1 Comment

When I got my first job working with people who worked full-time (9-5, I’ve never worked full-time in my life), I always heard the phrase “work-life balance”.

And I never understood it. I’d reply with the cheeky comment, “but isn’t work life and life work? They’re the same thing…”

Hacking “productivity” ends up in you chasing your own tail. Because there’s always something new, some better way to track some new objective some new special coffee which brings your focus in. A better focus trick would be to do something you’re actually interested in.

I prefer the idea of not trying to improve anything or anyone, including yourself. The physic energy break this gives you has a paradoxical effect. You’ll have people commenting on your calmness and peacefulness (the ultimate freedoms) asking what have you been doing lately? And they’ll be shocked when you tell them nothing.

After all, empty space is what gives things meaning.

A room is four walls around nothing, a ship floats because of the empty space in its hull, music isn’t noise because of the space between the notes.

Fantastic piece, looking forward to the next.

Expand full comment