A small thought:
Do what you’re doing. It seems so simple. Actually, it is simple— but simple doesn’t mean easy. In a world full of badges, banners, and notifications, distilling the world down to whatever task in front of you is tough enough. Devoting 100% of your attention to it is an even bigger ask.
Like any good soldiers, we arm ourselves with a battery of tools, hacks, and so on. We convince ourselves that this latest thing (whatever it is) is just what we need, only to often wind up wondering where the day went.
My younger son is doing some off-season soccer training. This time around, he’s focusing his attention on the one thing he needs to improve- his first touch.
His routine is pretty simple; he passes against a wall, works through a progression of footwork patterns (hit with the left instep, right instep, top of the foot, etc), and is done.
That’s it. No more, no less.
No Potemkin village of productivity. No noise canceling headphones. No Pomodoro method. Just a ball, a wall, and a little grit.
It’s quick-only about 15 minutes a day- but that focus is yielding some really high returns. It’s the tween version of working smarter not harder. By stripping out the other distractions, he’s locked in solely on what needs to get done. No “practicing corners,” no taking shots, etc.
Focused practice and deep work certainly aren’t anything new; the Cal Newports and James Clears of the world have built small empires extolling its virtues.
It’s not that I didn’t believe them—I’m a fan of both — but it always just seemed, I dunno, abstract? Like a novelty rather than something concrete. Something to get people in love with the idea of deep work, as opposed to actually putting in the work.
In a world full of inbound texts, beeps, and whirs, it can seem impossible. To see it happen in real life and in real-time can be revelatory.
What’s the one thing you could/should/would be working on right now, and what’s distracting you from making that happen?
Some binge reading for your weekend:
Leo Babauta on learning to enjoy taking time off.
I’m practicing fully enjoying this space. Not just so I can enjoy vacation, but so that I can enjoy the times during non-vacation when I decide not to work, like weekends and evenings and family quality time and time with friends. I would love to have a different experience of these spaces, really fully appreciating them.
From Farnam Street, performance artist Maria Ambromovic on getting past one’s fears
“For the first three months, I place each student at a table with a thousand pieces of white paper and a trash can underneath. Every day they have to sit at the table for several hours and write ideas. They put the ideas they like on the right side of the table; the ones they don’t like, they put in the trash. But we don’t throw out the trash. After three months, I only take the ideas from the trash can. I don’t even look at the ideas they liked. Because the trash can is a treasure trove of things they’re afraid to do.”
From Becoming Minimalist: Adopting an “only the best” approach when it comes to possessions.
“We all have people and moments in life that we desire to remember. For each of them, I have tried to keep ‘only the one best’ item that represents each memory. When my grandmother died, rather than keeping an entire box of things from her home, I decided I wanted ‘only the best, most representative piece’.”
“Our Man In Zahedan.” All airlines have contingencies plans. They’re usually fairly dry, specific procedures for any given situation. But those plans are often carried out by very colorful characters. In this piece from Medium publication Propliners, guest writer Ejaz ul Haq relays his own experience, flying planes out of Pakistan and of a conflict with India.
At Zahedan we were greeted by Airport Manager Agha Khorasan, a large man immaculately dressed in smart flannel trousers, navy-blue blazer and striped tie. He welcomed me to Iran with a bear hug and asked how many aircraft were following. I told him a minimum of five, but it could be more. He said he was short of staff and ramp space but would direct the parking himself, tasking me with manning the control tower. The irony was not lost on me — a Pakistani pilot controlling air traffic at an Iranian airport!
The rest of the aircraft landed in perfect sequence exactly three minutes apart, and Agha Khorasan gave me another bear hug. Our subsequent operations from Zahedan were greatly facilitated by this larger-than-life individual…
“We Were There To Be There.” The story of two punk bands coming together to play at a psychiatric hospital.
Taking place as cuts to crucial social services loom under Ronald Reagan, two legendary punk bands come together to perform a show for patients and staff at a psychiatric facility. Captured on tape by seminal video art collective Target Video, “We Were There Be There” threads moments from the Napa State Hospital set with commentary from band members and those who witnessed it firsthand, providing a crucial backstory for the recording of one of the most iconic shows in the history of music, at a critical moment in the future of mental health care in the US.
Two for the road:
The latest in the Weird & Wonderful playlist series from my friend Bruce McGuire & two others. It’s a grab bag of delight. I never fail to find something new when these drop. Give it a listen.
Thanks for being here,
Kevin—
P.S. Looking for newsletters better tailored to your interests? Check out The Sample. I’ve been having a lot of fun with it.
