Time consuming generally means something that takes a great deal of time. To consume means to eat, so something that is “time consuming” literally eats our time. Have you ever made a list of time eaters? Probably they will be different from time wasters. Time wasters generally have little or no value, like waiting in line at an airport. However, time consumers may have a lot of value but they still take a great deal of time to accomplish.
It is time consuming to paint your house, find a new babysitter or complete your B.A. degree. Nevertheless, none of these things is a waste of time. There are so many time consuming activities that we could do and that would add value to our lives. How can we get over the hurdle that these large consumptions of time present? We have so many things do to; it is hard to spend a large amount of time on any one activity or effort. Time consumers bog us down and force us to ignore other time activities that are screaming for our attention. I was amazed to read that Truman Capote spent ten years writing and researching his novel in “Cold Blood.” It simply amazes me that someone could spend ten years on such an activity. Of course, his effort was well worth the time spent. Many of us would want a guarantee that our time was going to be productive before we would commit a large block of time. Unfortunately, there are often no guarantees that our time spent will reward us with increased value in the future. Even getting a diploma is no guarantee of getting a good job.
How long should we invest in one activity? How can we tell when a time consumer really will be worth the effort? Is there any way to measure the value of time consumers? What do you think?
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Great question for a new year AND a new decade. I suppose whether an endeavor is considered a "time consumer" or a "time waster" is all relative depending on the individual and the intended outcome. For instance, I personally feel, and this is strictly MY biased opinion, that going to college and obtaining a B.S. degree in a field such a psychology AND the person has NO FURTHER PLANS TO ADVANCE THEIR DEGREE, is a "time waster" due to the fact that most individuals with psychology degrees choose to work in the field of human services which historically, is funded by government funds thus providing low paying jobs. To add insult to injury, an individual with 5 to 10 years experience and the absence of a degree is often monetarily more valuable to an agency than an entry level college grad., atleast at first. Now, why I feel how much time is spent and whether you can put a measure of value on a "time consumer" especially one, such as education is because to a person who LOVES and DESIRES to work in the humanities field or with low-incidence populations, regardless of the pay, may not have the opinion that a psychology degree, regardless of the years even spent earning it, is a "time waster" but a very valuable degree, or "time consumer" if only for the opportunity to work with the individuals who need them the most. Income, at first, advancing their degree, at first, may not be of any concern at all. For this reason alone, I feel, how can there ever be a GENERAL MEASUREMENT of time that we can consider "a good investment" and worth the effort, if we still have differing opinions and personal convictions over what is important? To me, personally, pursuing a psychology degree is not a valued "time consumer" so to put a measure of value is inappropriate, but to the next person who sees it as a "time consuming" positive and acceptable activity, well, they may say that 10 years to complete a B.S. degree in psychology is very appropriate. It's all relative...at least thats my thought!!! Happy New Year and thank you for letting me "ramble" on! :)
ReplyDeleteSheri mccue (R.I.)