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
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.
1
11
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?
1
13
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?
3
11
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.
1
16
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.
1
12
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…
3
17
… 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.
5
1
14
Another somewhat less faulty schema: compromising by working from a camp chair in a shady spot in the park.
4
18
Beautiful thread.
Where does working out of the trunk of your car fall on the spectrum?
1
Replying to
Very similar to parkwork! Road trips are a very helpful part of my process, but I usually release myself from explicit working obligations when on a road trip, just a reMarkable for spontaneous reading / writing.
Another routine I enjoy: spending the first two weeks of the year alone in Hawaii. Stay on PDT, wake up at 5, work until 11, sit on the beach the rest of the day. Just wonderful.
1
3
Sounds amazing.