Great read.
As with everything, balance is key. But I’ve never heard of anyone on their deathbed wishing they’d spent less time with family and friends, and more time grinding away at work.
As with everything, balance is key. But I’ve never heard of anyone on their deathbed wishing they’d spent less time with family and friends, and more time grinding away at work.
Just to take the most extreme kind of example, I think scientists who have really hit on breakthroughs in their field feel more strongly that they wish they could have kept that up, done more of that, for longer.
But I don't think that pattern is unusual at all. Lots of people find work that they believe they believe is valuable and that they are effective at, and only regret that there are not enough hours in the day to do all the things they value and find joy in, including their work.
Your point about time being zero-sum is a poignant one. Everyone wishes they had more hours in the day to spend doing things they like. But the question is about how we spend that marginal hour, and I think oftentimes it is better spent on family, friends or hobbies than our day jobs.
But it's probably true that more people end up regretting that choice to spend that marginal hour on work for more of their hours that the opposite.
Sampling bias? Those wishing to have spent more time with family & friends likely have family & friends to posthumously share their deathbed story.
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/feb/01/top-fiv...