How to Spend Your Time Based on Whether You'll Want to Do It in 10 Years

The other day, after I finished folding the laundry, I found myself reaching for my smartphone.

Before I knew it, an hour had passed.

At that moment, I whispered to myself in my heart:

"One hour a day on my phone... if I keep doing this for 10 years, that's five months spent staring at a screen..."

The sheer amount of wasted time is chilling when you put it into numbers.

If you spend one hour a day on social media, that's about 15 days a year.
In 10 years, that's about five months.

That is enough time to travel, earn a certification, or even move to a new home.

I casually mentioned this to my husband, who was looking at his phone.

"I did the math, and did you know that if you spend one hour a day on your phone, you'll have spent five months on social media in 10 years?"

"...Wait, are you serious?"
My husband looked up from his phone with a strained smile.

It sounds like a joke, but it really isn't funny.

Reducing wasted time with a small ritual

Since then, I've decided to perform a small ritual before touching my phone.

1. Say it out loud: One hour on the phone a day equals five months in 10 years.

2. State the purpose in one sentence: "I will use my phone for only 10 minutes to look up X."

3. Set a timer for 10 minutes.

4. Put the phone back in its place when it rings.

Since starting this ritual, "mindlessly checking my phone" has decreased significantly.

The 10 minutes I've freed up have been replaced by reading or talking with my daughter.

What do you want to do with your future time?

I ask myself, "Will I want to be doing this in 10 years?" before I do anything.

What kind of days will my future self be spending, and what will she be laughing at?

I choose how to spend my time now by working backward from that vision.

So that my future self won't be angry, I take my eyes off my phone just a little bit now.

I feel like that alone can reclaim five months of my future.

Conclusion

When we're busy, we tend to think only about getting through the present moment.

Please stop for just a few seconds and ask your future self:

"Do you want to be doing this in 10 years?"
If the answer is YES, keep doing it.
If the answer is NO, have the courage to stop.

That accumulation of choices will surely be for the benefit of your future self.

Thank you for reading this far.

May your day be a wonderful one.