly. Work (including commuting) eats up almost half my day.
 
mactastic said:
Probably should look into why this is so. Is there no hobby of interest to you that you can fit in your budget and schedule? Are there things you would like to try that you haven't yet?
Click to expand...

I am a full time student as well as working full time, and doing my own research. Plus during the normal academic year I also TA and RA. not exactly a lot of free time in there.

as for my $ , I have enough to pay for needs to be paid, but I am carrying a $120K debt in student loans that needs paying off.

I do work out a lot just to keep healthy body, so i guess that counts as a hobby :)

As for trying new things I am always up for that. I used to be extremely outdoor sports from snow boarding to sea kayaking to rock climbing. now i just cant find the energy nor time.
 
Leareth said:
I am a full time student as well as working full time, and doing my own research. Plus during the normal academic year I also TA and RA. not exactly a lot of free time in there.

as for my $ , I have enough to pay for needs to be paid, but I am carrying a $120K debt in student loans that needs paying off.

I do work out a lot just to keep healthy body, so i guess that counts as a hobby :)

As for trying new things I am always up for that. I used to be extremely outdoor sports from snow boarding to sea kayaking to rock climbing. now i just cant find the energy nor time.
Click to expand...

Working full time...and being a full time student - I am not surprised that you don't have much/any free time. Did you really expect otherwise? At least you're still finding time to exercise. Once you're out of school, you'll have way more time to dedicate to the pursuit of your hobbies and social activities.
 
I just caught this thread so allow me to respond.

I do think I have a life, just a different one from years ago or even one year ago. Things used to be so much simpler, as in school and hanging out with friends nightly. Now I'm crashing on a couch daily with no place to bring girls back and I hate it. Secretly I'm thinking I'm going insane cause the only place I can sleep with a girl iss in the back seat of my car and don't like it, very high schoolish.

I stopped hanging out with my long time friends cause we had different desires. They drink and smoke every nite and I'm finally transferring to a university.

Here's the thing that keeps me going...

..it could always be worse and right now this very moment there are people out there with real problems such as going hungry or sitting in a hospital lobby room pacing.

Though I do remember of a time when life was sweeter; multiple gf's, pool parties & BBQ's every weekend, trips to Vegas, etc etc....what keeps me going and will keep me going for the next three months is that I know this is only temporary.

That and my little baby brother has the ability to make me forget all my problems just by looking at him and how happy he gets over watching something like Toy Story.
 
Leareth, you've gotta lot on your plate, so I understand where you're coming from. But that said, it *should* get easier. If it doesn't, you're doing it wrong.

I don't claim to know what the hell I'm doing in life, but I've found that at the end of the day you've gotta make the time. I've always thought that I'm a busy guy, but the reality is that much of my down time is spent doing crap on the internet (ahem), or something that really doesn't improve the quality of my life. The time is there. Really. Just change your priorities. Find out what makes you happy and shift your focus towards it.

And hire a maid.
 
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