#47 - Resolutions
Unplugged, like a lion, and lightening up
A joy to be back in the office this week.
But, I’m already planning my next break.
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Unplugged
I went completely offline last week.
It’s the first time I’ve managed such a feat since the silent retreat in September 2019. Two years! Gosh. If you’d told me post-retreat it would be two years until my next week offline I’d have scoffed. Clearly I didn’t learn my lesson.
It’s so obvious, in hindsight, that a break was due. Yet I put it off for so long. It was a lack of discipline. Taking proper time off requires work and I was lazy. But… No damage done and I’ll do better next time.
The big issue is that taking time off feels like you’re letting the side down. There’s three of us full time on Unplugged now and we have great momentum. Going away for a week felt like leaving the company in a lurch. Like it was me not being there for the team. But of course the opposite is true. It’s when not taking time off that I’m letting the side down. It’s when I’m less effective.
Like a Lion
That’s what it comes down to: being effective. We have this deluded idea in 2021 that being busy, and hours toiled, is what counts. It’s not. It’s the result of the toil that counts. Often a far better result can be achieved in an hour of toil by a clear head than eight hours of toil by a cluttered one.
Naval Ravikant, Silicon Valley’s resident philosopher, suggests working like a lion rather than a cow.
Lions hunt in sprints, and spend the rest of the time resting. Cows spend all day grazing.
I’m as guilty as anyone as working like a cow. Some days I plug away for hours, achieving little. It’s the days I’m focused, and rested that I get right. The days I achieve the most are usually the ones I work the least. It’s the long days and weeks that I end up banging my head against a wall.
Lightening Up
I plan to do better at taking time off. It shouldn’t have taken me a year and a half of running Unplugged to realise this. But what can I say; I got complacent.
A full week offline every quarter: that’s what I’ll do moving forward. Not because I plan to be there less for Unplugged- because I plan to be there better. We’ve got a lot to do in the next year (/ decade) and I could do with be on form for it.
As a closing note: It comes down to how seriously you take life, and yourself.
I take myself less seriously when I have a clear head. (It’s not difficult. You wouldn’t take me seriously either if you’ve seen all the stupid shit I’ve done over the years.)
It’s taking yourself less seriously that sets you free. By doing that you’re no longer living in fear of what everyone will think. The world opens up.
My Week in Books📚
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
Thoroughly enjoyed this. Evaristo has a very unique style of writing that appeals greatly to a recovering dyslexic such as myself. I read this after my mother pointed out the lack of diversity in my selection of authors (thanks Ma!) Eye opening.
Liftoff by Eric Berger
Yes. What a book. A story of the early days of Space X, Elon Musk’s rocket company. Thrilling. Love or hate Elon (big fan personally) you can’t deny he can make things happen. This is quite the startup story.
Mindful Eating by Jan Chosen Bays
For years I’ve eaten too fast. So fast that it often draws comment from my dining companions. At 27 it’s time to solve that. This book is a great first step. If we happen to eat together in the future please remind me to properly chew my food. Thanks in advance!
I’ll be updating the books I’ve read this year here. Any recommendations? Let me know!
A Final Thought 💡
“We humans have lost the wisdom of genuinely resting and relaxing. We worry too much. We don’t allow our bodies to heal, and we don’t allow our minds and hearts to heal.”
- Thich Nhat Hanh
loved this post ❤️🔥