How to Live on 24 Hours a Day
Encyclopedia
How to Live on 24 Hours a Day (1910), written by Arnold Bennett
, is part of a larger work entitled How to Live. In this volume, he offers practical advice on how one might live (as opposed to just existing) within the confines of 24 hours a day.
s that had accumulated since the advent of the Industrial Revolution
. In his view, these workers put in eight hours a day, 40 hours a week, at jobs they did not enjoy, and at worst hated. They worked to make a living, but their daily existence consisted of waking up, getting ready for work, working as little as possible during the work day, going home, unwinding, going to sleep, and repeating the process the next day. In short, he didn't believe they were really living.
Bennett addressed this problem by urging these "salarymen" to seize their extra time, and make the most of it to improve themselves. Extra time could be found at the beginning of the day, by waking up early, and on the ride to work, on the way home from work, in the evening hours, and especially during the weekends. During this time, he prescribed improvement measures such as reading great literature
, taking an interest in the art
s, reflecting
on life
, and learning self-discipline.
Bennett wrote that time is the most precious of commodities. He said that many books have been written on how to live on a certain amount of money each day. And he added that the old adage "time is money
" understates the matter, as time can often produce money, but money cannot produce more time. Time is extremely limited, and Bennett urged others to make the best of the time remaining in their lives.
This book has seen increased appeal in recent years due to the explosion of the self-improvement phenomenon, and the book has much relevance in today's world.
Arnold Bennett
- Early life :Bennett was born in a modest house in Hanley in the Potteries district of Staffordshire. Hanley is one of a conurbation of six towns which joined together at the beginning of the twentieth century as Stoke-on-Trent. Enoch Bennett, his father, qualified as a solicitor in 1876, and the...
, is part of a larger work entitled How to Live. In this volume, he offers practical advice on how one might live (as opposed to just existing) within the confines of 24 hours a day.
Philosophy
In the book, Bennett addressed the large and growing number of white-collar workerWhite-collar worker
The term white-collar worker refers to a person who performs professional, managerial, or administrative work, in contrast with a blue-collar worker, whose job requires manual labor...
s that had accumulated since the advent of the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
. In his view, these workers put in eight hours a day, 40 hours a week, at jobs they did not enjoy, and at worst hated. They worked to make a living, but their daily existence consisted of waking up, getting ready for work, working as little as possible during the work day, going home, unwinding, going to sleep, and repeating the process the next day. In short, he didn't believe they were really living.
Bennett addressed this problem by urging these "salarymen" to seize their extra time, and make the most of it to improve themselves. Extra time could be found at the beginning of the day, by waking up early, and on the ride to work, on the way home from work, in the evening hours, and especially during the weekends. During this time, he prescribed improvement measures such as reading great literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, taking an interest in the art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
s, reflecting
Introspection
Introspection is the self-observation and reporting of conscious inner thoughts, desires and sensations. It is a conscious and purposive process relying on thinking, reasoning, and examining one's own thoughts, feelings, and, in more spiritual cases, one's soul...
on life
Life
Life is a characteristic that distinguishes objects that have signaling and self-sustaining processes from those that do not, either because such functions have ceased , or else because they lack such functions and are classified as inanimate...
, and learning self-discipline.
Bennett wrote that time is the most precious of commodities. He said that many books have been written on how to live on a certain amount of money each day. And he added that the old adage "time is money
Time Is Money
Time Is Money is the 6th album by hip hop artist South Park Mexican. The track Boys On The Cut is a cover of Eazy E's classic Boyz 'N' Tha Hood. The song also contains a reference to DJ Screw, who had been dead for less than a month at the time....
" understates the matter, as time can often produce money, but money cannot produce more time. Time is extremely limited, and Bennett urged others to make the best of the time remaining in their lives.
This book has seen increased appeal in recent years due to the explosion of the self-improvement phenomenon, and the book has much relevance in today's world.
Advice
In the book, Bennett offers the following advice:- Claim 90 minutes an evening for three evenings a week, to start with. More time can be found, but Bennett recommends starting small, instead of attempting a large enterprise and failing.
- Those 90 minutes can be claimed in the evening, in the morning, on the train to and from work, or other time that isn't put to good use. He recommends evenings for most people, but it depends on your schedule.
- Use that 90 minutes to improve yourself. Over the course of weeks and months, the knowledge gained in those chunks of time will add up to a significant amount.
- Literature is not the only means of self-improvement. Other reading can be very beneficial, including learning more about your businessBusinessA business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
, learning about the "causes and effects" of things, and learning about historyHistoryHistory is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and philosophyPhilosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
. - He doesn't recommend reading novels for self-improvement. He highly recommends poetryPoetryPoetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, especially verse novels such as Milton's "Paradise LostParadise LostParadise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. It was originally published in 1667 in ten books, with a total of over ten thousand individual lines of verse...
".
Warnings
Bennett also warns against:- becoming a prigPrigA prig is a person who shows an inordinately zealous approach to matters of form and propriety – especially where the prig has the ability to show superior knowledge to those who do not know the protocol...
and insisting others follow the same improvement program—he says that it is enough to worry about your own improvement. - becoming a slave to your program. You should be flexible enough to allow other things in your life. At the same time, it must be rigid enough to actually be called a program. Finding that balance between rigidity and flexibility isn't easy, Bennett says.
- being rushed and constantly worrying about what one has to do next, which he said is like living in a prison. He says: "The evil springs not from persisting without elasticity in what one has attempted, but from originally attempting too much, from filling one's programme till it runs over. The only cure is to reconstitute the programme, and to attempt less."
- failing at the beginning of the enterprise, which "may easily kill outright the newborn impulse towards a complete vitality, and therefore every precaution should be observed to avoid it. The impulse must not be over-taxed. Let the pace of the first lap be even absurdly slow, but let it be as regular as possible."
Chapters
The book has the following chapters:- The Daily Miracle
- The Desire to Exceed One's Programme
- Precautions Before Beginning
- The Cause of the Trouble
- TennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
and the Immortal SoulSoulA soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The... - Remember Human Nature
- Controlling the Mind
- The Reflective Mood
- Interest in the Arts
- Nothing in Life is Humdrum
- Serious Reading
- Dangers to Avoid