Attempting the “stable mucking” method of productivity

 Cal Newport talks about this in a very old blog post here. 

Basically, I’m trying to be laser-focused on the three most important areas of my life (which, mind you, is pretty difficult in and of itself):

- Computer science

- Art

- Writing. 

And I still have to do school and work (granted, they help with the first one) and church (which is great, but does not help any of these areas). 

Additionally, I am trying to autopilot a better fitness (lifting and running) routine and play music more often. 

Computer science also comes with math and algorithm review, and writing comes with lots of reading which I can quickly fall behind on, art starts with a drawing warmup then I progress to 3D, etc. 

But, this means I fail miserably at completing administrative tasks on time, and this can have bad consequences. For example:

- I still haven’t resubmitted my graduate program of study, or responded to the status update emails they want from me. I just want to code and ignore all that other stuff which won’t really help me get any better — but, I have to do it. I’m actually a bit worried that I’m going to get in trouble for consistently not updating. I also feel like crap for having to withdraw from control theory because it feels like giving up and now I have to wait until whenever Warnick teaches it again and who knows when that will be — but, looking at the Slack channel reminds me of just how lost I was in the multi-page proofs. I know I need to start over in math before taking it again. And just like with Brandon Sanderson’s class, I know I can’t even consider moving out of Utah until I have taken that class and aced it. 

- I have not held club meetings at all until this week, when nobody showed up (until I after I had already signed off figuring that no one was coming), probably because I have been so inconsistent with holding meetings in the first place. I love working with my club, but it is hard when it involves, well, a lot of administration. Getting sick at the beginning of the semester didn’t help. 

- I haven’t texted back the missionaries for like 2 or 3 weeks. Because I never know how long my homework will take me and thus whether or not I can actually meet with them. When I was on my mission, I obviously hated being on the receiving end of this. Their unread text on my phone gives me anxiety, but I also feel bad for not having replied. 

- I have an unopened voicemail from my allergist’s office about how I haven’t filled out their paperwork about my sketchy BYU insurance, and how I keep cancelling appointments, and the big red notification on my phone app is really stressing me out. I still don’t know if my student insurance covers a random office in California. And any time spent doing paperwork is time spent not learning more about computers and programming, or getting better at art. But, at some point I’m going to run out of antihistamine refills and well, I kind of like breathing. 

- I consistently remember to pay for parking in August, and I consistently forget to pay for it in December, which means that I always get a parking ticket in February. This is an annual event. Even after going back and paying my fee, I still have to deal with this ticket and try to appeal it, which also takes time away from learning. 

- I’m always on Facebook and other forums, but I consistently don’t reply to messages. Or, I reply to them like 6 months late. I want to reply to them each week, but whenever I’m online, it’s usually during a quick study break or while I’m eating or something and I need to get back to what I’m working on soon, and the energy and attentional shift required to figure out what message to type would derail me from getting back on track. So, I don’t do it, and thus I burn bridges. I genuinely enjoy interacting with people, so this isn’t fun, and I think this one would be solved by achieving my goal of not doing any homework past 6 pm on Fridays.

So, the goal of “stable mucking” is to do just one annoying “mosquito task” right before signing off for the day, no matter how small. Presumably if I do this, these major sources of stress will be eliminated, one at a time. 

I guess it’s time to give it a shot. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Unleashing my inner Disney Princess ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ at the 2024 Disney Princesses Half Marathon

Image
TL;DR it was amazing and perfect  and we are going to make this an annual tradition. I may edit this with photos later, but I'm probably going to forget.  Recently, I spent 5 wonderful days donating my dollarbucks and soul to the evil mouse in Orlando. I did it for the Disney Princess Half Marathon.  Just look at that happy little alligator musician. He's so CHONKY. It's adorable. I love him. How could you NOT run a half marathon for him when he's cheering you on?  (My dad says it's weird to say the word "adorable" as a man, which makes zero logical sense and obviously means I need to use that word as often as possible. I will also continue to wear my rings and maybe I'll start flashing my pink protein shaker. Just to cause a little discomfort, because it's funny.)  I haven't seen the movie yet actually so idk if the gator is a major character or not. But JUST LOOK AT HIM.  My cousin and I had been planning a Disney trip, specifically centered
Read more

The 20-something types of Computer Science majors

Image
I've been way too distracted with this blog lately, and I need to hurry up and start getting crap done. But...I've been dying to write this lol.  The advanced neckbeard A rare variety. When a neckbeard is forced out of his mom's basement and into college, he becomes an Advanced Neckbeard. You can always tell when he's coming, because you can smell him from half a mile away. He is very overweight, and wears shirts that are either plain or adorned with anime/gaming graphics. These shirts are either stained with sweat, Hot Cheetos, or something a little bit more, ah, suspicious . He is so socially unskilled that he makes everyone else in the major look normal. Age 30+, GPA at a 2.0 or just barely above it. Will never drop the major despite his lack of effort, because he simply doesn't care if he gets bad grades. In fact, he is probably highly intelligent, but his grades will never reflect that. Nevertheless, he will get a much higher paying job than a regular neckbeard
Read more

The Evenstar

I've never liked this world much.  Ever since I was a little kid, I always dreamed of going somewhere else. I created this alternate version of Earth that had everything and everyone that I loved, but with all these improvements to it. Magic was real. So were dragons. Dinosaurs hadn't gone extinct. Technology allowed people to fly. A network of glass corridors provided transport between this world and mine, snaking through streams of stars, galaxies, and lightyears of blackness.  And more than anything, I wasn't alone. I don't remember why I spent so much time alone as a kid. I really wish I did. All I know is that when I was in my  world, I always had someone by my side.  The feeling of being out of place here was overwhelming. It still is. That sense of not belonging, of longing for somewhere else, it has never gone away.  When I was in middle school, being bullied daily, I escaped to that world. The boys who tripped me and spit on me disappeared, replaced by tropical
Read more