In economics, there’s this idea of disposable income. That is, the money a person has ‘left over’ after all the essentials are taken care of. Once the rent, mortgage, food, heat, travel etc expenses are paid, what you have left is ‘disposable’. Typically, disposable income is spent on leisure activities – eating out, movies, recreational sport and so on.
Maybe time works the same way.
We know we’ve only got 24 hours in a day, and we’ve got some essentials. Sleeping, eating, and working seem to things we can’t avoid. If we have kids, or sick parents, then caring for loved ones falls under this ‘essential’ time. We can try and shorten or skip some of these things sometimes, but in the end, we need a certain amount of rest, food, income, and care to function properly. What’s left, then, is disposable time. And, like disposable income, we spend that on things. Some of us play sport or exercise. Others meditate or practice yoga. Some of us play a musical instrument. Some of us put time and effort in to maintaining and deepening friendships. Some of us binge Netflix, or ‘catch up’ on social media.
The question I get most often is, “how do you find the time to write?”, and now I’m thinking that the answer is, “It’s just how I spend my disposable time.”