The Old Farmer's Almanac 2015 by Old Farmer's Almanac Page B
Authors: Old Farmer's Almanac
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Mexico, and Indonesia.
To outsiders, the American, Canadian, Japanese, and northern European disposition to cram as much activity as possible into the day doesn’t make sense. Levine writes that in many parts of the world, “periods of nonactivity are understood to be necessary precursors to any meaningful action.” Consider the Mexican proverb Darle tiempo a tiempo: “Give time to time.” In the fastest-paced cities and nations of the world, people give time to time only grudgingly.
Time is eliminated.
In 1582, most of Europe went straight from Thursday, October 4, to Friday, October 15, eliminating the 10 days in between. Pope Gregory XIII and his team of mathematicians had devised this plan to bring the calendar back in step with the Sun.
Since Julius Caesar’s reign, the Julian calendar year had been longer than the Sun’s year by 10 minutes, 45 seconds, which added up. Gregory’s 10 deleted days and some tinkering with the rule for leap years solved the problem. Our Gregorian calendar year is now only 27 seconds longer than the Sun’s year.
Sixteenth-century people weren’t happy about losing 10 days, especially when their landlords came looking for a full month of October rent—there was widespread confusion, outrage, and even riots. The British Empire, soon to include much of eastern North America, simply ignored the Pope and kept going, out of step with the Sun and all.
Some 170 years later, the British admitted that the Pope’s “new” calendar was a good idea. By that time, they had to skip 11 days to put the calendar right, so in 1752, the British Empire went directly from September 2 to September 14.
----
A time-altering experience
In 1938, 43-year-old researcher Nathaniel Kleitman and his student, 25-year-old Bruce Richardson, descended into the belly of Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave in a serious quest for more hours in the week. They theorized that hidden away from the Sun and its inexorable 24-hour day, they might be able to cheat their need for sleep—just a little—and come out with more waking hours in the day.
For almost 5 weeks, they lived a reinvented 28-hour day in which they were awake for 19 hours and then slept for nine. The result? Richardson adapted to the 28-hour-day without symptoms of sleep deprivation, but Kleitman did not.
The data they gathered made an enormous contribution to our understanding of human circadian rhythms. Kleitman went on to become the father of modern sleep research, codiscover REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, and live to be 104 years old.
----
To make the most of your time:
EAT, EXERCISE, AND SNOOZE
Lately, the buzz in business is less about “time management” and more about “energy management.” The idea is that when we feel refreshed and energetic, we can use our time to greater effect. To increase energy, snack wisely (eat nuts, fish, and whole grains, which contain magnesium), take exercise breaks periodically, and get more sleep.
STOP STOPPING
A growing body of research shows that often what looks like “multitasking” is actually “rapid task-switching,” especially when technology is involved.
One study of computer programmers showed that as they attempted to work, they interrupted themselves or were interrupted about every 3 minutes, usually to check email.
Other studies have shown that it’s now common for office workers to interrupt what they’re doing to check email 30 to 40 times an hour and that the more a worker self-interrupts, the more stress he or she experiences.
Studies of college students show that while trying to study, they lose focus every 3 minutes on average, for example, to check Facebook or text a friend. The more often they interrupt themselves to “multitask,” the worse they do on tests.
Multitasking with technology is no way to make the most of your time—those emails can wait!
SHARPEN UP!
When you concentrate on the present moment, you can enjoy it fully and remember
To outsiders, the American, Canadian, Japanese, and northern European disposition to cram as much activity as possible into the day doesn’t make sense. Levine writes that in many parts of the world, “periods of nonactivity are understood to be necessary precursors to any meaningful action.” Consider the Mexican proverb Darle tiempo a tiempo: “Give time to time.” In the fastest-paced cities and nations of the world, people give time to time only grudgingly.
Time is eliminated.
In 1582, most of Europe went straight from Thursday, October 4, to Friday, October 15, eliminating the 10 days in between. Pope Gregory XIII and his team of mathematicians had devised this plan to bring the calendar back in step with the Sun.
Since Julius Caesar’s reign, the Julian calendar year had been longer than the Sun’s year by 10 minutes, 45 seconds, which added up. Gregory’s 10 deleted days and some tinkering with the rule for leap years solved the problem. Our Gregorian calendar year is now only 27 seconds longer than the Sun’s year.
Sixteenth-century people weren’t happy about losing 10 days, especially when their landlords came looking for a full month of October rent—there was widespread confusion, outrage, and even riots. The British Empire, soon to include much of eastern North America, simply ignored the Pope and kept going, out of step with the Sun and all.
Some 170 years later, the British admitted that the Pope’s “new” calendar was a good idea. By that time, they had to skip 11 days to put the calendar right, so in 1752, the British Empire went directly from September 2 to September 14.
----
A time-altering experience
In 1938, 43-year-old researcher Nathaniel Kleitman and his student, 25-year-old Bruce Richardson, descended into the belly of Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave in a serious quest for more hours in the week. They theorized that hidden away from the Sun and its inexorable 24-hour day, they might be able to cheat their need for sleep—just a little—and come out with more waking hours in the day.
For almost 5 weeks, they lived a reinvented 28-hour day in which they were awake for 19 hours and then slept for nine. The result? Richardson adapted to the 28-hour-day without symptoms of sleep deprivation, but Kleitman did not.
The data they gathered made an enormous contribution to our understanding of human circadian rhythms. Kleitman went on to become the father of modern sleep research, codiscover REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, and live to be 104 years old.
----
To make the most of your time:
EAT, EXERCISE, AND SNOOZE
Lately, the buzz in business is less about “time management” and more about “energy management.” The idea is that when we feel refreshed and energetic, we can use our time to greater effect. To increase energy, snack wisely (eat nuts, fish, and whole grains, which contain magnesium), take exercise breaks periodically, and get more sleep.
STOP STOPPING
A growing body of research shows that often what looks like “multitasking” is actually “rapid task-switching,” especially when technology is involved.
One study of computer programmers showed that as they attempted to work, they interrupted themselves or were interrupted about every 3 minutes, usually to check email.
Other studies have shown that it’s now common for office workers to interrupt what they’re doing to check email 30 to 40 times an hour and that the more a worker self-interrupts, the more stress he or she experiences.
Studies of college students show that while trying to study, they lose focus every 3 minutes on average, for example, to check Facebook or text a friend. The more often they interrupt themselves to “multitask,” the worse they do on tests.
Multitasking with technology is no way to make the most of your time—those emails can wait!
SHARPEN UP!
When you concentrate on the present moment, you can enjoy it fully and remember
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