This past season has been quite challenging – both in work and life. And yet, it’s amazing how small mercies … like sitting in the sunshine with my wife and a good cortado (while the kids play quietly in the car) can do wonders for the soul.
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I love the idea of craftsmanship, the man or woman who has dedicated their life to their craft and continually hones their skills. They are not satisfied with merely completing the job, but outdoing themselves every time.
Yet, in the world of business startups, it is completely different. We live by the concept of MVP or Minimum Viable Product. You don’t know if the product you are building is something people actually want, so you build the minimum that allows you to test and validate your idea, and then iterate as you learn.
This philosophy resonates with my personality. I love bringing new ideas to life; software for work, and projects of any kind for fun, including brewing kombucha, gardening, and building wood furniture.
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One of the benefits of having children is the excuse to play with toys that would be considered odd as an adult. I have spent countless hours building Lego contraptions, block towers, and ball tracks with my boys.
This isn’t my craziest magnet tile ball track, but it was a fun way to spend time with my son and exercise my creativity. Every time I try new techniques, sometimes with a goal in mind, other times just building randomly. I try not to get too serious, but I have been known to keep the kids away so I can complete my masterpiece 😆.
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As life gets busy and the world gets crazy, taking a walk has been one of the most helpful escapes. Looking away from the screen and seeing the reality we live in, engaging with people, not profiles, and realizing how much bigger and more nuanced the world offline is.
In these times, I look at the wonders of creation, smell the scents of the season, listen to noises around me, think about my thoughts, and pray to the God who is bigger than it all.
If you can, take that time away from the desk or phone or whatever you are focusing on, and walk.
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A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.
Herbert SimonWe are living out the fulfillment of this quote today. We have more information than ever before, but we’re losing our ability to actually focus, and think critically.
This can be seen in the adoption of AI to do work that normally requires deep attention – writing, coding, designing. Yes we can have it done for us, but at what cost?
Additionally, as attention decreases, commanding that attention requires ever greater provocation; no longer can we read and evaluate long form content, but we are swayed by the most shocking soundbites, leading to … even more shocking soundbites. How do we regain our ability to focus and think when every platform is designed to consume us?
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You have to be happy in those quiet moments when you remember that you are alive; not in those noisy moments when you forget.
GK Chesterton