Doing nothing is how I often stayed productive. I used to be able to stay and think about something for hours. If I encountered something difficult I would go for a walk or take a nap. Now that I've been forced, at work, to use Slack day in and out -- I feel like I can't spend 5 minutes without flipping to another window, checking this, checking that. It's counter productive and feels like torture.
I get a hangover from the weekend... because I do nothing. I go for walks, read a book, ask my kids whether they think there are more cats than animals... I work on old recreational maths puzzles. I wander over to my friend's house for tea to catch up on how he's doing. We check for caterpillars in his garden on the way out. I plant wildflowers in my own.
The hardest part of doing nothing is learning to live with all the people who can't.
> The hardest part of doing nothing is learning to live with all the people who can't.
Very true. Network effect doesn't only have effects online. I've missed out on quite a bit of real life socialization (friends, community, and business) because I never signed up for Facebook and refuse to carry a cell phone.
At least in the last few years people are coming around on Facebook but I still get weird responses to not carrying a cell phone.
I think the more annoying part is being out in public, there is a vast decline in basic human interaction in places that are meant specifically for that purpose even. It is much harder to meet new people at a bar for example than it was even 5 years ago. The difference is dramatic.
How are you supposed to meet strangers and have interesting conversation when they won't look up long enough to see that you are attempting to make eye contact with them?
Quite frankly, I wouldn't want to meet those people. I'm looking for the ones that do the opposite, greet you with a smile and can hold a conversation about anything effortlessly.
If those people are having a moment, and not to be dismissed out of hand because in their moment they happen to be staring at their phone, it can be a lost opportunity.
Recently, I've observed that you're more likely to meet someone, and end up in a long conversation, close to the point where either you, or they, show up. So, you could strike up a conversation with someone after sitting next to them for 30 minutes, each doing your own thing... but it's been my experience that when you show up, or when they show up, there's more of an incidental openness that can be exploited with a "hello" (or whatever suits the occasion).
Absolutely and I am mindful of people not having their personal space or privacy invaded in public. This dynamic changes in a social setting however where the expectation is to socialize or be friendly to others.
I've also noticed a decline and people just seem unhappier and grumpy. I don't think it's the act of staring at a screen itself. It's the information coming from that screen. It's stressing people out and adding a huge amount of complexity to life.
That is why I use an Apple Watch. I can leave my cellphone at home, set the Apple Watch to ‘no alerts’, and just do a quick check for messages/emails once in a long while - when I want to. I can still make phone calls if I really need to.
somewhat similar: I used to occupy all my "down time" with podcasts or audiobooks. While mildly interesting, I found that it removes all "cognitive introspection" opportunities, so that the only time available for tat is when I'm trying to fall asleep (meaning I had trouble falling asleep!)
So over the last few months I've stopped audiobooks and podcasts (I already don't watch TV).
Kind of counter intuitively, I find this "REAL down time" combined with other physical activities such as jogging and a few minutes of gardening each day provides me with greater self-control.
>I find this "REAL down time" combined with other physical activities such as jogging and a few minutes of gardening each day provides me with greater self-control.
I find it really interesting you mention gardening, because I've found that doing dishes has the same effect on me. I can just stand in front of the sink, wash the dishes, and introspect on things and let the mind wander. By the end of it, I get a dopamine hit from accomplishing a useful task with immediate visible results, as well as a relaxed state of mind.
for me I don't think it's really enjoyable, but in my weird mind having that block of time "scheduled" for jogging+gardening makes me more motivated towards keeping my schedule the rest of the day (I'm self employed, so have to really keep after myself)
This is interesting. I assume there's a balance to be had between being introduced to new ideas through something like a podcast/audiobook and having enough downtime to ruminate on those ideas for more meaningful insight.
I can attest to that - on an hour commute I often listen to 45 min worth of podcasts until hitting material that prompts self-reflection. Then the voice memo comes out.
Very interesting observation. I started listening to audiobooks during my commute and have had more trouble sleeping recently. I chalked it up to overall stress, but now that I think of it, I used to spend that time thinking.
I put a lot of thought into what I want out of life, and "contemplation" is a big one. Hannah Arendt drew a distinction I love between "thought" and "contemplation," essentially saying that just because you are thinking doesn't mean you're really spending time coming to know something. Leisure time to think freely and uncoerced is essential to achieving that mode of thought. I find that I even like thinking about work when it's true contemplation; I use some of my own free time to dwell on why the people around me act and think the way they do, what drives my behavior at work, why we face certain problems. It provides real insight and anchoring into the activity that takes up a significant portion of my life and adds considerable value to my work contributions. I think one of the smartest things businesses could do would be to follow Basecamp's "It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work" model, because calm, contemplative employees will come up with hugely profitable insights. As Kent Beck said, "Software is a leverage game." One insightful thought can save millions of dollars. I bet that's true of a lot of industries.
At a higher level, though, it's just an enjoyable mode of being. But you can't get into that state if you don't learn how to stop doing things and just lean back for a minute.
This is a beautiful application of the McLuhan quote "the medium is the message" about how our tools and interactions shape us. The more "efficient" we become, the more we prize apparent efficiency and productivity.
It feels quaint to imagine that just twenty years ago, when you agreed to meet someone, you couldn't text/call them with real time updates -- so times were plus/minus ten minutes and people had no problem waiting, sometimes even for hours.
I think kids (at least early on) as you note are pretty excellent antidote. the first year is especially a whole lotta not much (eat, poop, sleep, make noise, repeat).
at work I found using a really old computer was effective, since switching to slack was like a 30 second endeavor, I would just sit in the terminal all day. at home a shitty cell data plan is effective as well.
I get a hangover from the weekend... because I do nothing. I go for walks, read a book, ask my kids whether they think there are more cats than animals... I work on old recreational maths puzzles. I wander over to my friend's house for tea to catch up on how he's doing. We check for caterpillars in his garden on the way out. I plant wildflowers in my own.
The hardest part of doing nothing is learning to live with all the people who can't.