‘Four Thousand Weeks,’ which at first appears to be a time management book, but in actuality is about humanity’s entire relationship with time itself, blew my mind. It definitely made me think about how I’m using my time. It also made me realize I was stressing myself out way too much over things I cannot control and that don’t ultimately matter much to my overall happiness and the structure of my life. So, I’ve decided to focus on things I enjoy for their own sake, and let go of the rest.
Writing and releasing books? Yes! But I’m not going to make myself an intricate schedule with expected completion/pub dates. And also not pay a lot of attention to how many I sell.
Blogging? Yes! But because I enjoy it not because I’m trying to ‘build a brand.’ (god help us)
Writing and sending out a newsletter. Yes! But not because it is a ‘sales funnel,’ but because I like connecting with people.
I can do all of these things because I enjoy them, not because they make me money. I realize that puts me in a position of immense privilege, but I refuse to feel guilty about that.
I can do all of these things the way I want to do them, without having to worry if it’s leading to greater success down the road. If I am not happy with my life right now, I will never be happy. No amount of success will ever be enough.
I will continue to give myself daily/weekly/monthly goals not because I need to ‘hustle’ but because I like having targets to shoot for and I get a sense of accomplishment when I hit them. The trick is to make it doable but not super easy, so it feels like an actual accomplishment but I also don’t stress out too much about it. Having these metrics actually enhances my enjoyment of my life.
I’m not going to waste my life working for a level of success that will never fulfill me. I’m getting off the treadmill. I’m going to live my life and write my weird little (or big) books in peace. If people like them, yay! If they’re used against me in a competency hearing? I guess that’s fine too.
anyway, I highly recommend ‘Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals’ by Oliver Burkeman. I read it in one day and it may have changed my life.