26/05/24
listening to: navigator - dirtyphonics
well, that was interesting. i can see it working as an art challenge, but it's no way to live out each day. the blocks are way too short to achieve anything meaningful. i understand the distraction is meant to leave you wanting more, wanting to come back, or simply make the blocks seem less intimidating. it worked as the latter, but i don't really need the former. if i have an art Thing i'm working on, i have no problem regulating how long i sit there and do it.
another downside, unexpectedly, was things that weren't of-the-block "interfering" with the block time. like, if i have a precious 30mins of art and my partner comes over for a chat i am now frustrated at them for eating up my art time, instead of enjoying their company. and that's what i wanted the blocks to do: make sure i spend my time on things that are important to me. and i daresay good Partner Time is more important than art time which can happen whenever in my particular case. so i'm not sure i want this fake limitation to manifest real but needless frustration like that.
i was considering making the blocks longer, or changing their order but ultimately i don't need help focusing on what matters. i need help being present and intentional, so that i can notice when i'm sucked into something that doesn't matter. and in that sense the experiment was helpful - the short blocks meant there were plenty of opportunities to "snap out of it" - even if my "nothing" block devolved into youtube/internet, it wouldn't be long before i got back on track.
that's another issue, something i should have prepared better/guarded against better: "nothing" doesn't mean "neither the responsibilities block, nor the interests block", it means "not providing brain with random pointless stimuli", a refreshment. i hardly ever did any of that like i intended, i just kept landing back on youtube.
gathering what i've learned, i think i'd like to do the following: