Minimalism and Productivity
I’ve mentioned before how I’ve spent a good chunk of my life researching about how to be productive. I’ve read a lot of the “required reading” books of the self-help world. I know all of the different systems: how many weeks it takes to build a habit, how willpower plays into deliberate practice, minimalism is the purported solution to my problems, or how giving up my possessions will make my mind clearer, get rid of my anxiety and teach me how to levitate. Of course, none of these things are as easy as they seem and I’m sure they’re very helpful.
I’ve read tons of the benefits of these different philosophies and ways of living but right now, I can’t do it. If I’ve learned anything about people in the last 20 years, it’s that they’re complicated and have a lot to deal with. Beyond the ordinary complexities of being alive, we’re constantly bombarded with information from every direction and every medium about every subject. An enormous amount of this information is either negative or creates negative emotions like FOMO. Beyond that, as our society learns and grows, many of the biggest problems in the world like systemic inequality, racism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia are more visible than ever before. Our minds also tend to focus on negative information for longer amounts of time than positive information.
With the state of world, I think it’s totally fine to rely on possessions and non-productive activities to brave everything we go up against on a daily basis. I think that people can find joy in the small moments of imperfection and should embrace them, rather than trying to defy human nature in order to become superior beings. People are imperfect and part of really being human is being able to live those imperfections.
I think that the idea of detachment that underlies minimalism, Buddhism, and Hinduism makes sense as a path towards reaching another level of self-realization, but is difficult and unfulfilling until you’ve experienced the imperfect life for a while. Maybe someday I’ll be at a place where I feel like it’s important for me to detach from everything in my life, but right now it seems inhuman. Instead, I focus on doing the best that I can on a daily basis. I may not be the most productive person, churning out tons of content and good work, but that’s okay. I can make the people around me happy, I can enjoy my life doing things that are fulfilling to me and I can try and be the best person I can be.
You can check out my other illustrations on my Instagram @garabaggio. Sorry about the change of pace! We'll be back to regularly scheduled programming next week :~).
Drops of the Week
where I *drop* recommendations of cool things this week
Interesting Article
“Happiness is Other People” by Ruth Whippman - this piece inspired my newsletter this week. As everyone drifts away from each other, connected by constantly extending digital threads, it’s easy to feel like we are alone, but our infatuation with technology sometimes makes it hard to see what it’s doing to us. The piece explains how our connection to others factors into our mental health.
Playlist
october 17 - October has come to a close and so has another monthly playlist. This one is particularly eclectic, with a fair share of French-language hip hop and some electronic music.
Illustrations
Ryo Takemasa - Japanese illustrator who makes large settings beautifully but simply. Very calming to look at.
Thanks so much for reading! If you have any comments/concerns or fan/hate mail for me, you know how to reach me (links below).
Love,
Nikhil