I’m also a big fan of that Gawande article. I use lists in a couple of ways, but one relevant one is a poster I made for my bedroom wall. It’s titled “MORE USEFUL THINGS TO DO than fucking around on the internet,” and is followed by a column and a half of such activities, with room for more as I think of them (there’s a marker on a string nearby). The items on the list are a combination of practical things or chores (“do laundry” “do dishes” “practice guitar/piano”) and unnecessary things that I would like to do more often (“go for a bike ride” “call a friend” “sing”).
Obviously it’s not perfect, since I’m here, but it has taken away any possible excuse I might have to say “I don’t have anything better to do.” I might not have anything I need to do, or much I want to do, but there’s almost always something better I could do.
The only problem is that the poster’s in my bedroom, where I tended to use my laptop a lot at the time I made it. Now that I’m out of that habit (which was one of the waste-less-time-on-the-internet moves), I don’t see the poster at the times I need it most. I suppose I should move it into the office now!
I’m also a big fan of that Gawande article. I use lists in a couple of ways, but one relevant one is a poster I made for my bedroom wall. It’s titled “MORE USEFUL THINGS TO DO than fucking around on the internet,” and is followed by a column and a half of such activities, with room for more as I think of them (there’s a marker on a string nearby). The items on the list are a combination of practical things or chores (“do laundry” “do dishes” “practice guitar/piano”) and unnecessary things that I would like to do more often (“go for a bike ride” “call a friend” “sing”).
Obviously it’s not perfect, since I’m here, but it has taken away any possible excuse I might have to say “I don’t have anything better to do.” I might not have anything I need to do, or much I want to do, but there’s almost always something better I could do.
The only problem is that the poster’s in my bedroom, where I tended to use my laptop a lot at the time I made it. Now that I’m out of that habit (which was one of the waste-less-time-on-the-internet moves), I don’t see the poster at the times I need it most. I suppose I should move it into the office now!