Precious time well spent

Recently, I involved myself in a small project for a good friend. It was a time-limited task - I had a couple of weeks to come as far as I could, giving my immediate comments to a book draft. A task with which I could spend more or less time.
Why? some people will say.
And true - I could have said no. I could have done a superficial effort. Found a place here and there and written a comment, but otherwise it will be relatively quickly done. Time is valuable, as we know.
At this point, let us briefly stray out at a tangent.
Most people know the old anecdote about the philosophy professor who presents his students with a transparent container, which he first fills up with stones until the students say it's full - then he pours gravel in until the students say that now, it is really full - after which he eventually fills it up with sand until the students for the third time claim that there is room for no more in the container. Then the professor takes the exact same amount of sand, pours it into a similar container. Then there is room for the gravel, but not all of the stones - especially not the big ones - can be placed in the container.
The point is (and let us refrain from venturing too far into what I think is a particular Danish devaluation of the anecdote - that the professor in both cases ends the session by empty a full beer mug into the container, after which he, while the beer seeps through the sand, point out: "but remember: there's always room for a pint"): we should make room for the big, important things in our lives first - if we take the small indifferent things first, there will be no room for the big, meaningful things.
In this case, the comments I have written to the book draft (comments that I would describe as a piece of gravel greater than the average, or one of the smaller stones in my container) had no influence on the more significant things. I have had my sleep every night, done my duty at work and as a family man. I have had time for all the other things in the gravel category: my presence on social media (which I choose not to call procrastination) has been unchanged, I have written my daily blog posts and I even had time for my #7ThingsIReadThisWeek. I may have translated a blog post less, maybe skipped watching a TV broadcast - but that's about it. It has actually only been sand that I have not had room for.
I am writing this halfway through the time I have available for the purpose. And I'm sure I'll make it. Because I've actually seen it as a pleasure. I like it, I get this fabulous sense of flow, and I do not notice that time passes around me - and then it even serves a purpose.
So if I'm actually able to make a positive difference that way - well, I would say yes again - any time!
(Translated from Kostbar tid, vel anvendt)

Everywhere!

If I were to offer a single piece of advice that I think, most people could benefit from every day, it would be as simple as:

Bring two books everywhere. 

A book, so that you always have something inspiring to read, if you happen to have an idle moment, and a notebook, so that you always have a place to nake a note, if you should happen to have a thought worth keeping for later use. Think it over: how many spare moments have been wasted on Angry Birds - or whatever happens to be the thing of the moment on the omnipresent smartphone? How many thoughts worth keeping for later use are lost, because they weren't noted anywhere?
All to all those objecting that "unfortunately, I have no space for the two books when I am on the move": let me guess that you always have space for the omnipresent smartphone? Well, then it is easy: install an e-book reader and an application for taking notes on it. And open one of these two, whenever you have the time and the urge to throw a bird...
(Translated from Overalt!)