michael-dean-k/

It's a mistake to think of effort as a single spectrum between a Gary Vaynerchuk grind-till-you-die flip-slop-on-Facebook-marketplace vibe and a Wu-Wei, non-effort, sabbatical-brained, Netflix-and-chill vibe. Something not on that spectrum is obsession. It's not work for work's sake, or work for status climbing, but work by seduction, by tinkering, by vision, by purpose or duty or whatever. It often can look like grind work in terms of focus and intensity and prolificness and hours spent, but it feels different because it comes from a different place.

I framed this question to my cousins: would you rather work hard for 8+ hours a day on something you feel compelled and intrinsically motivated towards, or, go into an office for 8 hours a day for a bullshit job that only requires 1-2 hours of simple work, mindless and purposeless work, and then spend the rest of the time socializing?

The word "work" itself is a bit tainted, because there's a sense of obligation ("I have to do this to get paid"), sacrifice ("I'm doing this at the expense of things I love to support us"), and utility ("I'm making things that are functional for other people"). The work that I'm most drawn to is something like the inverse of this. It's pleasurable ("I lose track of time doing this"), primary ("There's nothing else I'd rather do"), and visionary ("I'm doing this because I see the value in it, and even if others can't see it now, they may eventually.")

A big shift in my way of working: instead of trying to scope a specific and ambitious batch of tasks I think should be done in a given day or week, all I commit to is time towards specific areas. The deadlines are less important (generally) than making sure I show up and do high-leverage work with 100% embodiment and enthusiasm. I just set up the Streaks app, and aim for 2.5 hours of work per day over 6 areas: writing, coding, reading, outreach, business, and culture. Each is a simple target: 20-45 minutes per day. At the very least, it gets me started. If I’m in a flow, I go over as long as I want (1-2 hours or more). If not, I just stop. The goal here is to rethink what work might look like while caring for my daughter (and my post-labor wife). I could potentially knock out 2.5 hours in a single nap cycle, or maybe it’s spread over 3-4 sessions at random times. It forces me to prioritize an important thing per day in an area that is an infinite game. It feels slightly unambitious, but I actually think an OS of this nature might be something I continue even when I “get my time back.” There’s a forced prioritization, as well as open space to either (a) diverge/explore, or (b) drill deep on things that actually matter.

Intuition is romanticized, as if all thinking is too controlling, and all the answers we need are simply waiting inside us. I think this is wrong. I mean, of course, intuition could be the secret sauce, if it’s well-trained. Your intuition lets you think and do without thinking; this covers gut decisions, but also fears, procrastinations, biases, etc. 

So how do you train it? (1) Practice, repetition, mantras; (2) Metacognition: the ability to know when reason or intuition serves/betrays you; (3) Journal analysis: dumping thoughts is the beginning of the process, but I don’t believe getting it out is enough. The point is to look at your feelings and make sense of them.

What these 3 have in common is that they all require thought. By analyzing and running experiments on yourself, you train your intuition so that you don’t have to think in the moment.

If you want better intuition (a state of non-thinking), you will have to first do a lot of hard, deliberate thinking.

Act as if every minute you scroll drains half your day’s potential. It’s not just a break, but a minute you’re not meditating, reflecting, journaling, creating, practicing, etc. A bad break is a minute you’re not reviving your systems. Instead you atrophy your attention and trend in the negative direction. It affects the nature of your focus for the rest of the day. After just 5 minutes scrolling, you’ve shot 97% of your days potential. This isn’t literal, but act as if it’s the case. More so: realize the returns of taking good breaks (of actual leisure).