Consider this scenario: You have been abducted by North Korea. You are being held in a cell with your laptop and phone. You can try to contact whoever you want, but no one can rescue you. Kim Jong Un has made it clear that if you don’t do something to demonstrate your value, you will be sent to a labor camp, where the only things to eat are roach paste and (if you meet your quota) rat stew. You will be unable to escape and a day without beatings will be considered a good day. What will you do? Will you spend that hour taking selfies and thinking of clever hashtags? How will you save your life?
“Thank god I’m not in that situation”. But you are. Each day, each hour, slips away. Each day you are older, slower, dumber. Less attractive and with fewer options. Every day you are either less than you were yesterday, or more. Each hour either robs you of your soul and your destiny or gives them to you.
Look at the clock. In one hour you will have succeeded or failed. Succeeded in making something happen. Made tangible progress toward an important goal, and no, finishing the download of the complete works of your favorite porn star doesn’t count. In one hour you will either be more than you are now or just one hour closer to being sad, pathetic and old.
You can do a lot with this hour. Write a song. Create a Kickstarter campaign. Build your blog and start saving the oceans. Send the email or make the phone call you have been putting off. The Battle of Midway was over in about an hour. Don’t tell me your problem is harder to solve than that. In this one hour you can save your life. In fact, it is the only opportunity you will ever have. There is no magic time when you can Do Things. There is only now — this day, this hour, this minute. How will you save yourself?
You will forget this. We all do. Write out these words and put them in your work space where you will see them, where you can’t ignore them: “Is what I am doing right now the best use of my time?” You need this reminder, constantly. For now, let me remind you of the importance of this hour, the one in front of you right now.
This is not a metaphor. You have this hour — it will never come again. Do Something with it. See you in an hour.