How do you spend your time?

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“Time is what we want most but what we use worst.” — William Penn

I’ve always been fascinated by the concept of time.

It’s one of the few resources we can’t get back—once it’s spent, it’s gone.

A while back, I came across a post by Sahil Bloom deconstructing how we spend our time over the years. I had seen these graphs before, but honestly my eyes always glazed over and I moved on.

But this past week, I sat down and truly reflected on these graphs and what they represented.

Today, I’d like to share a few of my reflections:

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Family

Time spent with family peaks in early childhood and declines sharply after age 20.

Reflections:

• Since starting college, I’ve spent A LOT less time with my parents and grandparents.

• That’s inevitable as I’m physically further away—but I try to make it a priority to text life updates, send pictures, and occasionally FaceTime them.

Friends

Time spent with friends peaks at age 18 and then sharply declines to a low baseline.

Reflections:

• I’ve met a ton of new acquaintances these past few months. My ability to socialize in different settings has grown immensely.

• Always be open to making a new friend, but focus on a few deep friendships over many shallow ones.

• Never forget your Winter friends—the friends who are with you when it isn’t easy and convenient. The ones who have your back no matter what.

Partner

Time spent with your partner trends up as you age.

Reflections:

• They say the three most important decisions in your life are: what you do, where you live, and who you marry.

• As a driven person with ambitious goals, finding a partner who both understands that I’m different and is willing to support my journey has been a challenge.

• You get one golden ticket for the game of live. Never settle for less than love.

Children

Time spent with children peaks in your 30s and then declines sharply.

Reflections:

• I want to take care of the financial aspect early in my career so I can focus fully on being present for my children.

• A piece of advice I came across that I like:

Coworkers

Time spent with your coworkers is high during the traditional work years (20 to 60) and then sharply declines.

Reflections:

• “For someone who's early in their career—and maybe even later—the single most important thing about a company is the alumni network you're going to build. Who are you going to work with, and what are those people going to go on to do?” - Naval Ravikant

• The downsides of being an entrepreneur is, at times, it can be a lonely journey. The upside? You get to choose who you surround yourself with. Join communities, attend masterminds, and go to retreats.

Alone

Time spent alone increases steadily your entire life.

“All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” — Blaise Pascal

Reflections:

• One of my biggest priorities these past few months has been making my mind a peaceful place. Sounds kinda woo-woo, but being able to shut off your monkey mind and just “be” brings incredible calmness.

• Learn to embrace doing things alone. Eat alone. Go to the gym alone. Study alone. Work alone. What's best for the group isn't always best for you.

In summary:

• Family time is limited—make it a priority.

• Friend time is finite—focus on depth.

• Partner time is significant—never settle.

• Children time is priceless—be present.

• Coworker time is significant—choose wisely.

• Alone time is greatest—learn to love yourself.

See you next Sunday,

Jay “Tick Tock” Yang

Ps. It’ll be interesting to see how my views on these graphs evolve as I grow older.

That’s the fun part about a weekly writing habit.

You get to see how your perspective matures.

Jay’s Finds

Some of the best content I found on the internet this week…

• Most businesses stall out after a few years. In this short speech, Shane Snow shows how to avoid the plateau problem using Lateral Thinking.

• If you’re early in your career, read this article on taking agency.

• Been listening to my buddy Jeston’s music while I work lately.

Top Tweets of The Week

Never give the remote control to your feelings away to others.

What are you trying to escape from? Is your form of escape net positive or negative?

How skilled would you be if you dedicated 3-5 hours each day to honing it?

Harsh but true 😅

Love that question.

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