Today, Partner and I planned a trip. Three days ago, we weren’t planning on going to Europe. Yesterday night, we had booked and scheduled nothing. Today, we have an entire itinerary, including flights to and from, housing, five restaurants (one reserved), two tours, one museum, and four theater show tickets.
Previously, this trip would have taken me ~3 days to plan. Now, I do it in five hours. Thank you, Claude.
Where does the extra time go?
I’ve heard that work-time-savings leads to people working more hours. For me, I don’t know if that’s true. We’re all on the hedonic treadmill to some degree. But the hour I spend at the gym is a glorious hour, and it’s not improved by more expensive equipment. The Chinatown basement dumplings are exquisite, and they’re $5.50 to eat while strolling across the bridge to Brooklyn. When Partner and I visited Budapest, we stayed in a five-star hotel for 2 nights, followed by a $60/night aparthotel (an apartment converted into a hotel). We dramatically preferred the aparthotel, and not just for fundamentals like location. We like having our own fridge and stove.
Much happiness comes from the removal of friction. When drudgery goes away, the system shines brighter. I could be aging; my values changing, but I don’t feel the need to spend the extra time grinding. What would be the point? Where would we go? If you grind, grind, grind, eventually: you disappear.
