How to better use time in 2024? Accept that your time is finite. It’s time to ditch the list of dos that you’ll probably deeply regret setting because realistically our time is not in our hands. YOLO is real — you don't have much time to live and it’s time to prioritize what really matters, according to the Financial Times.

Be realistic. Cut what you know won’t be achieved. You’ve been trying to go to the gym since 2019? Maybe it’s time to lay that resolution to rest. Which isn’t a bad thing, in fact, underlying this decision will be a sense of freedom, to escape the ‘tyranny of tasks’.

Keep in mind that there is not one-size-fits-all solution for time management — different techniques will help you hit different goals. Whether it's writing lists, taking regular breaks, or waking up at 5am, each idea will help you reach one specific goal, but you shouldn’t implement one system on all of your goals simultaneously.

If there is one uncontestable take away, it is to focus on objectives or tasks that will help your personal growth — which means asking yourself the question of whether cutting out desserts will do that, or reading more versus spending more time with your children, or visiting that elderly family member whose calls you have been avoiding.

At work, study what you are going to deprioritize as you choose your priorities. Reviewing what you are going to neglect, is as important a focus, as it can show you the repercussions of prioritizing one objective over another, explains the article.

Last but not least, cut out the failure mentality. Even if you did not achieve that one daily objective does not mean you have lost, “we’re not lowering our ambitions by facing the truth: that everyone involved here has finite time, finite stamina and finite control over how a day is going to unfold,” shares Oliver Burkeman, writer of the bestselling book Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, as quoted in the salmon-backed paper.

Earth is nearing its sixth mass extinction. Since we bid 2023 a farewell, scientists are warning us that habitat destruction and climate change are pushing us closer to a human doomsday scenario, reported CNN. Which isn’t such a bad thing for the planet —extinction is a natural part of the evolutionary process — the last most recent one that our green-blue globe experienced was the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 mn years ago.

In the past 500 years 73 groups of organisms had gone extinct, and entire species are currently vanishing at a faster tempo — scientists asserted that it is at a 35% higher rate than it should be, according to the study cited in the CNN story. In fact, had we not walked the earth, these species would have taken 18k years to disappear. But, what matters here is the impact of the absence of these creatures — the normal process of evolution would be interrupted and may pose “a serious threat to the stability of civilization,” asserted the paper.

Small creatures matter, too. The extinction of the passenger pigeon is such an example. The only species in its genus, its extinction due to irresponsible over-hunting led to the rise of tick-borne diseases such as Lyme disease, tells us the CNN article. This goes to show that these classes of creatures not only affect genetic diversity and evolutionary history, but also ecosystem functioning and overall purpose.

We won’t make it if we don’t take steps towards climate change. Some scientists believe that the sixth mass extinction could transform the entire biosphere in a way that makes it impossible for humanity to survive — good riddance for the planet as it can do just fine without us…

… since we got us in this mess, anyway… re-purposing land, causing habitat loss, deforestation, practicing intensive farming and agriculture, introducing invasive species, overhunting, and contributing to the climate crisis have all been factors that are leading us on the highway to destruction. In the past one of the main causes for five mass extinctions had one common denominator which is the Earth’s temperature or in more scientific terms ‘global warming.’

Bob says we can still ‘fix it’by addressing the causes, which includes protecting habitats, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and promoting sustainable practices that minimize harm to the planet and its biodiversity — definitely not news, but the mass extinction makes expediting our efforts a lot more urgent.

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