Framing life through the lens of opportunity cost
And why that's actually not as "glass half empty" as it sounds
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Something that has always baffled me is how people can have jobs, families, and a semblance of life outside of those two domains. I thought a lot about this during my gap year, when I realized that life took up all of my time and I still felt occasionally like I didn’t have enough hours. As I’ve become older (and hopefully wiser), I’ve learned that no one ever has the answer perfectly figured out, even if it looks great on the outside. I’ve also learned that most of the time, the formula that works well for a given week may totally fall apart in the following week, because life is constantly changing.
All that said, I was thinking back to why I started this newsletter in the first place. My goal was to compile the wisdom and advice that I’ve come across while also sharing some of my own tips and tricks. As part of the core purpose behind the newsletter, I also wanted to make this a space where I could share candidly and not just convey the stuff that sounds right.
So in that spirit, here are my reflections on how I’m trying to make it work, as the ultimate mashup of corporate girlie and classic “I’d like to have it all please” maximizer.
As I’ve transitioned back into work, I’ve become acutely aware of how I spend my time. In the beginning, I struggled with feeling an undertone of resentment when I had to make tradeoffs and in the moments when life felt really frantic. I kept thinking back to the calm, unchaotic pace of life that I had grown accustomed to during my gap year and wishing I was still in that headspace.
As the weeks have gone by, I’ve noticed some changes in how I frame my life – the majority of these changes are based on the principle of opportunity cost. It’s made me realize that perhaps it isn’t so awful to have to make tradeoffs…
Here are some of the reasons:
1. Laser focus and efficiency
Outside of my work day, my hours now have to be split between fitness, meal prep, chores around the house, quality time with E, life overhead, solo time, and socializing with friends. I have become acutely aware that if the chores or meal prep spill over out of their allocated time, it’s at the cost of other activities for which I am more excited.
Something I’ve started doing to keep myself accountable (and focused) is writing down brief to do lists when I have a pocket of time in which I’m trying to get a bunch of stuff done. I go back to the list when I find my focus wandering or if I am getting distracted and it grounds me, keeping me efficient.
2. Ruthless prioritization
I mentioned this in a previous newsletter: the reality is that even with all the time in the world, I’m still not going to get around to everything on my list. The really, really important things about which I am truly passionate will happen. Everything else will squat on the to do list indefinitely. Nowadays, I’ve gotten a lot better at asking myself if something really needs to happen. If it does, it gets given a time slot and a day when it will be done. If it doesn’t need to happen, it just gets axed off the to do list.
3. Maximization of experiences
On a given day, I think about where I am, what’s accessible to me, what’s fleeting, and what I crave or want the most. Based on these criteria, I decide whether something needs to happen today or if it can wait, or if there’s an exception to a routine that should be made. When E and I were traveling in Europe and I was working remotely, I prioritized spending time enjoying the cities we were in and “snoozed” a lot of life admin until our flight back home. After this most recent trip, I knew I’d only have 36 hours at home before I needed to fly out again for work, so I was also very deliberate in planning out what to do with my time at home. Most of my time at home was focused on chores that I can only accomplish if I’m physically there. While I’m away for work, I’m pretty much entirely focused on work and seeing friends who are in the area, which I can’t do when I’m not in the locale.
All in all, I think I’m in a chapter of life where I’ll be iterating through different approaches to find what feels best right now. I’m sure it will keep changing as time goes on. Despite that, I have reasonable confidence that the guiding principles will stay static, and perhaps that is the big unlock here: Figure out the guiding principles and the rest will follow.
For all the other maximizers out there, what works for you? What have you learned to do better over time? I’d love to hear from you in the comments ⬇️