The 2021 return to something considered more normal threatens some of what society has learned during pandemic challenges, WFH and forced pauses. In a recent blog post, Cal Newport contrasts our current states where ambition is intertwined with overload against how John Steinbeck embraced a sort of heroic inactivity.
Source: Cal Newport, February 21, 2021. Link. Steinbeck was “productive” in any practical sense of the word, writes Newport. He wrote 33 books and won a Nobel Prize for his efforts. But he wasn’t busy.
In our current moment, by contrast, ambition is intertwined with overload — as if aspirations can only be alchemized in the heat generated by frenetic, hyper-connected digital motion.
INSIGHTS: Consider scheduling inactive time on at least a weekly basis.
A veterinarian we follow often posts pictures of the day’s puppies. It’s a celebration of the joy of puppy energy, cuteness and puppy breath. Could she have added another appointment? Maybe, but the joy of a short interlude to photograph and share puppies is productive inactivity for her and her followers, too.