Hey—It’s Toffer.
I was seated at my desktop, hands on the keyboard, ready to get some real work done. The plan? One solid, focused hour—no distractions.
Then, like an idiot, I made a mistake.
I opened Netflix.
One Chef’s Table episode later, I was watching some Italian guy passionately talk about how the soul of a pizza is in the fermentation. My to-do list? Ignored. My mouse? Frozen in place, untouched for the last 40 minutes. I leaned back in my chair, arms crossed, completely absorbed.
And in that moment, I swear I could hear Marcus Aurelius sigh.
"You had one job, Toffer."
Marcus Aurelius
Marcus, the Roman Emperor and part-time life coach, once wrote, “You could be good today. But instead, you choose tomorrow.”
Oof. That one hurt. It’s basically the ancient version of “Stop saying you’ll start Monday.”
Epictetus
Epictetus—who literally went from being a slave to a world-class philosopher—was big on owning your time. His whole philosophy? You can’t control everything, but you can control how you show up.
And how did I show up that day? By becoming an expert in the optimal cheese pull. Amazing.
Seneca
Then there’s Seneca, who would have had zero patience for my excuses. He once wrote that the biggest scam in life is thinking we have plenty of time. His philosophy? We don’t need more time, we just need to use what we already have better.
I exhaled, reached for the mouse, and—click—finally closed the tab.
"Alright, Seneca, I get it. Stop judging."
So, what’s the takeaway?
If you want to master time like a Stoic (without posting a Seneca quote under an Instagram photo of your lunch):
Do what matters. Learning about pizza? Fascinating. But did it get me closer to my goals? Not even a little.
Cut the fluff. If it’s not adding value, it’s hijacking your time. Epictetus would tell you to mute that nonsense—because no, you don’t need to go down a rabbit hole about Andi Eigenmann’s island (love) life.
Stop procrastinating. Marcus Aurelius said it best: “You could be good today.” Not tomorrow. Not next week. Today.
Reflect, then adjust. The Stoics didn’t aim for perfection, they aimed for progress. If something’s not working, tweak it.
Look, I’m still working on it. Some days I win the battle against distractions; other days, I know way too much about artisanal dough fermentation. But hey, progress over perfection, right?
Your Friend in Time,
Toffer