mguhlin

Recalling Satisfaction


Note: I wrote this blog entry and it’s been sitting in my DRAFT pile. I thought I’d share it.

A few brief moments ago, I reached saturation point. I found myself “dragging,” uninterested in writing blog entries and more fascinated by reading books. Now, you may not know it, but I read voraciously. How voracious? Thousands of pages per week. Now, I’m not sharing that to brag, but I realized that as enjoyable as it was to read, it was cutting into my productivity. Instead of reading RSS feeds, I was skimming content via Twitter, sorting and organizing it without really reflecting on it.


Without reflection, nothing changes. It’s like you’re eating a meal of junk food, after which, you are left hungering for something with more substance–like meat (sorry vegetarians!). This realization helps me appreciate the problem I was experiencing–reading without reflection is unsatisfying.

In the past few years the amount of information in our various inboxes has exploded, and we all feel overwhelmed as a result. And when I say “inboxes”, I’m not just talking about email. At this point you probably have several “inboxes” that consistently require your attention.  Source: MakeUseOf.com’s Use Your Computer

The suggestion in this article quoted above is that too much information is stressful. You can’t process it all–reflect on what you get–and you feel disconnected from the conversation. I’ve trimmed down on my own intake, more clearly separating work-professional and personal-professional accounts social media accounts, sharing without a commitment to curate content forever (long-term storage in Evernote or Pocket), and trying to enjoy just the experience of ideas and information that enriches my thinking.

Harold Jarche recently spent some time reflecting on this (What is Your PKM Routine?), and I can certainly see how his approach–which ends up in his blogging–works. Unfortunately, I find myself less inclined to write a blog entry these days…it’s easier to acknowledge the learning and then move on. That lassitude and indifference bothers me. Everything seems to require a bit more effort, and I’m reminded that it may be middle age lassitude settling in.

Fortunately, I’ve discovered that when I don’t allow that lassitude to drive me to sleep on the couch or bed, I can be quite productive. My sleep patterns are changing, and I go to sleep earlier, wake up earlier…I feel like a caterpillar undergoing metamorphosis, about to emerge and spread my wings. Not that my reflection in the blog needs to change, but that I’m less bound by the conventions and able to try new things.

Ah well, only time will tell.



Source:
http://activatechurch.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/metamorphosis-of-butterflies7.jpg


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Everything posted on Miguel Guhlin’s blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients. Read Full Disclosure


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