Faulty schemas for resolving "let's take a long walk on this gorgeous weekday afternoon":
marination: “it’s OK because my walk will be productive: when I get back, I’ll have lots of new ideas!” True but not actually why I wanted the walk. And probably not as true as claimed.
Conversation
Replying to
straight hedonism: “it’s beautiful out, so let’s go!” OK, but if I actually went on a long walk every time it was pretty out, I’d struggle to build up momentum with my project, and I hate how that feels. Obviously this is not a strategy I can consistently apply.
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routine: “a daily schedule is key to your self-regulation; if you open the door to convenient exceptions, you’ll constantly be re-evaluating, and the whole point of a routine is to avoid constant metacognition” Yes, but *some* responsiveness is necessary. When and how?
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values: “one of my deeply-held values is to be responsive to beauty when and as it occurs” OK, but/and how to negotiate action between this value and the value of cultivating the fruits of deep creative concentration?
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time-trading: “I’ll work late tonight instead!” OK, but remember that your working hours aren’t actually fungible like that, so in most cases this probably isn’t a “fair” swap.
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Somewhat more functional schemas:
regret: “will I regret going on this walk instead of working a month from now?” This one’s pretty good, but it evaluates locally instead of holistically, so it’s hard to assess patterns of behavior.
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light-heartedness: “you clearly want to walk, so let’s go! trust that your natural interest in doing meaningful work will keep you from shirking ‘too much’—you’ll naturally find walking less appealing after a while and find yourself interested in your work again” True, though…
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… in my experience the force of natural interest can be substantially modulated through habits and routines, and I’m not sure the proposed natural equilibrium is actually the one I want.
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Another somewhat less faulty schema: compromising by working from a camp chair in a shady spot in the park.
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Yes. :)
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