I am a bit restless. I'm not a big fan of idle time. My family and close friends know this well. I'm not ADD, or ADHD, or anything like that. I just always have to be doing something. While trying to sleep, I'll frequently jump out of bed because a possible solution to a problem I've been working on will randomly pop into my head. While I'm sitting down drinking a beer, my mind will be racing, trying to plan out my day, prioritize the things I have to do, and figure out how I'm going to accomplish those things. Instead of listening to music while I run, I usually just let my mind wonder and try to use that time to tease out questions I've been pondering. I find it hard to just chill and zone out. I sometimes envy those that can, but I guess it's not all that bad.
This behavior is largely a result of my education in economics, which has altered my conception of time and its value. One of the most important concepts in economics is the idea of an opportunity cost. An opportunity cost, roughly defined, is the value of the next best alternative. It can take many different forms, and arise from many different situations. For an example, let's say that I am currently watching a game on TV (anyone who knows me, knows this is unlikely, but let's run with it). Further, suppose that if I had chosen not to watch the game, I would have instead gone to the theatre and seen a show (Les Misérables, perhaps?) . In this case, the opportunity cost of watching the game is the utility I would have gained had I gone to see Les Mis. Both the game and the show provide me with some degree of satisfaction, but I miss out on the satisfaction I would have obtained from watching Jean Valjean rise from beggar to bad ass because I decided to watch the game instead.
How about an example with numbers? (Feel free to skip this paragraph if you would like). What is the opportunity cost of seeking a degree at college? When you ask a question like that, you're asking, what would I be doing had I not been in college? Most people would say that they would be working. Let's say that Erin the economist is trying to decide whether or not she should go to college for another year (read: is the marginal benefit of going to college for another year greater than the marginal cost of going to college for another year?). Let's say that she currently has $10,000 stored away, and that tuition is $10,000 per year (she'll pay in cash). Also, let's say that if she decides to work, she believes that she can earn $30,000 during that time. Finally, let's say that if she does not go to college, she will put the $10,000 she has saved into a bank that earns 5.0% annually. Ok, so that's a lot of information, but let's try to figure out what the opportunity cost is of her going to college for this next year. In this example, there are actually two different opportunity costs. The first one is probably pretty obvious--it's the $30,000 she would have earned had she been working. There's one more, though. If she had not spent her money on tuition for that year, her next best alternative was putting it in a bank at 5.0% interest (I know, wishful thinking, right?). If she did this, then after the year ended, she would have $10,500 in her bank account. That extra $500 is the opportunity cost of paying tuition. Notice: this is not the cost of the tuition. This is the extra benefit she would have received had she not paid for school. So all in all, Erin's opportunity cost to going to college for another year is $30,500. I hope that made sense. Examples with numbers usually help me.
You can probably see where I'm going with this. Whenever I find that I am doing nothing, I am constantly asking myself what else I could be using my time for. How could I be spending these few minutes in a way that will give me more satisfaction? What could I be doing that is productive in some way? How can I utilize this time to best accomplish my goals? This is actually one of the major factors that lead me to start a blog. I found myself with a much lighter schedule that I am used to, and realized that I had a lot of idle time on my hands. As I talked about in my first post, there is definitely some benefit to having a blog, and each time I post, I gain a bit of additional, or "marginal" benefit. When I write down my thoughts, I consolidate what I think, and gain a better understanding of the world. Also, a lot of the jobs to which I am applying ask for a writing sample, and building up this arsenal is giving me fuel for those applications. So there is definitely some value to me in doing this. Another way to say that is that my opportunity cost of lounging around is the value I would have gained had I decided to sit at my computer and write a post.
Anyway, I hope you found that interesting. Some people say that "time is money" but you could also say that "idle time is an opportunity". It's good to know what your opportunity costs are. Take some time to think about it.
Have a magical day!
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