8: After-habits
You say rat race, I say labyrinth of self-knowing
America has an obsession with productivity.
We're really good at getting ourselves to do things. Case in point: the work day.
Western society is fairly insistent that when children grow up, they have to work. The average Joe structures his life around the things he does to make money. What he does becomes who he is. This is especially true for individuals with advanced degrees or higher incomes.
Sometimes people get a glimpse of a better way.
Death Lessons
Here’s a story of a man who chased money and career advancement until miraculously surviving a sudden brush with death.
Side note: I find it curious that Forbes includes a warning label at the top of the article to mention that the article is “more than 4 years old.”
Anyone who has undergone a near-death experience is apt to completely change their lives from that point forward.
Why should it be true for them and not you?
We're approaching the new year. The death of one 365-day span and the birth of another.
False Continuity
Productivity is great. What bothers me is the illusion of productivity. Mere activity.
Like most people, I tend to lose myself in what I do. When I’m writing something, I focus and I stay with it, and then it’s done.
Where did I go?
And then if I move directly on to something else, hours may pass before I come up for air.
For the past week, I've been experimenting with a habit. I don't know how to describe it except by calling it an "after-habit."
It goes like this:
After I do something, I give some space to the fact that I'm done. A transition ritual. I bring into consciousness the fact that:
I'm setting aside A
I'm moving into B
It doesn’t even need to take more than a second. To clarify, I’m not talking about taking breaks. Breaks are awesome. This is different.
This “after-habit” is about regaining personal agency and staving off socially-approved ADHD.
An 8-hour work day will feel like 16 if I'm not checking in with myself. Whereas I can work this way from dawn till dusk.
A simple pause scrapes away the residue from the micro-stresses that magnify when constantly task-switching.
I just let go of the previous thing. I come back to myself.
Multitasking is just fragmented attention. Multitasking gives us the illusion of productivity.
Let's have a palate cleanser between activities.
The Year 602
I'm fascinated by the phenomenon of hyped things gradually drifting into obsolescence. I like watching old clips and interviews. Really old interviews with people who were immortal legends at the time but are pointed toward becoming forgotten very soon.
It sounds depressing, but actually, it’s quite the opposite.
If we collectively had a better top-down understanding of our lives, we would toss aside the productivity trap. The "rat race." I don't want to be a faster rat. I want to be me.
I like to take a trip back to the year 602, or 1299, or some other random year that doesn't call to mind anything of significance for me.
Stuff was happening. For some people, really big things happened.
What remains?
I don't know what to call this phenomenon. Historical drift, maybe. If you think of a better term, let me know.
The whole "after-habit" thing is motivated by a desire to weave more of myself into my life. It's hard to conclude something about this that's not cliche. I'll say: real life is what happens in the moment.
Rather than shy away from the statement, I'll repeat it. Stare at the palms of your hands like you're dosed on mushrooms and say it with me:
“Real life is what happens in the moment.”