0:00:24.680,0:00:30.175
Two thousand, five hundred and forty six.

0:00:31.431,0:00:33.993
Those are hours, by the way.

0:00:34.674,0:00:39.094
Two thousand, five hundred[br]and forty six hours

0:00:39.094,0:00:43.928
that I spent on making videos[br]with plastic bricks.

0:00:44.707,0:00:46.225
Now picture this:

0:00:46.370,0:00:48.360
it's a beautiful Saturday,

0:00:48.360,0:00:50.243
the weather just couldn't be better,

0:00:50.243,0:00:52.959
and all your friends[br]want to hang out with you.

0:00:53.743,0:00:58.597
Instead, you spent the whole day[br]sitting inside, in a dark room,

0:00:58.597,0:01:02.468
and you're essentially playing[br]with little plastic toy bricks.

0:01:03.562,0:01:05.815
It starts out as just one Saturday,

0:01:05.815,0:01:06.958
but then you keep going,

0:01:06.958,0:01:09.884
and there goes another day,[br]another week, another month,

0:01:09.884,0:01:11.046
and before you know it,

0:01:11.046,0:01:15.787
you've spent most of your free time[br]with one particular thing.

0:01:16.816,0:01:22.035
After all, this year we have[br]a very special anniversary, right?

0:01:22.035,0:01:24.369
A ten-year anniversary.

0:01:24.369,0:01:27.866
I mean, ten years ago,[br]I started making brickfilms.

0:01:27.866,0:01:29.510
(Laughter)

0:01:29.510,0:01:30.650
[Brickfilms]

0:01:30.650,0:01:32.696
They're little animated movies

0:01:32.696,0:01:35.308
created by using the stop-motion technique

0:01:35.308,0:01:38.108
and plastic bricks, hence the name.

0:01:38.642,0:01:40.049
It works like this:

0:01:40.240,0:01:43.190
you have an object,[br]you take a photo of it;

0:01:43.190,0:01:46.739
you move it just a tiny bit,[br]take another photo;

0:01:46.739,0:01:49.550
move again, take photo, and so on.

0:01:49.738,0:01:52.204
And then you end up[br]with thousands of photos,

0:01:52.204,0:01:54.260
and when they're played at the fast rate,

0:01:54.260,0:01:57.454
the illusion of movement is created.

0:01:59.837,0:02:03.683
This is, of course,[br]a very time-consuming process.

0:02:03.683,0:02:07.719
Therefore, it's not a strange thing[br]to spend a whole sunny Saturday with this.

0:02:08.402,0:02:11.383
Together with my younger brother[br]Thomas and some friends,

0:02:11.383,0:02:13.450
we've been doing this for a while now,

0:02:13.450,0:02:16.373
but we aren't always[br]staying indoors in the darkroom.

0:02:16.373,0:02:18.698
We've also been attending film festivals,

0:02:18.698,0:02:20.574
even organized some,

0:02:20.574,0:02:23.364
and we got to win awards[br]with our little movies.

0:02:23.693,0:02:26.609
Now I'm also teaching children[br]how to make these films.

0:02:26.609,0:02:28.652
I'm organizing workshops for them,

0:02:28.652,0:02:30.174
some basically telling them,

0:02:30.174,0:02:34.961
"Instead of going out on a sunny day,[br]stay inside and play with plastic bricks."

0:02:34.961,0:02:36.166
(Laughter)

0:02:36.824,0:02:40.740
So most of my free time in these 10 years

0:02:40.740,0:02:44.425
has been dedicated[br]to make plastic bricks move.

0:02:44.938,0:02:48.355
And this is all time[br]that I'll never get back.

0:02:48.355,0:02:50.616
So I started to ask myself,

0:02:50.616,0:02:52.880
"Is all of this wasted time?"

0:02:52.880,0:02:55.569
I mean, all the hours[br]that I invested in this

0:02:55.569,0:02:59.492
could have been used[br]for so many other things, right?

0:02:59.492,0:03:00.530
[wasted time?]

0:03:00.530,0:03:06.301
Well, I believe that it's not[br]a bad thing if you waste time.

0:03:06.961,0:03:09.847
Therefore, it is OK if you waste time,

0:03:09.847,0:03:13.045
and you should probably waste more.

0:03:14.722,0:03:17.070
Some of you seem[br]very relieved with this info:

0:03:17.070,0:03:19.188
"Waste more time, no problem.

0:03:19.188,0:03:20.458
I can do that."

0:03:21.357,0:03:22.846
It might be a bit confusing

0:03:22.846,0:03:24.906
because, after all,[br]we're always being told

0:03:24.906,0:03:28.630
to maximize our potential[br]to live life to the fullest,

0:03:28.630,0:03:32.846
and oftentimes that seems[br]to include not wasting our time.

0:03:32.846,0:03:35.343
I mean, we like scrolling[br]through social media,

0:03:35.343,0:03:38.521
we like watching countless hours[br]of television shows,

0:03:38.521,0:03:42.282
but sometimes we might blame[br]ourselves for that afterwards.

0:03:42.603,0:03:43.801
We might feel guilty

0:03:43.801,0:03:47.484
if we just binge-watch several episodes[br]of our favorite show.

0:03:47.843,0:03:48.993
This comes from the fact

0:03:48.993,0:03:53.499
that we don't consider these activities[br]to be part of our greater goals in life,

0:03:53.499,0:03:56.768
like pursuing a career, forming a family.

0:03:56.768,0:03:59.918
They're really just ways to pass the time.

0:04:00.311,0:04:03.791
So when I started to ask myself[br]if I was wasting time,

0:04:03.791,0:04:06.367
first I looked it up in a dictionary.

0:04:07.108,0:04:13.104
It is defined as "to allow time to elapse[br]in an unproductive manner."

0:04:13.669,0:04:14.833
OK.

0:04:14.833,0:04:16.633
This can mean a few things.

0:04:16.633,0:04:18.729
The first being you're unproductive,

0:04:18.729,0:04:21.360
of course, when you're doing[br]absolutely nothing:

0:04:21.360,0:04:23.195
maybe lying in bed,

0:04:23.195,0:04:25.687
not watching anything, not even sleeping.

0:04:25.687,0:04:27.305
Just doing nothing.

0:04:28.096,0:04:29.991
Second way to view the term:

0:04:29.991,0:04:30.992
you're unproductive

0:04:30.992,0:04:34.304
when you're not achieving anything[br]or creating anything,

0:04:34.744,0:04:37.348
like you're just going through[br]that social media.

0:04:37.920,0:04:39.871
And the third way would be

0:04:39.871,0:04:43.654
that you're committing[br]to low-priority activities

0:04:43.654,0:04:46.883
instead of the things that you feel like[br]you should be doing.

0:04:46.883,0:04:48.934
You're basically procrastinating.

0:04:49.915,0:04:51.257
For example,

0:04:51.754,0:04:55.646
I wouldn't consider[br]cleaning my room a waste of time,

0:04:55.646,0:04:57.053
but it can be viewed that way

0:04:57.053,0:04:58.209
if I should be working

0:04:58.209,0:05:01.123
on an important paper[br]for university instead.

0:05:02.649,0:05:05.837
I mean, of course,[br]this is very subjective.

0:05:05.837,0:05:09.868
Maybe you do consider cleaning your room[br]more important than a stupid paper,

0:05:09.868,0:05:13.549
but for me, this paper is part[br]of my greater goal in life.

0:05:13.549,0:05:15.195
I finish the paper,

0:05:15.195,0:05:17.257
it helps me finish university,

0:05:17.257,0:05:19.886
I get a job, and so on.

0:05:19.886,0:05:21.464
So why would I want to waste time

0:05:21.464,0:05:24.238
with something that is not[br]part of that goal?

0:05:25.597,0:05:30.584
So there are many ways to waste time[br]and also some benefits to gain,

0:05:30.985,0:05:32.935
but still the question stands:

0:05:33.215,0:05:36.064
"Can time go to waste?"

0:05:36.064,0:05:38.019
[Can time go to waste?]

0:05:38.019,0:05:41.249
Objectively speaking, "No, it can't."

0:05:41.249,0:05:43.515
Time can't go anywhere, except forwards.

0:05:43.515,0:05:46.752
So, no matter what you decide[br]to do with your day,

0:05:46.752,0:05:48.938
time itself will just go on.

0:05:48.938,0:05:53.189
So, as time itself cannot be wasted,

0:05:53.189,0:05:56.625
why would you want to view[br]your time as wasted anyways?

0:05:57.352,0:05:59.074
I mean, many studies have shown

0:05:59.074,0:06:01.612
that you are more productive[br]and more creative

0:06:01.612,0:06:05.099
if you occasionally allow yourself[br]to focus on something different

0:06:05.099,0:06:06.865
or nothing at all.

0:06:07.895,0:06:12.853
A study by Dijksterhuis in 2004[br]focused on something similar.

0:06:13.429,0:06:15.984
He looked into the conscious[br]and unconscious thoughts

0:06:15.984,0:06:17.513
when making decisions.

0:06:17.987,0:06:19.272
In the form of experiments,

0:06:19.272,0:06:22.899
he presented participants[br]with a decision-making problem

0:06:22.899,0:06:24.932
and a few answers to choose from.

0:06:25.246,0:06:27.977
He divided the participants[br]in three groups:

0:06:27.977,0:06:31.404
the first ones had to give[br]their answers immediately;

0:06:31.910,0:06:36.448
the second group could consciously,[br]actively think about the problem,

0:06:36.448,0:06:38.111
and then they had to decide;

0:06:38.610,0:06:41.365
and the third group[br]was distracted for a bit

0:06:41.365,0:06:43.645
with a completely different task,

0:06:43.781,0:06:45.586
and then they had to answer.

0:06:46.077,0:06:49.162
The study concluded[br]that the unconscious thinkers,

0:06:49.162,0:06:51.561
meaning the ones[br]who were distracted for a bit,

0:06:51.561,0:06:55.307
made better and reasonable decisions.

0:06:56.807,0:07:00.531
There are, of course,[br]many ways to waste time,

0:07:00.531,0:07:03.150
and apparently some benefits to gain.

0:07:03.978,0:07:07.472
My preferred activity[br]would be making brickfilms.

0:07:07.697,0:07:10.813
Together with my brother[br]Thomas and friends,

0:07:10.813,0:07:15.316
we've concluded that's our time[br]with this is far from wasted.

0:07:15.649,0:07:18.285
I mean, even if we spend all these hours,

0:07:18.285,0:07:21.881
we still don't regret any sunny Saturday[br]that we spent with this.

0:07:22.282,0:07:26.658
And at this point, it has even become[br]a part of my identity,

0:07:26.658,0:07:27.963
a part of who I am.

0:07:28.425,0:07:30.787
People have even called me[br]Mr. Brick before.

0:07:30.787,0:07:32.495
(Laughter)

0:07:33.472,0:07:38.098
So, of course, even if you don't have[br]something to show off,

0:07:38.098,0:07:40.543
like a movie, a product[br]of your wasted time,

0:07:40.543,0:07:43.144
if you don't have that, it doesn't matter.

0:07:43.708,0:07:46.234
I mean, maybe you like[br]scrolling through social media,

0:07:46.234,0:07:49.508
maybe you like going for a walk[br]or meditate for an hour.

0:07:49.953,0:07:52.990
These activities all offer[br]positive side effects,

0:07:52.990,0:07:55.184
like you're learning[br]about your friends online,

0:07:55.184,0:07:58.282
you're maybe getting[br]mentally and physically fit.

0:07:58.734,0:07:59.792
And at the very least,

0:07:59.792,0:08:05.162
these activities will allow yourself[br]to rest and focus on something different.

0:08:06.547,0:08:08.065
In the beginning of my talk,

0:08:08.065,0:08:12.117
I brought up the idea[br]that it's a good thing to waste time.

0:08:13.094,0:08:14.553
Of course,

0:08:14.553,0:08:16.931
if you waste 15 hours every day,

0:08:16.931,0:08:20.329
it might not be more beneficial[br]than only one hour,

0:08:20.329,0:08:21.829
but there's no golden rule

0:08:21.829,0:08:24.725
when or how much time[br]you should waste to benefit.

0:08:25.132,0:08:26.613
Maybe think of setting yourself

0:08:26.613,0:08:29.891
a certain timeframe[br]to actively waste your time,

0:08:29.891,0:08:32.301
and then move on with your duties.

0:08:32.935,0:08:37.886
Because, after all, wasting time[br]remains a subjective term,

0:08:37.886,0:08:41.537
and therefore, it's up to you[br]how you want to view this term.

0:08:42.472,0:08:45.773
Don't let it be negative[br]or be guilty about it.

0:08:45.773,0:08:48.105
Instead, be happy about wasted time.

0:08:48.446,0:08:50.355
Look at all the joy and benefits

0:08:50.355,0:08:53.499
that these activities[br]can bring to your lives.

0:08:54.555,0:08:56.084
Because that

0:08:56.084,0:08:57.813
is never a waste of time.

0:08:58.480,0:08:59.676
Thank you.

0:08:59.676,0:09:01.681
(Applause)