Time
“It takes me, on average, 5.1 seconds to start and begin using my first-generation Apple iPad... Sure 5.1 seconds might not sound like a long period of time, even in the age of Twitter and the real time Web. But if you use your iPad on a regular basis it can quickly add up. Let’s just say you pick up your iPad 10 times a day, that’s nearly 6 minutes a week wasted through the laborious action of pressing the power button and swiping your finger across a screen. It’s exhausting.”
I read this by Nick Bilton and nearly fell off my chair once I realised he wasn't joking.
I am a strong advocate of managing time carefully and creating more leisure time for ourselves. But 5.1 seconds?! Knocking 5.1 seconds off a lap time at Monaco makes sense for a grand prix driver but for someone using a piece of technology? This is time management taken to ludicrous lengths.
Instead of saving minuscule moments here and there why not review our lifestyle and throw out whole chunks of activity? And then why not use that space to do something radical? Or maybe even to do - don't shoot me down - nothing?
I'm a big fan of Winnie the Pooh and several of the spin off books that AA Milne's little bear inspired, such as Pooh's Little Instruction Book. It's replete with gems of wisdom that Mr Bilton would benefit from observing:
"Don't underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering."