My agenda became a list of everyone else’s agendas.
What might I put in place to allow me to go off the grid for 4 to 8 weeks, with no phone or email?
No newspapers, magazines, audiobooks, or nonmusic radio. Music is permitted at all times. No news websites whatsoever (cnn.com, drudgereport.com, msn.com,10 etc.). No television at all, except for one hour of pleasure viewing each evening. No reading books, except for this book and one hour of fiction11 pleasure reading prior to bed. No web surfing at the desk unless it is necessary to complete a work task for that day. Necessary means necessary, not nice to have. (Four Hour Work Week Low Information Diet)
The world doesn’t even hiccup, much less end, when you cut the information umbilical cord. (About the low information diet)
I feel that the big ideas come from these periods [deloading phases]. It’s the silence between the notes that makes the music.
Create slack, as no one will give it to you. This is the only way to swim forward instead of treading water.
Once your life shifts from pitching outbound to defending against inbound, however, you have to ruthlessly say “no” as your default. Instead of throwing spears, you’re holding the shield.
People don’t lose in various aspects of their lives because they pursue a lot of bad ideas. They lose because they say yes to too many ‘kinda cool’ things/ideas.
Could it be that everything is fine and complete as is?
Doing less is not being lazy. Don’t give in to a culture that values personal sacrifice over personal productivity.
Being busy is most often used as a guise for avoiding the few critically important but uncomfortable actions.
If I’m “busy,” it is because I’ve made choices that put me in that position, so I’ve forbidden myself to reply to “How are you?” with “Busy.” I have no right to complain. Instead, if I’m too busy, it’s a cue to reexamine my systems and rules.
I was once refused for a lunch date with a very famous tech investor and he said, ‘Sorry, I’m on a no-meeting diet for the next month and I have a policy of saying no to all meetings’. So I started using a ‘no conference call diet’ and people just rolled with it. It was incredible. There was no feedback, no push-back.
Saying yes to too much “cool” will bury you alive and render you a B-player, even if you have A-player skills.
To develop your edge initially, you learn to set priorities; to maintain your edge, you need to defend against the priorities of others.
Once you reach a decent level of professional success, lack of opportunity won’t kill you. It’s drowning in 7-out-of-10 “cool” commitments that will sink the ship.
I hope you find the strength to say no when it matters most. I’m striving for the same, and only time will tell if I pull it off.
Alternating periods of activity and rest is necessary to survive, let alone thrive. Capacity, interest, and mental endurance all wax and wane. Plan accordingly.
