IIt was the sixth time I washed my hands that day. My red raw wrists were stabbed as I drove away the towel, protesting against the dry winters of friction and New York bones. It’s no joke that you’re a dog owner (poop exposure twice a day) during peak respiratory illness season (a stranger who coughs you).
I have thought of how life is a process of washing, eating, rest, and poop, exercise and looping, and forever, how important and unskipped tasks life is.
Some versions of this boring version will steadily throw for all of us. “A quiet monologue is constantly running through my head. I wrote Rachel Sugar in the Atlantic last month. “It’s not just cooking that tires me out, it’s just meal planning, grocery shopping, and even while I’m sitting in my fridge. It’s a farm product that runs around.”
That day, my friend texted me about a personal retention throw. “I’m now putting basic things like ‘applying night cream’ on my daily to-do list,” one said.
“For some reason, filling my humidifier is what makes me really mad. I have a clever and precious life in the humidifier,” another wrote.
Finally, a tragic text pinged: “When is someone supposed to do something?”
Great question.
I did some mental maths. How long did it take to cook fiber-rich oatmeal and walk my repeat hounds? Add time to my therapist to spend bored time and add muscle stretching procedures scheduled by my sedentary work. Drinking two liters of water takes minutes a day, and also takes tea rich in polyphenols in showers and brewing cups.
All meditating, floss, all skin cells, all skin cells I had to thrash with SPF: I’m instead learning Cantonese and real housewife in Beverly Hills I wondered what I could have done.
My teeth squeal, I opened the spreadsheet and started cataloging my life and chores for that period. Meditation: 3,650 minutes a year. Wash your face: 730 minutes. Walking your dog: 25,550 odd minutes a year. So did my anger as my list grew. It was humiliating how much it took me to become a human. My friend, Sissiphus, felt him and his big stupid rock and relatives.
Finally, I calculated the data to estimate the amount of time I spent a year on this nonsense. Total: 162,335 minutes.
I was an agog. Simply a ridiculous number! It is equivalent to 2,705 hours or 112 days a year. And it didn’t explain work or sleep, but both are definitely something I need to do. I’m not a gym rat or someone with a 12-step skincare routine. I don’t cook, play soccer or do Pilates every day. It wasn’t included grocery shopping, laundry, cleaning, volunteering, watering my numerous physiologically beneficial plants and providing information during a devastating news cycle.
I don’t have kids, cars, or houses. Basic maintenance can be felt mercilessly on the annoying body with chronic pain. You can probably put on your socks in seconds. For me – don’t imagine this – it can take about a minute.
And all this will cost 162,335 minutes a year! For example, when are you supposed to lie on the floor and ponder the mystery of existence?
I’m kidding, but in a demanding, chaotic world, many other people want a way to manage the basics. According to Google’s trends, searches for “self-care reminders” increased by 3,800% in mid-January. In 2024, lifestyle brand Lululemon reported that 45% of respondents in the corporate survey experienced a “burning out of happiness.” “The more pressure we feel we are doing well, the less we feel,” reads the report. However, this is not a very high concept.
Practical advice, expert insights, and answers to your questions about how to live a good life
Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising, and content funded by external parties. For more information, please refer to our Privacy Policy. We use Google Recaptcha to protect our website and the application of Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
After the newsletter promotion
I have let go of the idea that my health must be perfect for a long time – I subscribe to the idea of discomfort from scholar Mimi Cook. In an interview with the Guardian last year, she said: We and we do not actually belong. This constant pressure can be fatal. ”
It’s a refreshing view that recognizes the burden of maintaining — even if it’s a privilege to be able to do it.
“How much time does this take?” I texted my friend. My health issues mean that routine tasks take longer than before.
This left a dilemma. As a lifestyle editor, I come across a lot of information about how to improve my happiness. I don’t have a constitution to be a fanatic. Because that’s the way you think about comparing your son, Brian Johnson style with erections. However, there are some staged changes I want to make based on how I want to show my future. It seems to be a weightlifting and nutritious diet for bone health. I’m also forever interested in adjusting my body functions. For example, should I really pay more attention to my feet?
Rageful Spreadsheet Frenzy over, I took the beat. The 12 days were almost a year. That’s a lot! Why am I putting pressure on myself to do more? Using this data I was wondering if I should try all the new healthy activities. I don’t have time. I have to work and have fun and do nothing at times (this is also good for you).
Life Administrator – What a drag! But deciding what to eat and training on YouTube is how I care about myself. I appreciate those efforts – well, I’m part of my nightly gratitude practice (1,825 minutes a year).
Still, fearing another 2 months of cracking and inflamed skin, I ordered the humidifier recommended by Group Chat. But they warned, you have to fill it up every night. My mind sank thinking of the dull water pressure on my kitchen faucet. There’s a pop in a few minutes and another 240 minutes of my life.
