Going about life, a rather important balance recently struck me – that between productivity and mindlessness.
Let’s do a quick definition.
Productivity is like, getting stuff done and meeting goals. Best if it’s efficient and best to see an upward trend and results.
Mindlessness is like, just plain pouring your time into something and losing yourself completely in it as time just flows and elapses without really even needing to have anything to show for it.
Those who skew heavily towards productivity on the spectrum will often question – is this activity that I am engaged in productive? For if it’s not, is it really worth me spending my time here? Like, honestly, should I be doing better things with my time?
In contrast, those who skew heavily towards mindlessness just pour hours and hours into things that have nothing to do with them being competent at anything at all. For example, watching television or reading books, where all they do is be some passive consumer.
And in terms of how this plays out in life, it’s more like this.
The former group consists of people who are really serious. To them, it’s always back to the question of ‘am I really making fruitful use of my time’? They wish to soar for the skies and grab it with their hands.
The latter group consists of people who just like to burn their time away doing nothing. They are not ambitious whatsoever as to them, it’s all just about enjoying life doing the things they enjoy, really.
Here, it’s really the strive-indulge dichotomy.
Of course, at first glance, it seems that the former group is much better! This group consists of the ones who’ll have the success stories! Whereas the other group consists of people who only eat, sleep, watch television…
Still, that would be a gross oversimplification to make.
For overly skewing towards productivity actually robs of you of a lot of things in life!
Let’s have an example of mindlessness. Games is a good example, well, unless you’re a professional gamer.
So you spend hours upon hours just playing bridge, or mahjong, or just some cool PC game with your friends… By the way, no stakes involved!
Honestly, from a vantage point of productivity, this is just a total waste of time! It’s just burning hours and hours away doing nothing!
And yet, think about it. Even this has its strong merits!
From the vantage point of mindlessness, the person is just really really enjoying themselves just playing these games with their friends! It’s the ultimate luxury, to be honest! In no way will that person make any progress in life because of this!, but at the same time, it’s fun! Mindlessly time-burning-ish unproductive fun!
And thus the person just indulges themselves and enjoys the present moment to the max. At times, it even feels like – oh, what a real pleasure it is to just be alive, to be able to experience this!
If you only ever focus on striving and achieving, being of the productivity camp, how would you ever get to experience this!!
Someone of the productivity camp would be like questioning a dreadfully agonising all the time the worth of their actions, and at most they’d just be like – alright, I have some free time, so I’ll assign one episode worth of this show I like to that free time. After that it obviously, naturally returns to: hm, what should I do next!
Oh but of course, only indulging isn’t any good either! Because you’ll never ever make any progress in anything ever, and in that sense, technically, it is an utter waste of time the way you’re living!
Oh but of course, you can if you want to! No one’s stopping you!
The way I see it, the best is to have a good mix between these two systems.
In your daily life, strive. Meet goals. Get better. Just soar.
But at the same time, in your free time, indulge yourself too! For example, eating is a great way to do it! Or some might also like particular self-care routines like yoga or spa or whatever, huh.
When you gotta work hard to progress and make gains, do it! Still! After you’re done with that, play like crazy! Just indulge! Don’t feel some weird guilt trip over… eh, this isn’t really serving me as it’s only burning my time away.
Let me give one quick example.
Some people have music as a hobby.
A productive person would go Google ‘how to have music as a hobby’. Then, they’d try to figure out the best and most productive way to actually make something out of it. Lols.
But honestly speaking, there might not actually be any such way that exists in reality! If, for example, your hobby is karaoke and you’re so super super into it, what that means is that you’ll just sing all the time and totally lose yourself in doing it.
Are you gonna be a singer? Sadly, the answer is no. All you’re ever gonna do is just that karaoke anyway.
Still, would you do it regardless, given that it’s just a time sink in that sense?
Why, an unhesitating yes!!!
Why?
Well, because you really really enjoy it and, as you indulge in it, can just throw hours and hours into it and still not care and still want to go for more!
Whereas someone who’s overly focused on productivity will be like this: hmm, I don’t think progress is even possible in this domain. I actually shouldn’t even bother spending any time on it?
And then, effectively, said person’s life would have zero enjoyment in it, innit?
So we really gotta strike that balance.
Like I said earlier, do have areas in which you are striving. Go aim for the skies all ya want!
But when you’re not aiming high, be sure not to forget how to enjoy life!!!
The former state involves making the most out of the present moment for the sake of better present moments in the future.
The latter state involves really enjoying yourself to the max in this very present moment right now.
And the synthesis of the two is the perfect mix for a good life!!!
And if possible, the ultimate, really, would be a mix of the two!
Think of authors for a bit. They worldbuild and create the most succulent worlds. Then they write those worlds outta their creation!
Now, isn’t their job a perfect mix between the two??? Even as they are productive towards earning their livelihoods via writing, they are also really enjoying themselves to the max via losing themselves in those worlds they love!!!
Think about successful musicians whose early years were spent fully on music. They loved it so much it was like a time sink for them; they just poured all their time into it. And in the end!!! this was precisely what resulted in them becoming successful in their music professions!
So really, truly, honestly, those with the best professions are for whom they can really be fully absorbed by it and totally lose themselves in it!
Huh, if you got something you love that you can tangibly achieve things in you’re really lucky! It’s precious to ya!
Hey, it’s your time sink! So, you’ll naturally be super productive too! And all while enjoying yourself!!!
Why then, the heavens have blessed you with this particular area!!! Henceforth, manifest all you want in this area! Bring potential to existence slash fruition!
Here’s just a quick way to check how well you match with that.
So if you gotta do something and the first thing that comes to mind is dullness… like, huh, so I gotta set some goal and try to achieve it, huh. Sigh…
Well then, you clearly find it a bit of a chore! It’s not something that fully and utterly draws you in, that you can just spend forever doing!
But if you can just totally lose yourself in the process of said activity.
The process of doing it is entirely not anything you’d mind or remotely find troublesome at all. It feels ah!, like a relaxing gentle breeze to you! Whew, refreshed! Even though it technically must take effort, it simply seriously does not even feel like it is taking anything out of you at all!
Why then, that activity is for you!!! No question about it!!!
Please, do cherish it, and properly dedicate yer time to it!
Don’t forget about how much of a unique existence that particular activity is for you!
Does it come first thing to your mind when I mention this?
Or does it take a moment for you to identify that first?
Whatever the case, love them! Know that they’re…
Just so important and precious to you!!!
Now I’m just gonna end off with a quick analogy.
Following my realisation of this balance, a new way of looking at the vantage point of productivity has come to me.
Normally, one might look at it in the form of achievements.
Like, oh, I’ve written books before! I’ve written songs before! Or such.
But hey, here’s another way to look at it!
Normally, in your free time, indulge all you want! It’s your rightful gift as a living, breathing human being!
But in your free time, in the area of striving.
Think of it this way!
Life has given me a canvas to paint.
In my free time, in indulging, I bury myself into sinkholes out of the canvas and just really really enjoy myself. Cool.
But besides that, I also strive!!! Like a painter painting on a canvas, striving, dance and spin and paint on that nice canvas I freely will!
Aside from luxuriating in indulgence, I also do weave a pretty mean picture!!!
And that’s what I do in my free time, as I set goals for myself and slow but steady progress is achieved in ’em!
So how about this. No longer think about achievements as like, maybe validating your self-worth or whatever.
Instead, think about them as you painting a nasty good picture on a lil canvas of life!!!
Because as you set goals and be productive, naturally, you’ll find your good self netting some achievements yeah. First times and whatnot.
Ahh, freely I whirl!!! Whoo!
So you all! Go find yourself a good productivity-mindlessness balance today!
It’ll be nice if you have some stuff you’re striving toward!
And you should know how to indulge yourself too!
That’s part of a recipe to maxing out life yo!