Despite his remarkable philosophical and literary skills, the Roman author Seneca (4 BC-65 AD) made grievous mistakes in his approach to time management. I find it important to look at his mistakes because many people keep making those more than twenty centuries after Seneca’s death.
What’s the underlying problem in Seneca’s errors about time management? The lack of an integrated view of human action, purpose and motivation. Seneca gained some valid insights on the subject, but failed to get the complete picture.
I find it easier to explain Seneca’s mistakes by comparing his ideas about time management with those of Aristotle (384-322 BC), especially with the Aristotelian concept of happiness in the “Nicomachean Ethics” and “Eudemian Ethics.”
When Seneca recommends to focus on life’s essential goals, discard distractions and conduct ourselves according to reason, he is giving sensible advice, but at the same time, he is raising new questions.
What did Seneca mean by “life’s essential goals”? How did he tell distractions apart from essential activities? How did he define “living according tor reason”?
Insights that Seneca gained from Attalus
If we deepen ourselves into Seneca’s works, we can find his answers to those questions, but the answers will again employ poorly defined terms, for which we’ll have to undertake a new inquiry.
Indeed, it would be a never-ending story to put together in a comprehensive manner Seneca’s views on time management. It is the opposite of Aristotle because, instead of giving pearls of isolated wisdom, Aristotle gave us integrated principles.
In contrast to Seneca, Aristotle clearly defined the purpose of human life, namely, happiness. He also identified the path to happiness, namely, personal development, focused steady work and virtue.
Every piece of Aristotle’s writing leads to the whole picture of Aristotelian philosophy. Every piece of Aristotelian advice in one area is linked to the rest in a coherent manner. His ideas reinforce and strengthen each other like the transversal beams in a geodesic dome.
Unfortunately, Seneca did not achieve Aristotelian levels of consistency. For instance, in his 9th Letter to Lucilius, Seneca is advising readers to balance their memories of the past with the need to focus on today’s problems.
Seneca claims that he had gained this insight from Attalus, his teacher and friend, a Stoic philosopher from the previous generation. Since we know little about Attalus’ life, I can only speculate about how he had himself gained this insight.
I cannot contest that Seneca’s recommendation makes sense, but as usual, opens additional questions. Is Seneca referring to all memories or only to useful ones, that is, those from which we have learned something practical? I also wonder how we’re supposed to balance those memories with today’s concerns.
Seneca’s criticism on Cicero’s lifestyle
Aristotle would have been irritated by Seneca’s obscurity. In his view, each person should lead an integrated life where past, present and future complement each other. Our past memories are meant to help us make good decisions today that lead to a better future.
When everything fits together organically, there is no need to “look for balance.” There is no need to learn Seneca’s twenty pearls of wisdom when one Aristotelian principle suffices.
In the same 9th Letter to Lucilius, Seneca is advising readers to avoid distractions, so that they can concentrate on present issues. Specifically, he is praising Cicero (106-43 BC) for his determination to fulfil his responsibilities despite the personal tragedies he had suffered.
Fair enough, but how can we conciliate this piece of advice with Seneca’s call for “balancing” past memories and present issues? Are we supposed to suppress our memories, so that our time management conforms to the highest standards?
Seneca provides bits and pieces of great advice, but fails to deliver an integrated picture. I’m not referring to an occasional inconsistency, but to a chronic philosophical deficiency.
The key concept missing in Seneca’s advice
Let me give you another example, one extracted from the 70th Letter to Lucilius. Seneca is reminding us to concentrate on the essentials because, if we do so, we will able to employ our time in the best possible manner.
“Concentrating on the essentials” is a solid piece of advice, who could possibly oppose it? Well, in the same 70th Letter to Lucilius, Seneca is praising Zeno of Citium (334-262 BC) for his devotion to reason, but then fails to explain why reason and philosophy are “essential.”
Why did Zeno make a better use of his days than a manual labourer, for instance? What’s the point of studying philosophy for people who are struggling to make a living, pay their bills, and keep a roof over their heads?
Seneca doesn’t relent in making grandiose statements in his 70th Letter to Lucilius, but when we analyse them in detail, we see that they often are self-referential.
For example, Seneca’s statement that philosophy is the only thing that can set us free from anxiety and preoccupation. Even if it were true, it won’t help us make immediate decisions about time allocation, goals and productivity.
I am afraid that Seneca’s advice on time management needs to be complemented with Aristotle’s. The concepts of thriving, flourishing and achievement are missing in Seneca’s insights. I fail to see how I could allocate my time wisely in the absence of those Aristotelian concepts.
Seneca never became aware of his tendency to employ self-referential concepts. Maybe he needed to remain superficial in order to write as fast as he did; or maybe he was confronted in a short time with too many life-or-death issues.
As a concluding thought on this matter, I would recall what Seneca wrote in his 71st Letter to Lucilius and in his dialogue “On the Shortness of Life.” He noted that the human lifespan is long enough if we do not waste it.
A great insight, but the word “happiness” is missing. Instead of writing that the human lifespan is “long enough,” Seneca should have written that it is “long enough for happiness.”
If you are interested in putting rational ideas into practice in all sorts of situations, I recommend you my book “Asymmetry: The shortcut to success when success seems impossible.”
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