I think I may have touched upon this topic before and there is an article out there that did a fantastic job of visualising the time we have left based on the number of big events such as sporting events, weddings, New Years, bank holidays, etc.
I don't really get down on the fact that we are all running out of time. However it's about what you do with your time knowing (or rather not knowing) how much time you have left.
For example, we all know how much time is in a given year, given month, week and day. But how much of that time is spent doing things you really enjoy? Or ultimately is it time well spent?
Now we can run analysis after analysis on the efficient use of our time (we do it all the time at work to show our bosses what value add we provide to the business and why they are paying you the amount they are). I read a book called The Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss and the one thing that always stays with me (among all the other great knowledge he provides) is the what you actually do with your time and how much time is actually spent on work vs. your leisure time. Perhaps I have misinterpreted his teachings but let me go ahead and expand on this.
Annually I make say £100k vs. my friends who make £500k. Now that seems like quite a big difference and you might say well I would rather make 5x more.
Now let's put that into perspective of the time spent actually 'working'. In a normal working year (in the UK) you work 227 days (this is less the 25 vacation days you get). Typically you work about say 8 hours a day or at least spend 8 hours at the office. This works out to £440 per day; £55 per hour. Not bad. Now what if you were to make double that but the expectation is you work 12-15 hour days (maybe sometime more). Your hourly rate now is £58 per hour at 15 hour days. Now this is not an exact science and some might say 'well I'm still earning more and have a bigger house and can afford more things'. But the point is, I have 7 extra hours in a day that I'm spending with the family or doing things I would rather do than sit in an office. Don't get me wrong, if you find a job, role, business you don't mind spending all the days of the hours, by all means this advice isn't for you. However, I think for the majority of us, we should really think about the time we are spending and determine if it's worth it.
Now I am not claiming to have it all figured out. I still waste time (like writing this for no reason at al other than to write my thoughts down and one day look back and say what an idiot I am). But at least I'm thinking about my time and trying to figure out the best way to spend my time and earn a decent living. And when my time is up and I can look back (that is if I even have time to reflect) and say I lived a pretty good life.
Now stop wasting time reading my thoughts and get doing something you want to do!