I think I had an epiphany today that lists don't work (or at least they don't work for me in relation to how I think).
Over the past few days (just to relax) I told myself that I was going to drop my daily routine to just pursue whatever I was interested in at the moment.
This lead to me learning about Magic: The Gathering, a popular trading card game.
In the beginning, it was a lot of fun. But as time went along, I decided to structure my learning. I started documenting. I started creating lists of concepts and things I wanted to learn. And almost in real time, I could see my interest in Magic wane and disappear. Instead of being fun, I began to see Magic as a chore, rather than something I just wanted to do for fun.
I think a key reason for this is that lists kill the spontaneity of curiosity. It replaces it with expectation and anxiety, as you feel beholden to the schedules you create.
I guess a question I have for everyone is: How do you be productive without lists? Is there a certain way to approach them? Should they be discarded entirely? How do you then keep track of progress?
Funnily enough, I used to always think that when I was demotivated, it was because I didn't have enough structure in my life. Turns out that the structure was probably the issue.
Over the past few days (just to relax) I told myself that I was going to drop my daily routine to just pursue whatever I was interested in at the moment.
This lead to me learning about Magic: The Gathering, a popular trading card game.
In the beginning, it was a lot of fun. But as time went along, I decided to structure my learning. I started documenting. I started creating lists of concepts and things I wanted to learn. And almost in real time, I could see my interest in Magic wane and disappear. Instead of being fun, I began to see Magic as a chore, rather than something I just wanted to do for fun.
I think a key reason for this is that lists kill the spontaneity of curiosity. It replaces it with expectation and anxiety, as you feel beholden to the schedules you create.
I guess a question I have for everyone is: How do you be productive without lists? Is there a certain way to approach them? Should they be discarded entirely? How do you then keep track of progress?
Funnily enough, I used to always think that when I was demotivated, it was because I didn't have enough structure in my life. Turns out that the structure was probably the issue.