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The Jewish people have their Sabbath, as a hispanic person myself, we have our Siesta. I spent over a decade in the tech industry and I'd literally be scoffed a
by stevenfoster 4y ago
The Jewish people have their Sabbath, as a hispanic person myself, we have our Siesta. I spent over a decade in the tech industry and I'd literally be scoffed at for actually napping in a nap room or pod for 20min. Finally just started doing it in my car. But that's one of my practices that anchors me not only to my culture, but my Creator. It humbles me. And brings me joy. I hope everyone could find what their practice could be that would bring them this.
Take some time, at least once a year, to sit down with yourself and have a vision for your life not based on work or status (ie vacations or the acquisition of things). If that isn't enough to snap you out, go to a small village in Latin America or maybe like Matthew McConaughey discovered and talked about in his book, a quaint monastery in New Mexico. Stay there until it makes sense.
Most people want to be productive because they want to feel valued by others. But if you have to look to your own value from others, you've already lost, and will continue to lose forever.
Be. You. Slowly. and you'll find you're more valuable than you ever thought.
- helpfulmandrill 4y ago> Most people want to be productive because they want to feel valued by others. But if you have to look to your own value from others, you've already lost, and will continue to lose forever. I think for me its about fear of death.
- danielbln 4y agoDeath will come for you regardless of your productivity.
- 0807test 4y agoI know that submissions with no substance are frowned upon here, but I just wanted to tell you that for some reason your comment is the funniest one I read in quite some time. Maybe because of my lifelong struggle with productivity and procrastination... Cheers!
- PostOnce 4y agoYes, but you can either die having achieved your goals, or die with them unmet.
- helpfulmandrill 4y agoBut then again, nothing makes you feel more empty than achieving a goal...
- helmholtz 4y agoThat's not my experience. I need to be making progress to be sane. Achieving something small everyday makes me have confidence in life and a sense of control. This is crucial to keep existential dread at bay. I have a calendar where I track life events (good and bad). It's wonderful to look back and remember that, tlin the last two years, even though I feel like I haven't changed, actually a lot has.
- xkcd1963 4y agoAchieving something is hence a source of joy. But so is eating food.
- docmars 4y agoAchieving something evokes a feeling of loss that you have to bear until you've found whatever is next. It's not unlike experiencing a death or break-up. This happens when you finish a book, video game, or TV show you've invested a fair bit of time in. We are driven to cope with this feeling by seeking what's next.
- gonzo41 4y agoYou won't know either way. Few people die knowing they will.
- skinnymuch 4y agoYou’re dead though. What does it matter?
- helpfulmandrill 4y agoI know, but if I get twice as much done, its like living twice as long ;) I know its nonsense, but it makes an intuitive sense in the absence of a better way to deal with existential anxiety.
- jisbruzzi 4y agoFor some, productivity equals virtue. A virtuous life is always better than a lazy or vicious life. So you die having lived a better life. And (at least for us catholics AFAIK), a virtuous life leads to heavens.
- evanspa 4y ago"vicious" Think you meant to say "vacuous"
- gameman144 4y ago"Vicious" also means "full of vice", which is probably the more apt context here (since it's being contrasted with virtue).
- pnutjam 4y agoAs a US Catholic, I find much greater value in family time, volunteering, and jus the regular things I do to help people in my community. Work productivity is not on my list of "virtues".
- JoshCole 4y agoCatholics have far better news than that you get to heaven on the basis of personal productivity. Consider these questions: When and why was toil introduced? Did the prodigal son have riches when he returned to the father to justify himself? Did the Pharisees need to have bread with them? Did the crowd have enough bread? Who provided sufficient bread: the vine or the lost sheep? If virtue is productivity, then why does God say that there is a rest for his people? Did he rest on the seventh day because he was not as virtuous as Pharaoh's taskmasters? Industriousness is wise, but all is vanity and the fool when he dies goes to the same place as the wise.
- muro 4y agoAll correct, though there is also the part about burying a lent talent and returning it without "interest".
- lbrito 4y agoBut what if we hack death?? Joking, obviously. But it is amusing how many people (Kurzweil, Harari) seriously have faith in this (and believe there is something novel in this pursuit).
- julianlam 4y agoI see no harm in pursuing the impossible, in moderation of course. After all if we didn't, we wouldn't have tried landing on the moon, among myriad other things.
- jcpst 4y agoThere’s a book about this called “4000 weeks” (thanks for the correction). Basically, all the popular productivity hacks are nonsense, and just make you busier. You do this because of a fear of death. Accept that you will die soon, so just stick to the important stuff.
- zs234465234165 4y ago4000 weeks
- Gene_Parmesan 4y agoNothing like a strong dose of existential dread to get me through the work day.
- julianlam 4y agoReminds me of The Hustle[0], which I actually found here [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_o7qjN3KF8U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_o7qjN3KF8U
- Gigachad 4y agoThis is more possible with WFH now. I sleep for about an hour a day on work hours and I don't work later to make it back up. Still only get positive feedback about the work I get done.
- mk89 4y agoThis you can only do when they don't set meetings just after lunch time, which is very common in my company unfortunately. But yeah I agree with you.
- mindentropy 4y agoAs an Indian I loved my afternoon sleep during the holidays. During school days I would come home and sleep for an hour while reading something. I really loved my sleep. When I started work I hated that my sleep was reduced drastically. Sleeping late working on personal projects played havoc on my sleep. Now in WFH I sleep for an hour or more in the evening which would have been wasted commuting. I have seen my cognitive skills decrease because of lack of sleep. Now I am just chilling and catching up with rest and chilling and don't give a crap about work or projects.
- tiku 4y agoHow many cultures are there that have a midday/afternoon sleep? I only knew of the siësta in Spain..
- bebop 4y agoI think it is pretty common in places where the mid day sun makes working difficult and dangerous.
- gherkinnn 4y agoFrom my experience, Italians and in the south of France. The French also shut everything down on Sundays. In the middle east I’ve also seen people napping in mosques. The large ones remain nice and cool during the hot summer day. Mind you, it was Ramadan, so that might have changed things. Overall, I expect people in hot climates to sleep through the mid day heat and go back to work later. I for one envy them.
- Gene_Parmesan 4y agoI mean, it makes sense. It's fairly well encoded into the genetics that determine our circadian rhythms. There is a dip in energy levels, corresponding to changed brain waves, that occurs at approximately midday. That 1pm drowsiness is your body just trying to do mammal things.
- thatguy0900 4y ago
- poulsbohemian 4y agoKind of orthogonal to this conversation, but... with increasing temperatures, I find myself wondering at what point more parts of the US might switch to a formal siesta or even nighttime hours. Last summer my area had a month+ of 100+ degree days, and this year it looks like we will have at least several weeks of it. People, especially outdoor workers, simply can't be expected to work in that for a full on day - people would die. So it makes me wonder if we will start to see interesting shifts in the work day as happens in other parts of the country.
- niyikiza 4y agoAlain De Botton has a fantastic book about this called "Status Anxiety"[1]. The book gave me a fresh perspective on how to avoid being trapped in the race to prove yourself to others. [1]https://www.amazon.com/Status-Anxiety-Alain-Botton/dp/0375725350 https://www.amazon.com/Status-Anxiety-Alain-Botton/dp/037572...