Any Benefit Mentality and Redeeming Time

In his book Deep Work, Cal Newport talks about the concept of an “any benefit” mentality.

What is that? Newport explains the underlying presupposition:

“You’re justified in using a network tool if you can identify any possible benefit to its use, or anything you might possibly miss out on if you don’t use it.”

I see this mentality everywhere. Let me give you my favorite example: the news. I think the news is mostly a waste of time. Why? Postman captures my thinking, “[M]ost of our daily news is inert, consisting of information that gives us something to talk about but cannot lead to any meaningful action.”

A news alert flashes across the screen: “Huge Earthquake in China.” So what? What does that have to do with me? I live in Ohio. I don’t have any direct connections to China. I’m not a global aid worker. This information is irrelevant to my life.

Now, this is the point where a Christian will argue, “But but now you know how to pray for them.”

Okay, I suppose that is a slight benefit. But let’s consider that in the light of opportunity cost.

Opportunity cost is an economic principle which can be applied to any investment. It describes the loss of potential gain from other alternatives when one alternative is chosen. Here we are talking about how you spend or invest your time. You chose to spend an hour or, perhaps even, hours on news for the gain of seconds or minutes of prayer for folks in China. That’s the cited benefit. But what better opportunities did you lose out on? Where else could have you spent that time to get better benefits?

The question isn’t if there is “any benefit.” You can cite a small benefit from most activities. The question is what is the good, the better, and the best use of your time. That takes discernment. Newport recommends you take what he calls the craftsman approach:

Identify the core factors that determine success and happiness in your professional and personal life. Adopt a tool only if its positive impacts on these factors substantially outweigh its negative impact.

This has become my guiding principle. I only add “faithfulness to God” ahead of success and happiness. As my responsibilities have increased, I’ve gotten brutal in my application of this principle. If the benefit from an activity/investment doesn’t offset the opportunity cost, I kill it. At least, that is what I’m pushing for.

Time and attention are our most precious resources. Choosing where to invest them is the key to a productive and, often, a happy life.

Commenting on Ephesians 5:16, Matthew Henry writes:

It is a great part of Christian wisdom to redeem the time. Good Christians must be good husbands of their time, and take care to improve it to the best of purposes, by watching against temptations, by doing good while it is in the power of their hands, and by filling it up with proper employment, one special preservative from sin. They should make the best use they can of the present seasons of grace. Our time is a talent given us by God for some good end, and it is misspent and lost when it is not employed according to his design. If we have lost our time heretofore, we must endeavour to redeem it by doubling our diligence in doing our duty for the future.

This is our task. Let’s get to it!