The work you do while you procrastinate is probably the work you should be doing for the rest of your life.
~ Jessica Hische
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The actual work →
An agreeable tour →
No enjoyment, however inconsiderable, is confined to the present moment. A man is happier for life from having made once an agreeable tour, or lived for any length of time among pleasant people, or enjoyed any considerable interval of innocent pleasure.
~ Sydney Smith
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What indeed →
While there’s nothing wrong with always having our nose to the grindstone, and having every day feel the same as the last … what would it be like to open to something different?
~ Leo Babauta from, Transcendent: Take on Work & Life from Another Level – Zen Habits Website
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I hate to quibble with Babauta (his writing having been so instrumental in my growth over decades). But… uhm, actually, I’m going to say there is indeed something wrong with having one’s nose to the grindstone. Working a hard dash on meaningful work is healthy. Dashing all the time is—by definition—not dashing. Lately I’m again and again (and again and again and again) returning to the same problem. I’ve so many things I want to do, but only so many hours.
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The starting point →
Always read with a pen handy. The pen should be used both to mark the text you want to remember and to write from where the text leaves you. Think of the text as the starting point for your own words.
~ Mandy Brown
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Why with Dave Closson →
Why – with Dave Closson
What processes and mindsets can individuals adopt to clarify their purpose, improve decision-making, and enhance their effectiveness in both personal and professional contexts?
Decision fatigue and productivity, discipline as a path to freedom, and self-reflection.
Better and better and more efficient and more effective, that’s great. It’s about continuous improvement. But I’ve discovered that it’s not just about getting better at what you do, it’s also about getting smarter about how you do it. That’s where the real freedom comes from. It’s like having a well-oiled machine that runs smoothly, and you don’t have to constantly tinker with it.
~ Dave Closson around 17:16
Craig Constantine and Dave Closson begin with finding one’s “why” and how it drives one’s actions and decisions. They stress that articulating a clear why-statement is key to staying focused and avoiding distractions. The conversation shifts to the role of processes and structure, with both speakers emphasizing that they can be liberating rather than constricting, as they help eliminate decision fatigue. Dave introduces the idea of having meaningful conversations with oneself as a way to navigate complex thoughts and emotions effectively.
(more…)Test in the kitchen →
Sausages sautéed with potatoes and onions! It’s also highly advisable to have a philosopher or two on hand. A few pages of Plato while working on a baked ham. Wittgenstein’s Tractatus over a bowl of spaghetti with littleneck clams. We think best when we bring opposites together, when we realize that all these realities, one inside the other, are somehow connected. That’s how the wonder and amazement that are so necessary to both poetry and philosophy come about. A “truth” detached and purified of pleasures of ordinary life is not worth a damn in my view. Every grand theory and noble sentiment ought to be first tested in the kitchen—and then in bed, of course.
~ Charles Simic
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Part two →
It’s time to accept that I’m definitely in part two of my life. I’m done pretending that living to 100 is realistic. (Although, I’m open to being surprised.)
Now on my Artist’s Journey I barely drive to the grocery store.
~ Steven Pressfield from, Writing Wednesdays: After the Wilderness
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The thought rattling around in my head is: What are the differences between parts one and two? And I think the central thematic difference is activity versus passivity. In part one the hero expended tremendous effort bashing their way towards the objective. In part two the hero has realized it’s time to play a supporting role.
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Emotions, institutions, technology →
The real problem of humanity is the following: We have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions and godlike technology.
~ Edward O. Wilson
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Able to hear myself →
I would like to spend the rest of my days in a place so silent—and working at a pace so slow—that I would be able to hear myself living.
~ Elizabeth Gilbert
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Bias →
These stories illustrate two truths. 1) I’m a big ol’ nerd, and 2) the goodness and badness of memories fade over time, but the badness fades faster—that’s the fading affect bias. Some bad memories even become good memories, while good memories rarely become bad memories.
~ Adam Mastroianni from, Underrated ideas in psychology – by Adam Mastroianni
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Like Mastroianni, I’m clearly susceptible to this bias. One thing that I use to fight it, is to write myself honest thoughts after things happen. A lot of the pleasure from something is the anticipation—the imagining of the enjoyment from some expected experience. That’s pretty easy to remember to journal and it happens without effort in the days leading up. But after the fact, I usually take a big chunk of time and decompress. What did I really think when I got hit in the head that one time at that thing? …or when I fell? …or got sick? The best adventures are when I look back and think: “ugh, that sucked. I’m glad I did it.”
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