Welcome π My name is Brock, I'm 26, and an Associate Director/Senior Manager at a Big 4 consulting firm in Australia. This is my little corner of the internet where I share what I'm thinking and reading. You can check out my recent posts to get a taste of what to expect.
π‘ Low-Hanging Fruit #009
Published 2 months agoΒ β’Β 2 min read
Hey friends π
Hope you had a great weekend - I spent a lot of mine doing a sweep of the apartment and getting rid of old gear. I also spent a bit of it working, which is unusual for me. I didn't do it because I felt that I had to, I did it because I've got some opportunities in front of me at the moment that I want to nail.
It's a good place to be at - when you have something exciting in front of you that you want to grab with both hands. It's also important to recognise that work isn't always like that, and a temporary dip doesn't necessarily mean that you're in the wrong career or wrong organisation. Having a dip is what makes the excitement real.
Here's to a great week ahead,
Brock
This Week's Thought
β
For many people, their compulsive phone use papers over a void created by a lack of a well-developed leisure life. Reducing the easy distraction without also filling the void can make life unpleasantly staleβan outcome likely to undermine any transition to minimalism.
β Cal Newport
This week's thought comes from a book I shared just a few weeks ago, Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport.
10/10 - would highly recommend.
One of the greatest points I took from the book was that it's not enough to just stop using social media and other tech distractions - I need to also figure out what I'm going to start filling that free time with.
In hindsight, I've made this mistake before - temporarily managing to break the cycle of distraction, only to find myself lapsing back to the comfort of my phone because I wasn't filling that time with anything else.
Newport uses the phrase "high quality leisure", which I quite like. It's gotten me to think about leisure not just as a pass-time, but something which adds value to my life and is worth making time for and deciding consciously.
It got me thinking about how I could "upgrade" my leisure - if social media scrolling is low quality leisure, then what would high quality be?
How It's Applied
I've started a list of projects I would like to complete and skills I would like to learn. When I say "projects", I'm talking about physical things done with my hands - there is something extremely satisfying about getting something done with your hands (and this is coming from one of the least handy people on the planet).
Whenever something comes to my mind that I feel would be a high quality way to spend my time, I note it down.
Currently on my list are:
Creating a lamp out of a commemorative birthday bottle of Baileys (ticked off this weekend β )
Balcony DIY project - laying artificial turf and lining the balcony with pebbles
Growing tomato plants from scratch (this is attempt #2, but I'm in much better shape this time)
A macrame class (had to google it) with Kyra where we're making mini Christmas trees
When doing these things, I'm not going to miss my phone.
Have a question, story, or just want to share your thoughts?
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Welcome π My name is Brock, I'm 26, and an Associate Director/Senior Manager at a Big 4 consulting firm in Australia. This is my little corner of the internet where I share what I'm thinking and reading. You can check out my recent posts to get a taste of what to expect.
