Worth per minute : Xbox, couch, nachos (the day in numbers).

We live in a culture and time in which it feels like there are two big expectations:

That you are to respond quickly, if not immediately, in whatever form anybody tries contacting you, most importantly via text or social media - in other words, some version of constant availability, and
That you convey the utmost reverence for constantly being productive, being busy, and making sure you convey the semblance of a busy and full life at all times.

This makes it especially hard for people like me sometimes; “people like me” being people whose WPM (“worth per minute,” a term I coined today) sometimes has a dollar value on it. And sometimes doesn’t.

So here’s the reality. Here’s a random day in which I selectively throw out some numbers that don’t show up on my Social Security Statement and won’t get me on the cover of Inc., Forbes, or Fortune magazines.

my worth per minute : eleven selected statistics over the course of a day

1

Number of times I asked Becca tonight: “What is something I did today that was worthwhile?”

2

Age one of my nieces turned today. Also: the number of times she drew on her face with marker in the 40 minutes I got to spend with her this morning).

3

Total cups of coffee, counting refills (note: I consider a ‘cup’ to be whatever size cup or mug I happen to be drinking, not an actual ‘cup’ size according to what the FDA thinks it should be).

4

Number of costume items I carried around today for our daughter to try out in her upcoming role as Dwarf in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

12

Number of books I checked out at the library. Half of them are Oliver Jeffers, another is 1985 Caldecott Winner Saint George and the Dragon, which I’m very excited to read with our 2- and 5- and 11-year olds.

21

Approximate number of minutes I spent talking on the phone with my brother Jeremy while both of us were a bit grumbly about life; our conversation, nevertheless, consisted of getting into a huge argument when I informed him that a lot of people know me as “The Data Scientist,” and he emphatically informed me that he has never once heard anyone refer to me as “The Data Scientist,” at which point I reminded him that he doesn’t know everything about me and all my massive social circles, and how he doesn’t even know things like how my favorite animal today is probably - in the category of being Mammals Smaller Than Cows But Larger Than Mice would be…a meerkat, which - duh! - of course anybody who knew me well would know that.

Also, meerkats are way cool because a group of them is called a mob or a gang. So yeah, Jeremy and I had a huge blow-up over the phone about data science and meerkats. We never really resolved it, mostly because he was going through the drive-thru at Taco Bell, a dining establishment which (fortunately) does not serve meerkat (to my knowledge).

39

Minutes I spent waiting in a Post Office line to mail two domestic packages and one international letter.

45.76

Dollars spent to fill up Becca’s car.

110-ish

Dollars spent at Costco on food; food that will probably be consumed over the next 48 hours.

135

Minutes spent driving / chauffeuring passengers today. (total tips : $0).

223

Page number of Timeline my daughter was on as we drove (see: 135 above).

And thus we arrive at the end, and here’s three more numbers as a bonus:

2

Including myself, the number of people I want to snuggle with on the couch later tonight.

4

Number of children I would like sleeping very soon.

28

Minutes of Cobra Kai I’m hoping to watch with Becca later tonight.

——

So, if you’re wondering why I’m not responding right away to a Facebook message (answer: maybe it’s not an even month yet!), or curious about my current metrics for leading an efficient and productive existence…well…I ran the numbers, and my WPM comes out to…it averages, umm…

…computer’s crashing. I’ll let you know when the numbers come in.

#productive24-7