So once again, like so much of what this process seems to be about, is the idea of balancing two opposites and calibrating, making adjustments, finding the right mix of two opposite things.
And so much about life seems to be based on that.
It’s finding that balance point between too hot, too cold, too excited and too relaxed, and, you know, too up, too down, and in so many different areas we have to balance opposite forces.
So we’ve already had a few mentioned in past vlogs, past episodes, but now, for tonight, what’s on my mind is the idea of being obsessed versus being steady.
And perhaps there’s other words that can be used for obsessed.
We could say driven, in extreme, versus for steady we can say measured, controlled, even, balanced.
And so if we’re working on something, of course, in general, working is best done in this kind of steady rhythm.
We can’t just go all out and try to finish everything right away, because then we just burn out.
It’s like the way our life is arranged, we have these daily bursts, and we are forced into this rhythm of daily up and down, daily work and rest.
And sometimes it feels like being forced into that, like, oh, I wish I could just keep going, but I imagine if we really work hard all day and get a good day’s work in, it should be at the point where we’re ready to have that rest, and it doesn’t feel like being forced.
But overall, when we look at the course of life and the course of any project that we’re doing, it is going to take many days, and so it is going to involve an up and down.
It’s going to involve these stages.
Life is like a stage race.
We finish one piece in a day, and then we rest, and then continue, pick it up again the next day and then take the next step.
So this kind of measured effort: this is key for long-term achievements, to be able to work with this rhythm.
Get a good step in for the day, get a good rest, pick up the work again, and take another good step.
Steady advancement.
And overall, this is good.
The downside of this, though, is if we make it too steady, too measured, it becomes too much of this I pick it up a little bit and I put it down.
I start it a little bit and then take a rest.
A little bit and then pause again.
There’s always this task switching cost.
There is the inefficiency of, okay, now I have to get things rolling again, I got to get things started.
Okay, here we go, now I’m rolling.
Oh, okay, now time to take a rest again, stop it, do other things.
And okay, now I have to start it up again and get things rolling again.
So it seems like- sometimes it’s like just when we’re getting things rolling, it’s the end of the work phase and we have to stop again.
And this is especially noticeable if we’re trying to do too many things at once, too many different projects in the day.
So you do a little bit of one thing, a little bit of another thing, jump, jump, jump to these different projects, and then it just seems like you’re always just getting things started, but not able to get deep into the work.
So the opposite side is to have this approach of obsession, and to really- and being driven, and to go into a binge or a surge and really just dive into the work and go deep into it.
And so you get things started, you get things rolling, and you go with that roll.
Maybe that means working all day on something.
Maybe it means going on a phase of a few days where this is the only thing, so it’s just eat, sleep, and work on the project, and just let it fill my mind and my thoughts and let it consume me, and be fully in this project, and then just keep working, working, working on it.
Or maybe it’s at the extreme case, not even sleeping.
Because even sleeping would mean the stoppage.
And so just to go into the all-nighter, go into the the full-on binge of working on something.
And of course, downside being that how many all-nighters can you do? They are so draining, and when it comes to long-term achievement, they can often end up meaning less than steady work.
And yet, a lot can be done with having a little bit of this sense of obsession, drive, and a binge of work, to really go deep into it and really dive into the work, make the work session as long and deep as possible.
So some balance of these two approaches seems to be called for.
I’ve been working a lot recently on this kind of developing steady patterns, and sometimes- and I’m happy with the steady pattern that I have, but I find sometimes the progress on my project, like the project of building- of this project, this can be painfully slow.
Of course, I have to be patient and build each step one at a time.
But also, it may be called for to dive a little bit deeper and to really put more of my energies into this one thing.
Remove distractions, pick the one project that’s most important, and dive into it.