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On Wednesdays, we’ll reflect: See below for some some of what I’ve learned from the week to inspire reflection, a well-being soundbite, and a view of my wish list / recs / things I’m currently obsessing over. 🙂
1/3. W.I.L.T.W (What I Learned This Week)
Flexing Curiosity
"When we’re constantly, obsessively, performatively busy, we have f***-all time to reflect on our experiences, process our emotions, or think about what we truly want out of life. Negative space gives us the breathing room we need to check in with ourselves, to recalibrate, and to make active decisions about how we spend our time and energy instead of autopiloting through our existence"
Can no plan lead to the most revolutionary idea that supersedes a plan and evolves to a deeper purpose?
I read an article that talks about the 2 Hour Rule, which caught my attention by its title:
“Steve Jobs Used the 2-Hour Rule to Come Up With Some of His Greatest Ideas. So Can You.” And yes, marketing emails loooove me. TLDR: busyness is actually the enemy of great ideas. Carving out "negative space" like two hours of unproductive time (Hence, ‘2-Hour Rule’) creates mental breathing room.
Though the article touches on how this practice may have led Jobs to create the idea of the iPod + iPhone, it delves into JA Westenberg’s experience on practicing this in her daily life as a freelancer - something I think we can all agree would cause us potentially a bit of anxiety if we aren’t able to stay disciplined or find the practice actually beneficial.
While I think this would make a fabulous "wellness weapon," I'm not going to sit here and lie to y’all that this is something I do. In all honesty, when I first heard of the idea of "negative time" on my calendar, my brain couldn't really compute it. I don't really work like that. At least, I never have, nor have I ever pushed myself to. I guess it just creates this immediate anxiety for me that it’ll lead to me decreasing my sleep by two hours.
But it is something I'm intrigued to try. It may not be for everyone, and it may not ultimately be for me, but it’s worth exploring. The idea that stepping away from constant doing could actually lead to more creativity and focus is counterintuitive enough to make me want to experiment.
2/3. Well-being Weapons
Embracing YAMA in an Age of Infinite Scroll
As someone who loves to feel like I’ve exhausted all my options, whether it’s at work or in my personal life if I’m considering something as trivial as what websites to reference if I want to buy a new pair of earrings for an event (real life example from this week), the amount of options we have at our disposal today is overwhelming.
We all know “FOMO’ (Fear of Missing Out) but I read an article back in June from Anne Laure Le Cunff that enabled me to shift the gears on a feeling of overwhelm to a feeling of acceptance. YAMA = "You're Always Missing Out." (Credit where credit is due, full link here.) The key is that since you’re always already missing out on something, there’s no point in stressing about it.
What brings it home for me is taking a moment to acknowledge the breadth of options (potentially overload of options) at our fingertips. From deciding which podcast to listen to every morning and questioning whether the one you are listening to is the ‘right one’ if someone you admire listens to a different one, to the resources you use to prepare for an exam / application / test, or the bakery you decide to entrust with making the cake for a very important day (haha) … there is always something (and likly a lot of it).
Our time, attention, and capacity are finite in an infinite world. You can’t explore every option, experience everything, check all resources before making a decision…and that's okay. Doing it all is harder and harder when our world is evolving to constantly present us with more.
3/3. What’s Wowing Me: Weekly Obsessions
Nothing will ever beat pen to paper for me. But as much as I adore putting thoughts to paper, a bad pen can put remove the spark pretty quickly.
Earlier this year (or late last year? Yikes…), the Paper Source near our apartment was closing, and I spent a while testing the different brands and varieties of pens they have with all the sales going on. I fell in love with LePens and have been using them since. I love how vibrant the colors are and the way an 0.3mm fine tip writes with precision. I've started using them to color code my annotations (not kidding - green for thoughts, blue for questions, red if I disagree).
I just reordered more so I figured I’d share.
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