Real Simple recently discussed modern time savers that aren’t all the supposed “improvements” that we twenty-first century folk take for granted. You know…things like microwaves, iPhones and the DVR.
The author makes a very valid point. Many of these innovations are a good idea in theory but actually end up requiring more time, not less. Take interstate highways – they’re fabulous until you’re mired in endless miles of traffic when you could be doing something (anything!) else.
One of the so-called “conveniences” that comes to mind for me is NetFlix (the poor man’s DVR). It’s a great way to avoid the video rental store, but then you end up spending the time you saved rearranging your queue or obsessively reading other people’s movie reviews. And if I didn’t have it, I’d probably spend less time watching movies and more time reading books (all right…or surfing the web). While trying to end up with more hours in the day, you end up with the same – or less. That’s pretty much the opposite of what you really want in a time saver.
What about you? Can you think of other “time-saving” innovations that actually take up more of our time?
Discussion