#458: In Praise of Wasting Time

The Art of Manliness

Society & Culture, Education, Philosophy

4.7 • 14.5K Ratings

🗓️ 14 November 2018

⏱️ 32 minutes

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Summary

Your time on earth is finite and once you use it up, it's gone forever. Thus on the AoM podcast, we talk a lot about how to maximize your time -- how to use it more effectively to be more productive. But is it possible to be too concerned about managing your time? Should you also make space for chucking out all the to-do lists and schedules and just being kind of idle? My guest would say yes. His name is Alan Lightman, he’s a physicist and writer, and the author of the book In Praise of Wasting Time. Today on the show Alan forwards the sort of countercultural argument that intentionally wasting time isn't a vice but a virtue. We begin our conversation by discussing what Alan means by wasting time, and then get into how wasting time benefits our psyches, creativity, sense of mental self-reliance, and even, ironically enough, our productivity. We end our conversation discussing the difference between chronos time and kairos time, and how wasting time allows us to spend more time in the latter state. Get the show notes at aom.is/wastingtime.

Transcript

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0:00.0	[♪ INTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪
0:15.0	Brett McKay here and welcome to another edition of the Art of Manliness Podcast.
0:18.8	Your time on Earth is finite and once you use it up, it is gone forever.
0:22.8	Thus, on the A1 Podcast, we talk a lot about how to maximize your time.
0:25.8	How to use it more effectively to be more productive.
0:28.2	Was it possible to be too concerned about managing your time?
0:31.2	Should you also make space for chunking out all the do-listen schedules and just kind of
0:34.8	the idle?
0:35.8	Well, my guess today would say yes.
0:36.8	His name is Alan Leitman, he's a physicist and a writer and the author of the book
0:40.6	in praise of wasting time.
0:42.2	Today on the show, Alan forwards this sort of counterculture argument that intentionally
0:45.5	wasting time is an advice but a virtue.
0:47.6	We begin our conversation by discussing what Alan means by wasting time and then getting
0:51.3	into how wasting time benefits our psychies, creativity, sense of mental, self-reliance, and
0:56.0	even ironically enough, are productivity.
0:58.2	We in our conversation discuss in the difference between chronos time and chirostime and how
1:02.1	wasting time allows us to spend more time in the latter state.
1:05.4	After the show's over, check out the show notes at a-wim.islashwastingtime.
1:15.4	Okay, Alan Leitman, welcome to the show.
1:24.5	Nice being on the show, Brad.
1:26.0	So you got a nice little book out called In Praise of Wasting Time, which is based on a
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