I recently asked the People of Instagram how they would spend an extra hour a day, if for some inexplicable reason a 25^th hour was bestowed upon them. In the post I gave a few examples—like reading, walking, snuggling, sleeping, hanging out with kids (ideally one’s own?), eating waffles, etc.

Wait! Before I share my pseudo-scientific analysis of the survey, how would you answer that question? How would you spend a magical, bonus hour each day? (Please tell me it involves waffles.)

Here are the results:

Sleep (38.5%): The overwhelming majority of responses revolved around sleep. People are haggard out there!
This answer disappointed me to no end because I was hoping for more of a vitality-filled response—something a little more “seize the day” instead of “seize the night.” Aren’t we supposed to sleep when we die? (I can say this with smugness because I get eight hours a night come hell or high water.) WHY IS EVERYONE SO TIRED?? And are you also disturbed that most people would choose to be UNCONSCIOUS for a hypothetical bonus hour of life each day? Are people suffering from a lack of imagination about how to use an extra hour? Are people really that sleep deprived? I will be less judgmental about the rest of the answers debriefed below, but for now, I am deeply disturbed by all of humanity. WHO DELIBERATELY OPTS FOR A SNOOZEFEST?!? MOST OF YOU, that’s who. Sample comments…

• “I would sleep definitely”
• “SLEEP”
• “Uninterrupted sleep”
• (You get the sleepy point here.)

Relaxation (16.5%): Beyond sleep, there was a recurring theme of self-care activities like relaxing and winding down, and I told you I was going to stop being judgmental, and I will probably stop with all this judgment soon, but for now I have to point out that “chilling out” is ALARMINGLY CLOSE TO SLEEPING. I’m all for restoring and refreshing (I love couch time so much), but I guess I was hoping people would indulge the fantasy of a bonus hour with things like spelunking. Sample comments…

• “Sitting down with a cup of tea”
• “I’d linger over breakfast, take in the sunrise & listen to the birds and/or enjoy dusk, rather than rush through chores”
• “Nothing!”
• (Okay for the record I am a fan of the first two bullet points above.)

Creative Pursuits (13.2%): Here’s where life is getting lived, in this little sliver of the pie chart. These people wanted to engage in hobbies, like quilting, painting, photography, or drawing. Sample comments…

• “My six year old heard this and she said, ‘play in the snow!’” (👈this six year old needs to give the tired-ass adults a tutorial on how to live)
• “I love to do crafts”
• “I’d draw. Freely and effortlessly without doubt or interruptions. I’d draw fantasy worlds and characters plucked from my imagination. I’d reinvent myself and have adventures on the page. It’d be like no one else exists, they’re all asleep I think.” (See?! THEY ARE ALL SLEEPING.)

Productivity (Work, Exercise, Chores) (11%): A tidy sum of people wanted to be productive in their bonus hour—whether by exercising, cooking, or handling household chores like laundry. Some expressed concern that an extra hour might be consumed by work responsibilities. Sample comments…

• “I would put up my feet and study for my colleges classes to get better grades, while my kids slept and husband worked online in a different room”
• “I’m guessing for the majority of us it would be claimed by our bosses as their work time but strangely it wouldn’t be paid for”
• “Movement and music – feeling alive in my body and soul”
• “Study my Bible”
• “Learn Russian and practice it”

Family Time (6.6%): Several people mentioned spending time with their family, particularly children. (Note: more people admitted they’d spend their bonus time on Instagram than play with their kids. Discuss amongst yourselves.) Sample comments…

• “Spend time with my kids & wife”
• “Hang out with my grandkids”
• “Cuddle more”

Cynicism or Humor (8.8%): Some people took a humorous &/or snarky approach to the question, which you know I appreciate. Sample responses…

• “Waste it, I’m sure”
• “Time is a construct”
• “Doom scrolling”
• “I wouldn’t want an extra hour at this stage of my life; I am old and spend toooo much time on Instagram already😂❤️”
• “Am I the only one getting the extra hour or the entire world is getting it?
• “Absolutely nothing, I’m waiting for time to expire because, I live on trash planet with poisoned food and water and the mad monkeys made everything illegal”
• “Cry more”

Time/ Mental Health Struggles (5.5%): A few comments hinted at stress, mental health challenges, and overwhelm. People mentioned feeling like time would just be eaten up by more obligations, and some expressed feelings of being pulled in multiple directions. Sample comments…

• “I’m not a procrastinator, actually, but the idea of giving myself time is not easy”
• “I wouldn’t even notice it, it would just be eaten up by everything i have to do”

The Moral of the Story

Other than finding it remotely amusing how people would spend/ squander their gifted hour, and other than watching me be horribly judgmental, what’s the point of this question?

The way you answered the question provides a little piece of self-awareness you can either pay attention to or ignore. We all know we’re not going to get the extra hour (boooo), but can we find a way to weave more of how we answered the question into our respective weeks?

The person who said they wanted to quilt… can they carve out 20 minutes on a Sunday to do it?

The 780% of people that said “sleep”… can they take their sleep routines more seriously? Maybe prioritize a special sleep ritual? Maybe make an Ambien cocktail?

How can you find even a small amount of time to live with more intention—in the way you’ve identified matters to you?

This particular comment stood out to me in this little Instagram survey: “Would I be reminded that it’s my ‘extra’ hour? would there be bells or something? Bc time kind of jumbles all together for me rn and idk if I’d realize I had a whole hour stacked on what was already happening.”

Is there a way you can carve out a special block of time in your calendar, to make your “intentional time” feel more intentional, and not get lost in the shuffle of life?

Time is of the essence, so I’ll wrap up. Now… are you game to go spelunking?! PLEASE DON’T SLEEP, that’s all I (judgmentally) ask.