Mohit Satyanand talks about how he gave up full-time work and why he highly recommends it.
One might wish he addressed the economic realities more clearly. Or at all. But he waxes lyrical about the delights of doing nothing.
(I can wax lyrical on the subject of creative idleness, too. And no doubt will do so after I’ve finished the ceiling, met my next deadline, caught up on my email, and spent some time contemplating how I’m ever going to get the house foundation repaired and the plumbing replaced.)
One step at a time. And smell the roses along the way.
He’s fighting against the Job Culture, and he does have a point, you know. It’s not doing “nothing” that’s important, but doing what we want to do, and what is in synch with our particular biorhythms.
But Claire, you said it first and probably best…..
”
How To Kill The Job Culture Before It Kills You: Living a Life of Autonomy in a Wage-Slave Society Paperback – January 1, 2005
by Claire Wolfe (Author) “
Ah…I also could “wax lyrical on the subject of creative idleness”; but only because my wife is the smart one – a two year Registered Nurse Degree from the local tech college vs. my BA from the local university. So, let me ‘wax lyrically’, right after the dishes, laundry, shopping, house maintenance, vehicle maintenance, yard & garden maintenance, needs of our living at home 19 yr old 17 yr old & 5 yr old………..{Seriously though; its like Claire’s ceiling – you could complain, but its better to focus on the fact of how good you’ve got it, how healthy you are, & where you’re going – like a finished ceiling. (Note: no pie in the sky; I’ve just met too many who have it worse)}
Very interesting article. I thought the “Five Regrets of the Dying” link particularly good. Should have read it a long time ago, of course.
OT: Swinging elections. http://www.wired.com/2015/08/googles-search-algorithm-steal-presidency/
Received the following comment back from a friend: That’s true. Read the research of Norbert Swartz and his colleagues circa the 1990s. Also look at classical attitude change studies. Note that Democrats use the work of people like Lakoff to “frame” issues to their advantage. None of this is new—the Sophists could have told you all about it. What’s new is the mass dissemination. And one doesn’t need to control much of the variance to have a big effect at the end.
I may end up in the gig economy. Just got laid off from my dream telecommuting job of the last nine years. Studying Erlang, a fairly obscure programming language, that seems neat and that I hope will have more job prospects than Lisp.
I knocked off computer work in the 1980’s for some years, built a house, even played with farming and communal living (which turned me into a stark raving libertarian). Only problem was, when I decided to get back into the computer business, I couldn’t get past HR departments because they don’t like to see large gaps for “creative” or “alternative” living in resumes. They want people with nose firmly to grindstone. So I had to get around the HR department to get a job, which I did.
Coincidentally, I wrote about my working experience recently:
http://strike-the-root.com/how-i-got-job
To be filed under “News Of The Weird: Steampunk Edition”
Man operated flying contraptions of the 19th century (?!)
http://www.messynessychic.com/2013/06/24/found-in-a-junk-shop-secrets-of-an-undiscovered-visionary-artist/
Paul, The path to the best gigs is not through HR.
19th century life hacks, still valid today:http://imgur.com/gallery/asJxW