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Category: Thinking Clearly

What They Say and What You Do

Published on May 20, 2023

“Build a social media empire!” They say.

“Post every day! Interact with as many people as possible!” They say.

“Tik Tok is where it’s at! Oh, but don’t forget about your Instagram! YouTube will really bring in the bucks!” They say.

To which I say… “No thanks.”

It’s not for me.

For every moment I’d be spending crafting the perfect thumbnail, worrying about stupid lighting, and fine-tuning the perfect 1-second pitch to capture almost non-existent digital attention… I could be spending in deep thought; wrestling with words; exploring the depths…

Which isn’t to say there’s anything wrong with building a social media empire. It’s undoubtedly an incredibly powerful tool and there are plenty of people who do it brilliantly.

It’s merely to say—it’s not for everybody. And you shouldn’t feel bad about yourself if it’s not for you. Do what makes sense to you and play to your strengths.

What they say and what you do should have nothing to do with each other.

P.s. I also published: 15 Aytekin Tank Quotes from Automate Your Busywork To Help You Reclaim Your Time

What Are You Optimizing For?

Published on May 19, 2023

…Many people don’t know.

They’re merely doing what they think they need to do because it’s what they’ve been told/ taught/ tricked into thinking.

And sadly, in many cases, people are optimizing for the very thing(s) that’s making them most miserable.

Things like busyness (e.g. how can I squeeze in more time at work, check more emails, say yes to more tasks…) or comparison (e.g. how can I check my social media feeds more often, post/comment/share more, watch more people live their lives) or distraction (e.g. what social gatherings can I go to, who would join me in drinking/smoking/drugs, what TV series can I maximally binge on)… And so forth.

But, when you answer the question and actually know what you’re optimizing for—what you most want to optimize for in your life—your whole approach to scheduling changes.

You might realize what you actually want to optimize for are things like emptiness (e.g. an open calendar, no plans, no tasks) or connection (e.g. family gatherings/ outings, coffee with friends, live audio chats with like-minded people) or introspection (e.g. time spent writing, time spent meditating, time spent in therapy)… and so forth.

Take control of your schedule and you take control of your life. A schedule optimized for busyness isn’t going to get much inner work done—that needs to be decided and optimized for ahead of time. Never forget that it’s the makers of schedules who get the most out of life, not the prisoners of them.

P.s. How I like my paths.

One Step Closer

Published on May 16, 2023

Getting things done can often involve many steps, and in our busy lives, casually coming across a task (that has many steps) AND having the available time to do them all isn’t often.

Or, let’s be honest, we’re too tired or lazy to do them all at that moment in time.

This is where one step closer comes into play.

Rather than completing the whole chain of tasks, you do just one of the steps in the task so that it’s a little easier to fully complete (or get one step closer again) later.

Here’s an example I used just recently:

Picking out an outfit to wear, I noticed I had a bunch of clothes that I don’t wear anymore than needed to be donated. So, rather than take them to the donation center right then, I put them into a pile near my bedroom stairs. Then, on another day, I took them downstairs and placed them near my back door. Then, on another day, I put them into the trunk of my car. Then, on a day when I happened to be driving past a donation center, I spontaneously pulled over and donated them.

It isn’t often that I’ll casually get a multi-layered task done (unless it was in my plan to get it done), but I definitely get multi-layered tasks one step closer to getting done—casually (in an unplanned way)—every day.

And it’s in this small practice, done regularly, that the big—blog worthy—difference is made.

Time is Made

Published on May 7, 2023

Note to self: Time isn’t found, it’s made.

That important thing you always put off until later… to a time when you’ll find “more time”—is an illusion. It’s nothing more than a distractionary tactic of your mind to avoid doing the hard thing(s) now. This is what I’m reminded of tonight as I sit here writing this, at the end of my weekend, with a list of three other tasks that still need to get done because I assured myself earlier this week that I’ll have “more time” to do them all this weekend.

Time isn’t found later—it’s made in the now.

P.s. In case you missed it, you can read the best of what I posted to MoveMe Quotes last week, here.

Seasons of Optimal

Published on May 5, 2023

I obsess over finding ways to do things optimally. If there’s a way to save even a pinch of time, energy, or money… I want to know about it and I want to make it a part of my lifestyle asap.

Because of this obsession, I have a very redundant typical day. I have optimal:

  • Sleep and wake times
  • Chore and personal care days
  • Workout strategies and regimes
  • Eating windows and food choices
  • Work flows and compartmentalized work times

…If there aren’t any extenuating circumstances or unique variables in the day, I could very well live the same day, day-in and day-out without missing a beat. And I would be totally fine with it because in my mind, I’m doing things in an optimal way… why change things to a less than optimal way?

…Here’s the catch.

It isn’t very long until an extenuating circumstance intervenes or a unique variable interrupts.

These past several weeks in particular have thrown my normal, redundant schedule for a loop. I’ve travelled to California and Pittsburgh; attended Martial Arts tournaments and music festivals; slept in cars, at friend’s houses, and in hotel rooms; etc…

Optimal exits the conversation real quick under circumstances like these.

And what I’ve had to remind myself these past few weeks is that optimal doesn’t have to be defined within the confines of one day. Optimal can be defined within the context of seasons.

Some days you reap; some days you sow…

Some days you produce; some days you recharge…

Some days you get it all done optimally; some days you’re better off optimizing for one thing in particular based on the season you’re in… like sow, recharge, or rest.

W-O-R-T-H

Published on May 4, 2023

Today, while typing a quote to be uploaded to MoveMe Quotes, my eyes saw “W-O-R-T-H” and my fingers typed “W-O-R-K.”

Normally, typos are no big deal and are fixed just as fast as they’re made—but, this typo hit different. It almost felt like a message being sent.

For context, I can type fast—about as fast as I can read when I’m uploaded quotes from books or other sources. Which means typing is largely an unconscious task for me. I don’t have to think about where the “K” key is or the “T” and “H” keys are… my fingers just know after having punched them a bajillion times.

Which makes me think… did my subconscious take momentary control over my fingers to illustrate a point reminding me not to tie my worth too intimately to my work? Was it a signal that I’ve been devoting too much time to my work endeavors and that I needed to do other things that fulfill my feelings of worth as a person?

…Or was it just a stupid typo and I’m overthinking this whole thing?

I digress.

P.s. For those who aren’t aware of the insightful depth and/or communication methods of the subconscious, read this.

Never Done

Published on May 2, 2023

There’s always something that can be improved.

Which means there’s never going to be a time when the work will be “done.”

Understand this and remember to do just what you can today. And when you’ve done what you can within the confines of your allotted time for work that day—and this is the important part—leave the rest for tomorrow.

Go home, rest, invest time with friends and family, decompress, explore hobbies, and create art… go and do what you need to do so you can return to work the next day recharged and ready.

Better that than trying to fix it all immediately and having nothing left give the next day—especially when there are countless days of work yet ahead.