

Create - trustfundbaby
http://zenhabits.net/create/

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angrycoder
book shill.

edit: perhaps this is a bit harsh, let me rephrase. This article is a series
of paragraphs with one obvious statement, if you want to make something you
have to find the time to make it, followed by an advertisement for his book.

~~~
mrspeaker
I voted you up. This was an obvious advertisement with a few paragraphs of
fluff formatted to have the appearance of an "inspirational" piece of text
(I'm not saying they aren't passionate or honest about it - it just doesn't
contain any nugget of insight, or artistic spark).

And it's fair enough - there's obviously a market for that, but I don't think
it should be allowed to get by riding on the coat tails of truly
inspirational, thought-provoking pieces.

"Random inspiration quote" - famous person.

~~~
crux
Zenhabits has always been one of the fluffiest of the original 'productivity'
blogs. For years they've found the lowest common denominator self-
help/productivity inspirational approach—follow your dreams! Write! Do, live,
drive, discuss!—And wrapped it in a veneer of trendy aesthetic signifiers. As
some who tries to practice Buddhism I find their wholly superficial co-option
of the word 'Zen' to be irksome, but even past that, they always seem to have
the most banal, uninsightful take on whatever the self-help blogger concept of
the moment is, whether everyone's agreeing this week that you should write
something every day, or use a full-screen text editor, or work _less_, or get
rid of all your possessions... Frankly, it's a cushy gig.

~~~
billswift
I agree they aren't very Zen. But Zen isn't very Buddhist either, it's more
Taoism with a Buddhist gloss.

~~~
gruseom
_Zen isn't very Buddhist either, it's more Taoism with a Buddhist gloss._

Are you sure? That doesn't sound right to me. Zen is traced back to
Bodhidharma, who came from Southern India. Taoism certainly didn't come from
India. Moreover, Zen's almost nihilistic austerity seems at odds with the
back-to-nature lyricism of, say, the Tao te Ching. It is difficult to imagine
Lao Tse beating disciples with sticks.

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impendia
Sounds inspiring, but

>Time is often said to be our most limited resource, but it’s not true. We can
create time. It takes the sheer force of will to do it, but it can be created.

Not really. We have exactly 24 hours each day. We can (and should) find ways
to use it more effectively, and he explains that this is what he means, but it
is definitely possible to get to the point where if you want to add something
valuable to your life, you have to give something else equally valuable up.

~~~
jeffclark
Don't take it literally, as in "add more hours to a 24 hour day".

Think deeper: "spend less time with 'watching TV' as your top priority".

LOTS of people want to learn to program, want to write that book, want to
start a company.

But rarely do they want it bad enough to do anything about it, including
changing their habits.

~~~
khafra
I have to say, he lost some credibility with me right there. I have trouble
believing that anybody who watches TV really understands the concept of a busy
schedule.

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jayzee
The philosopher Mark Kingwell puts it in existential terms: “Procrastination
most often arises from a sense that there is too much to do, and hence no
single aspect of the to-do worth doing. . . . Underneath this rather antic
form of action-as-inaction is the much more unsettling question whether
anything is worth doing at all.”

In that sense, it might be useful to think about two kinds of procrastination:
the kind that is genuinely akratic and the kind that’s telling you that what
you’re supposed to be doing has, deep down, no real point.

From:
[http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2010/10/11/10101...](http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2010/10/11/101011crbo_books_surowiecki#ixzz1K1qxkGFR)

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ascuttlefish
My favourite reminder of the importance of not wasting time is On the
Shortness of Life by the Roman Stoic Seneca:
[http://www.forumromanum.org/literature/seneca_younger/brev_e...](http://www.forumromanum.org/literature/seneca_younger/brev_e.html)

~~~
b_emery
Reminds me of a quote I'm fond of: "Procrastination is our substitute for
immortality". - B. Kunkle

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bartl
I have been unemployed. And I can tell you: lack of time is not the problem,
for most projects. What is lacking is the will to actually _do it_. I find it
often easier to actually do something, when you already have a (nearly) full
schedule.

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donofrip
I can certainly appreciate and understand Leo's point not only philosophically
but also through personal experience. I work at an investment bank and have
about $200k in student loans. I want to start a company. My time is extremely
constricted due to the nature of my job, and I can't quit because I have loan
obligations each month. I've backed myself into a corner at a young age. I
still have found time to begin putting into place some of the pieces necessary
to launch a startup. At the same time, I have been training for a marathon,
acting as a member on the board of director for a grade school and catching a
few drinks with friends on the weekend. It is not easy and not always fun, but
if something is important, we can always find more time. Sometimes you just
sleep less...

Taking this a step further, there is something left out of Leo's discussion.
Efficiency. Not sure where I read it, but the was a book by a CEO. He
discussed how he used to work on his plane trips across the country because he
didn't want to "lose" that time. After a while, he found that he was jet
lagged and would be tired while on the ground for his meetings. It would take
him days to recover. Now instead of working on the flights, he sleeps or gets
enough sleep so that he will be rested and more efficient when he has landed.

The question that arises is simple. By jamming another 30 minutes or an hour
of blogging or whatever into your day, do you jeopardize your efficiency
throughout the day? It is the economic question of not only diminishing
returns, but negative returns. The common example given in economic textbooks
is that of an additional farmhand not only not adding value, but detracting
from the value of the current farmhands.

I think we should be asking how can we prioritize more effectively.

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thirdsun
Though true, it's easier said than done. Personally, I make music - though
it's what i really like to do it'll probably never pay my bills. On the other
hand I'd love to learn ruby on rails - without any developer
background...unless you count FileMaker. After work there are only some hours
to cover those interests, which are certainly not the only options and it's
tough to figure out what to prioritize. In my opinion that's the real problem:
Options. It may sound very general und superficial but there are so many
things of interest, it can be overwhelming.

