I recently read a

blog

post that concluded with:

When I'm on my deathbed, I won't look back at my life and wish I had

worked harder. I'll look back and wish I spent more time with the

people I loved.

Setting aside that some people don't have the economic

breathing room to make this kind of tradeoff, what jumps out at me

is the implication that you're not working on something important that

you'll endorse in retrospect. I don't think the author is envisioning

directly valuable work (reducing risk from international conflict,

pandemics, or AI-supported totalitarianism; improving humanity's

treatment of animals; fighting global poverty) or the undervalued less

direct approach of earning money

and donating it to enable others to work on pressing

problems.

Definitely spend time with your friends, family, and those you

love. Don't work to the exclusion of everything else [...]

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May 1st, 2025

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/cF6eumerCq8hnb9YT/prioritizing-work

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