How Do You Fill The Void?

<p>Seneca wrote constantly about time. One of his most compelling observations was about how people are protective of their money, their property, their possessions, yet careless with the one thing they can’t get back. “It’s not that we have a short time to live,” he said, “but that we waste a lot of it. </p><p>Can you imagine what he would say about<a href='https://flurrymobile.tumblr.com/post/157921590345/us-consumers-time-spent-on-mobile-crosses-5'> the fact that today people average more than 5 hours a day on mobile devices</a>? That’s 52 days a year—one-seventh of our lives—murdered! </p><p>Cal Newport’s excellent new book <a href='https://geni.us/d063'><em>Digital Minimalism</em></a>, which just released this week, is an attempt to change that--to focus on limited time on the things that matter (<a href='https://geni.us/okvZg'>deep work</a>, family, being present, even the study of philosophy). In our interview with Cal for DailyStoic.com, he explained the two reasons why this is increasingly easier said than done. The first is that there are really smart computer scientists specifically engineering these devices and social media platforms to foster compulsive use. The second:</p><p> “It fills a void. Life is hard. This hardness is especially manifested during those periods of downtime when you&apos;re alone with your thoughts. People avoid these confrontations through constant, low quality digital distraction much in the way that people of another era might have dealt with these difficulties with heavy drinking. But this is just a band-aid over a deeper wound.”</p><p>How <em>should</em> we fill the void?</p><p>“As the ancients taught us, the sustainable response is to instead dedicate your free time toward things that matter. Take on as much responsibility as you can bear, seek out quality for the sake of quality (as Aristotle recommends in The Ethics), serve your community, connect with real people in real life and sacrifice for them.</p><p>All of this can seem daunting as compared to clicking &quot;watch