Design Web, Renewal of Creative Path, and the Goal behind the Goal.

 OK, I've got one more thing I want to talk about. I did something, called a 'design web', for my general project of wanting to be more efficient and effective with my time. I'm not sure I can do justice to what "design web" is, so I'll share some links that describe it more, if you're interested. I'd recommend this podcast episode were Jon Young and Looby MacNamara (the creator of design web) talk about it: https://rss.com/podcasts/trackingconnections/1870362/#transcript

That also has some other links, to Looby's website and such, but I really like the feel of how they express it together, rather than just Looby, so that's my rec.

In a nutshell, it's kind of using the intelligence of nature and Permaculture design principles and some good vibes to help you design and create whatever you want to bring into existence. With the express intention being to help people who want to make something good in the world, actually turn their ideas and dreams into reality. It's good for specific projects, rather than trying to change your whole life completely. I'm sure there are lots of frameworks that could help one do this, but I like the feel of this one, it resonates with me.

In anycase, that was all just setting the stage. The point of this post is that I used it for my "TIME" project, and though I got some nice specific useful concrete steps that I've started taking, I also got a bit of fascinating insight. That's what I want to talk about.

Why do I care about being efficient with my time? With getting "more" done? It's not for its own sake, though sometimes it feels like I'm just doing it without a deeper intention. But when I really settled down, there was a mixture of feeling like I wasn't justifying my existence, unless I "did more" with my life, every day, and a desire to live my life such that, at the end of the day, or if I hypothetically was about to drop dead, I could look back at how I had lived it, with satisfaction, that I had spend my time well.

And that further boiled down to my desire to live a meaningful life. At which point, it becomes clear that it's not actually about time management. It's about if I'm taking meaningful steps towards a meaningful goal. There was a previous process I'd gotten interested in, led by Jon Young but not created by him, that was all about getting in touch with the things that really lit you up, made you feel connected. I had started it but never finished. And I realized, that getting clear on what a meaningful life looks like for me, is really the crux of my search for good 'time management.' Though doing my work efficiently is relevant, what is much more relevant is what work I am doing. This is a trope in time management and productivity, but it's also true: you can be moving very swiftly and efficiently in the wrong direction, and then that efficiency is not particularly useful towards your actual goals and priorities.

Realizing this, I did two things: one, I decided to finish that process (Jon calls it "renewal of creative path" or ROCP for short, though I don't know if that title is the best descriptor of it.) And two, I decided to finish it really quickly, and not carefully. I could always go back and refine it, but if I tried to get it to 'perfect' it would continue to not get finished, and thus be giving me zero benefit.

So I did. And I like how it feels, to be refreshing myself on that vision I have of a meaningful life, each morning. It's not perfect, but it's much better than nothing.

I bet you want to know what it is, don't you? I'm going to be a bit mischievous and not tell you though. It feels a bit too personal right now, like being seen in public in my underwear. So for now it's just for me. Perhaps as I get more comfortable with it, I'll be willing to share more.

OK! Feeling good, you're caught up on my life, I'm (partially) caught up with my blog backlog, and on to the next thing! Today is designated, among other things, as my 'do lots of small but important tasks to declutter my task list' so I'm off to some of those other things. It feels good, as a lot of them have gone stale and gotten quite overdue, as I tend to focus on the big, immediate tasks most of the time.