Hit 500 volunteer hours at the dig site last Saturday

I've been helping out at the Olduvai Gorge replica site near my town for about 2 years now. Usually just sifting dirt or cleaning pottery shards on weekends. Last weekend I added up my time and it came to exactly 500 hours which just blew my mind. It didn't feel like that much because I just show up and do my thing. Has anyone else had a moment where you realize you've spent way more time digging than you thought?

2 comments

2 Comments

aaronf403d ago

Notice how the same thing happens with hobbies we start as kids. I put in hundreds of hours learning to tie flies for fishing before I ever caught anything worth keeping, and looking back that time just vanished into thin air. There is something about repetitive, hands-on work that lets the brain settle down and stop counting minutes. Feels like we are wired to lose track of time doing things that keep our hands busy and our minds quiet.

walker.robert3d ago

Listen, that's exactly how it works with anything you actually enjoy doing. You get into a rhythm, you show up, you do your thing, and before you know it you've racked up a ton of hours without even realizing it. I've noticed this same pattern with everything from video games to building stuff in my garage. Time just disappears when you're focused on something that clicks with you. It's like your brain doesn't bother keeping score because it's too busy being in the zone. 500 hours is a solid chunk of time though, good on you for sticking with it.