Excuse My Excuses

Years ago I received a favorable email about an article on my technical website. The article was an encouragement and warning to stay up to date on new technology so that one's skills do not atrophy. But the reader ended his note saying, "But some of us don't have time to pursue this learning outside our work day. Some of us have families and children." I cannot print the slash and burn words that went through my mind, but I calmly replied to him that I had two children under the age of 8, and after they went to bed the rest of the evening was available for anything I chose to invest with my attention. He was free to choose TV; I chose C++ programming and software architecture. It's about choices, but I will not support anyone's right to make excuses.

This little vignette has everything to do with job security and job search. Every decision has consequences both intended and unintended. There are 8,760 hours in each year this Earth travels around the Sun. How are you choosing to spend the hours of your life?

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics published (http://www.bls.gov/news.release/atus.nr0.htm) in June 2012 that Americans over the age of 15 spend roughly 3 hours each day watching television. That's 1/8th of each 24 hour day, or a stunning 1/5th of each waking day. And this does not include the time watching Hulu on your iPhone, or your computer time on Facebook.

The top-line (the income line) of this is that you and I and everyone has a fixed amount of time in each day. Some of us have unavoidable obligations that eat into our available time. But are you using the remaining time productively to enhance your current and future job options?

• Listen to audio books while you drive
• Always carry a relevant magazine or book in your vehicle or briefcase for idle moments in the dentist's office, waiting for a friend to show at lunch, etc.
• Don't visit Facebook or tweet all day
• Read a book on current ideas in your job area
• Turn off the TV one hour a day (the TV cannot give you a job)

The ancient Greek philosopher, Socrates, said, "The unexamined live is not worth living." Think carefully about your 8,760 hours each year, and start eliminating even an hour a day of waste. It will pay dividends for many years.