Yoga, a "personal philosophy" · 26 August 2008
or, Working With What You've Got, 101.
Yet another week of annoyingly non-mystical bedtime reading.
From a piece in the Chronicle of Higher Ed:
Inculcate a personal philosophy that allows you to focus on the project at hand to the exclusion of all other distractions.
Well, what sort of “personal philosophy” do you mean, sir?
Oddly, I suppose I have one that will do.
Which does, and does not, feel sort of wrong.
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Categories: arbitrage
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Oh, also:
“Learn to distinguish which tasks deserve immediate attention and which can be forgotten.”
Or, Lose The Props.
:)
Posted by: (0v0) · Aug 26, 01:19 PM · #
My Own Private Walden! I’m starting work on the manuscript RIGHT NOW.
Posted by: Carl.herbert · Aug 26, 02:44 PM · #
Why, oh why would one read this Chronicle of High Ed article? To waste time?
Posted by: knl · Aug 26, 05:56 PM · #
“To view yourself as a martyr to work, fated to slog through the faculty years overburdened with cares and labors, is an exercise in self-indulgence.”
Oooh, you can sub in anything — “life,” “relationship,” etc., for “work” and the outcome is still terrific.
Man, I love when martyrdom (i.e., ongoing discontent) of any sort is called out as self-indulgence!
Maybe too much of a GTDer to be offended… this seems like pretty good (life) philosophy to me…
Posted by: karen · Aug 27, 04:24 AM · #
Martyrdom = Self Indulgence. Hear hear.
Reading this article is absurd; it’s true. I guess the author would say you have to spend time to save time? Aah… there’s some commodification.
The philosophy of GTD seems more focused on the aesthetic of clarity. The “life philosophy” in play seems almost more about simplicity for its own sake or for the sake of gracefulness than for the instrumental sake of maximizing productivity. Even though it’s called GTD.
The thing that feels “wrong” to me is choosing a theory to justify a practice. I’m all for a flexible intertwining of theory and practice—but shouldn’t your behavior at least sort of follow from your ideals. When you have to shape your ideals to justify behavior that’s already mandated, oh… it just feels… unidealistic.
And ironic, considering that academics get into this work purely out of idealism. And then have to become instrumental, leisure-denying “idealists” of another sort…
In this way, the theory-practice relationship goes round and round and round, winding us in to workaholic little knots.
Oh, there’s a tinge of martyrdom right there. Ha! This is such a funny circle I’m in here.
Posted by: (0v0) · Aug 27, 12:22 PM · #