I wanted to write today about the Personal Control Book and how it relates to my philosophy of Boredom is my Goal.
I’ve recently put a more substantial focus on running my PCB and have been exploring the idea of coaching other people on how to run their own. While doing this, the nagging voice in my head has been telling me this doesn’t make sense. The PCB is a productivity tool that on its surface is made to help you accomplish more. The philosophy of Boredom is my Goal is to minimize what you’re doing in life so that you can have more moments of Boredom. They seem like they are in direct conflict with each other.
This apparent conflict is what I would like to clear up.
To recap what the philosophy of Boredom is my Goal tries to promote, it’s not actually about sitting around and doing nothing ALL day long. It’s about trying to make pockets of time to do nothing by decluttering your life of all of the pointless tasks and distracts that we have every day. It’s about being mindful regarding where we put our time. It’s about minimizing the activities we have in our lives.
During this cleansing process, we get to do nothing and achieve Boredom. Once we have removed all of the unnecessary, that’s where the real benefits come in. We have a clear mind and spirit. With rested bodies and minds, we become more capable. When we add new projects to our lives, they can be projects which are most critical to us.
The question then turns towards what projects to add. And this is where the PCB shines. The reason why I developed my PCB was that I had gone through all of my long-running random projects. The sense of accomplishment of tackling another nice-to-have project was wearing thin. There was no ultimate goal. There was just busy-ness.
Being mindful about the random projects you pick up is just slightly more advantageous to flittering your life away with distractions. If I spend my days browsing the latest Game of the Day app, or if I spend my days conquering a specific game, the result is the same. Mindless entertainment. There is little difference between YouTube surfing for an entire week watching YouTube’s recommendation list versus binge-watching the latest Netflix intriguing series. Even if I was productive with my random projects, like doing odd-job projects around the house, it’s still just tinkering. There is no value added to my life, besides just causal distractions.
The PCB became a tool to focus these random projects. It helped paint a picture of where I wanted to head in my life. I already had a vision, but the PCB helped make that vision concrete. It also helped with motivation. Even today, when I start to get distracted by the latest fad activity, I remind myself how it helps me to reach one of my three Beacons. If it can’t, I question if I should start it.
Boredom is my Goal is a philosophy of life to live by, while a Personal Control Book ensures you spend your time and energy to maximum benefit.
(Written 2019.05.28)
I’ve recently put a more substantial focus on running my PCB and have been exploring the idea of coaching other people on how to run their own. While doing this, the nagging voice in my head has been telling me this doesn’t make sense. The PCB is a productivity tool that on its surface is made to help you accomplish more. The philosophy of Boredom is my Goal is to minimize what you’re doing in life so that you can have more moments of Boredom. They seem like they are in direct conflict with each other.
This apparent conflict is what I would like to clear up.
To recap what the philosophy of Boredom is my Goal tries to promote, it’s not actually about sitting around and doing nothing ALL day long. It’s about trying to make pockets of time to do nothing by decluttering your life of all of the pointless tasks and distracts that we have every day. It’s about being mindful regarding where we put our time. It’s about minimizing the activities we have in our lives.
During this cleansing process, we get to do nothing and achieve Boredom. Once we have removed all of the unnecessary, that’s where the real benefits come in. We have a clear mind and spirit. With rested bodies and minds, we become more capable. When we add new projects to our lives, they can be projects which are most critical to us.
The question then turns towards what projects to add. And this is where the PCB shines. The reason why I developed my PCB was that I had gone through all of my long-running random projects. The sense of accomplishment of tackling another nice-to-have project was wearing thin. There was no ultimate goal. There was just busy-ness.
Being mindful about the random projects you pick up is just slightly more advantageous to flittering your life away with distractions. If I spend my days browsing the latest Game of the Day app, or if I spend my days conquering a specific game, the result is the same. Mindless entertainment. There is little difference between YouTube surfing for an entire week watching YouTube’s recommendation list versus binge-watching the latest Netflix intriguing series. Even if I was productive with my random projects, like doing odd-job projects around the house, it’s still just tinkering. There is no value added to my life, besides just causal distractions.
The PCB became a tool to focus these random projects. It helped paint a picture of where I wanted to head in my life. I already had a vision, but the PCB helped make that vision concrete. It also helped with motivation. Even today, when I start to get distracted by the latest fad activity, I remind myself how it helps me to reach one of my three Beacons. If it can’t, I question if I should start it.
Boredom is my Goal is a philosophy of life to live by, while a Personal Control Book ensures you spend your time and energy to maximum benefit.
(Written 2019.05.28)
