Friday, January 3, 2014

Egression #108

108. This is my life! Via Entrepreneur.

This is a serendipitous egression to start the new year, circumspicere, this is my life, this is what I'm all about. In fact SYSTEMS is one of the main categories that I blog about. If you really want to know, here's where it is in context:

  • WORK
  • HOBBY
  • PLAY
  • PASTIME
    • Write
    • Watch
    • See
    • Make
...if you were wondering, I'm sure you were, what slice of my life you're looking at.

Actually I think I have inadvertently outlined a map for where I could go next. Like I have decently developed systems for food and fashion, but God knows I could do something about the house. And I'm always developing systems for fitness, FYI, "train" means when I train others and "practice" means when I practice myself.

These are the things that I'm turning into habits, which hugely took up my time last year. I'm going to make up a percentage and say that 80% of your life might be habits, your routine that you program yourself to do practically on autopilot. It takes a fair bit of work to program yourself like this, first of all. And then, program yourself and then what? Life as an automaton, is that a life??

See, I think it is. Remember when Princess Di got in trouble for saying that being a princess was 80% slog and 20% fantastic, I think that's right. I think the hard part is accepting how much work life is, I myself have had to come to this in stages. I don't think I accepted my sleep needs until maybe five years ago. Then what, I need to sleep and also rest? And now what, feed myself? At this point I feel like the carver at a buffet, dutifully carving the juicy roast down to the bone. And seeing that it's when you get down to the bone and you're getting nervous that there's going to be none left, just like they say, that's where the magic happens.

Anyway.

I'm just saying, it makes sense to me to get good at the slog, get that down and out of the way, not saying that you can't learn to enjoy it for what it is, and free yourself up for your toothpick of fantastic. I bet that's all we get, that little bit of fantastic. But I bet that little bit goes a long way, what are you going to make with your toothpick?

So maybe I will write more about that this year. Probably a lot more about systems, and maybe a little bit about my toothpick.