On Living In Public
For me, what’s different about writing a diary in public is that I continue to think about these posts after I publish them. Anyone can read this. I feel responsible for what I post. That’s probably why I was still thinking about that June post three months later.
A week or so after writing a follow up I came across one of the many Merlin gems. First, care. hit home, and it surprised me by how relevant it was to why I thought I got rid of my iPad.
In my experience (yes, as I said, hard-won experience), obsessing over the slipperiness of focus, bemoaning the volume of those devil “distractions,” and constantly reassessing which shiny new “system” might make your life suddenly seem more sensible–these are all terrifically useful warning flares that you may be suffering from a deeper, more fundamental problem.
In this case, I wasn’t obsessing over the latest GTD app or lifehacker article. No, I was taking a much larger stance on increasing productivity. Get rid of that extra lap—er—thigh computer. It’s weighing you down! Let’s hear it for the luddites.
Wow. I completely missed what was really going on with me. For months.
I spent so much energy analyzing and justifying why I sold this device that I owned for only two months. I actually went so far as to say that now—iPad free—I was more social, reading more books, multitasking less… Really? Owning and selling it changed me twice in just a few months?
Nope.
It’s hard to admit, but going through this process has made me realize something larger and more important: I’m not caring enough about how I spend my time. And I’m looking for excuses to avoid answering “What do I really care about and how can I focus on that?” What now, Mr. Mann?
My suggestion? Own your distractions, resist fiddly half-measures, and never for a minute allow yourself to believe that productivity systems, space pens, or a writing app that plays new age music while you stare at a blank page in full-screen mode can ever teach you anything about how to care.
It is amazingly easy to get sucked into the minutiae of self analysis (metacognition?) while avoiding the big questions. I’ve got a few ideas on how to course correct. This post is a start. Thanks for reading and for passively applying public pressure.
Oh, and you can go buy an iPad now (but I would wait for the next release—hopefully 12 ounces lighter with an anti-glare, Retina display).
