"How to Waste, or Invest, 10,000 Hours"

(Written 10/14/10 by ChristopherK2 for the Uglier Marylanders Blog)

Any way you look at it, 10,000 hours is a LOT of time. 417 full days. If you work 40 hours a week, it's almost 5 years of work. If you sleep 8 hours a day, it's almost 21 months of "awake time." We each decide, day in and day out, year in and year out, how to spend each precious hour we are granted on this Earth.

Let's take a closer look at how some people have spent their 10,000 hours...

Example #1: Bonnie and Zeeke, for example, have been arguing with each other for somewhere between 8 and 10 years. At just 3 hours a day of arguing (a conservative estimate), they are either already past--or rapidly closing in on--the 10,000 hour mark. Amazing...

Example #2: Zeeke belittles, etc., many more people than just Bonnie. If he does it for an average of just 5 hours a day (again, a conservative estimate), he trips the 10,000 hour mark every 5-6 years. Which means that he's already on his SECOND round. Congrats!

Are there... ummm... better ways to utilize 10,000 hours? I'm glad you asked!

Example #3: It just so happens (pure coincidence, I swear!) that 10,000 hours is about how long it took me earn my bachelor's degree (over 5 years), my law degree (4+ years), prepare for the bar exam (600 hours), and earn my four professional designations (CFP, CLU, ChFC, and FLMI), for a total of about 320 credit hours. That doesn't include the endless hours I've spent learning about gardening, photography, ballroom dancing, etc.

Example #4: Insert your own ideas and experiences!

Christopher