Keeping up is impossible, embrace falling behind
Hi!
We just got back from a family holiday to Penang over last weekend. Our first trip ever with Joy, so it was logistically our most difficult trip ever. I definitely can't claim to be a destination expert, but I'd be happy to share my recommendations. Simply drop me a message before you plan your trip!
Joy staring at us eat was a major part of the trip
Creating Passionate Users: The Myth of Keeping Up
This post observes how it is common to have stacks of things we find interesting or important to know or do, but would most likely never get through them.
Interestingly, this post was written in 2006, and our world now has an even faster pace. We will never fully cover, experience, or stay current on all the news, applications, experiences, travel destinations, restaurants, skills, and knowledge that is available. The amount of content in existence is increasing exponentially, yet our ability as humans to consume this content remains largely constant. To make this worse, there is an increasing trend to focus not just on content generation, but for each platform to capture our attention and keep us hooked onto them.
Thinking back on my own experience as a student, we were taught that falling behind leads to failure. In a limited, homogeneous, competitive environment, knowing all the important content (i.e things that will come out in the exam) was the path to success. However, the real world is not a closed universe. There is no way to obtain all relevant knowledge, or even know what will be relevant. There is also the open ended freedom to define problems and solutions. It is more important to learn to assimilate ideas quickly, apply them practically, and carve out our own niche fields of knowledge.
Since it is impossible to be completely up to date, I think a more relevant skill is to be comfortable with falling behind on most things, and using that space gain more on the things we do choose to undertake. The post above has a number of great pointers, and I thought of several ways we can embrace falling behind here:
Realise that all information is available instantly
With technology now, we can feel assured that information is always accessible instantly. Rather than cramming our mind with details, we can retrieve what we need as and when it becomes relevant. We can then use that extra space to be present in the moment, and focus on building mental models and broad level views of what knowledge exists.
Know yourself and your interests
Of course, we cannot fall behind on everything, we should still keep up to date on the things which are closest to our heart. This requires self-reflection to know what our interests are, followed by filtering these to our greatest ones. I recommend the 5/25 method for doing this.
For everything outside our core interests, we can and should be willing to fall behind.
On occasion, we can look outside our narrow field, either to take a break or keep our minds open, but without any expectation or need to do so comprehensively.
Once on a project, don’t look elsewhere
Whenever we have embarked on a project, until it is done, it is best not to let our eyes wander. There are lots of new releases and inspirations out there. Great when we are looking for something to do. Not so good when it distracts us from what we are currently working on, especially when we hit some obstacle in our current pursuit.
A Project Cocoon - where we commit to a project for a certain period of time, is one way we can set limits where we avoid looking around.
This problem arises for me often with books and gaming, where I keep running into other books or games I want to read or play as well. I end up abandoning the current one halfway, or rushing through it so that I can start on the next thing.
Stay away from Wishlists
Following from the earlier point, maintaining long wishlists can be counterproductive. Chances are, these wishlists will never be completed, but seeing the list pile up might feel distressing. Many new apps now offer easily accessible “watch later” lists, and combine them with limited time sales encouraging you to buy first and consume later when you have the chance (which may never come!). I think about my 10 unfinished Udemy courses, and over 50 "watch later" youtube videos with some embarrassment as I write this.
To avoid this, keep the maximum length of any wishlist to 1. The next thing lined up so I do not spend too long wondering what to do. I realise I never had the problem of lacking inspiration for the next project/game/restaurant anyway, the business world is doing everything they can do inspire as much as possible.
More importantly, avoid spending money on a potential project more than 2 tasks away, as there is a high chance of that never happening.
Don't shame others who don't know, use it as a chance
One pressure to stay updated is the feeling of being constantly behind as others always know about the latest news or information. I feel this goes back to how we were educated, that to know something others did not was an advantage.
A more realistic view is that both people simply have different interests, and would not be up to date on the same things. The knowledge gap is a good chance to make use of your friend to get up to speed on a topic quickly. Your own experience and knowledge can then be used to possibly give a different perspective.
We all have a part to play in promoting such a culture by making sure we do not act superior when others say they we not aware of the same information or news. Embrace the opportunity to share (perhaps in doing so you may realise you do not know as much as you thought) and then tap on their thoughts.
Explore randomly.
Once in awhile, rather than following the newest, trendiest, or most recommended path, it is worth taking a leap and trying something randomly and spontaneously, without any expectations. It could be a restaurant you pass by, a magazine you don't normally subscribe to, or maybe attending a technical seminar not directly relevant to your work.
This gives a chance for a surprise find, expands your picture of the world, and creates your own unique experience. There are surely some experiences that the best Top Ten list missed out, or ideas that might be inspired from listening to something that seems unrelated.
I find this important when travelling to keep the experience unique and not just what is listed in the common guides. Since we go to Penang more often than any other location, we try to balance visiting our absolute favourites, exploring some new recommendations, and also trying some previously unknown places spontaneously. We found a beef noodle shop we never expected, and also chanced upon a little bookbinder where Alcina got a customised notebook bound.
Hopefully this helps you free up space in life from staying updated, and focus on enjoying your present moment in life more. Do let me know what you think! Would also love to hear how you try to keep up to date on things, or choose what to let fall behind.
Have a great week!
James
About Ideothetic Flow
Ideothetic Flow is my little passion project following my journey of thinking about how to live life better. Every 2 weeks I share something I find interesting, usually related to mental models which challenge common expectations or norms in modern society.