Lifetime Hours Revisited

In a previous post Motivation to Allocate Your 700,000 Hours, I introduced the notion of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as a potential framework to distribute one’s lifetime hours between meeting basic needs and having a reasonable quality of life. The diagram below shows that split more specifically:

The distribution of these same 700,000 hours can be categorized as paid and unpaid time. Making an arbitrary allocation of one-third of a lifespan for paid time and two-thirds for unpaid time, which includes one-third for sleep, 80 years would yield 233,333 hours of paid time, 233,333 hours of unpaid time awake, and 233,334, hours of unpaid time asleep.

If placed Maslow’s Hierarchy, it looks like the diagram below:

This distinction between paid and unpaid time in hours leads us to the topics of Economy and Currency and Money and Contracts introduced in previous posts. It also gives us the opportunity to examine the consequences unpaid time has on members of our society and how those issues might be addressed. Surely we can envision a system that acknowledges the value each of us brings to the world simply by being alive. More about this in subsequent posts!

Addendum:

Some highlights from the blog posting, This Is How To Sleep Better: 5 Secrets From Neuroscience by Eric Barker concerning the importance of sleep and the consequences of not getting enough:

You need eight hours. The National Sleep Foundation and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention both recommend 7 to 9 hours — but after 10 days of 7 hours your brain is mush whether you realize it or not. So get 8.

Sleep is essential for memory and skill development. Cheat yourself on zzz’s and learning drops as much as 40%. Yeah, thats the difference between an A+ and an F.

Here’s how to sleep better:

• Have a consistent sleep schedule: Yes, that includes weekends. Yes, I understand that you hate me now.
• “Blue” light isn’t the only problem: Dim the lights in the evening. Set the mood. (Barry White music optional.)
• Be Cool: People stick their feet out from under the covers because it’s good science.
• No coffee, no booze… and no sleeping pills: And while I’m ruining everything and being a total buzzkill let me add: there is no Santa Claus.
• To sleep more… sleep less: Don’t think of it as CBT; look at it as getting revenge on your brain for not letting you sleep.