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Full Maximum Capacity Time Usage

Dami Lee is talking about slow reading here but I took exception to one comment in the beginning of the video which I linked to. She talks about reading books that had a big impact on her life, and that she prefers to read them slowly. Then the very next sentence she asks if she’s using her time to it’s “full maximum capacity” if she’s reading slowly.

We each deal with this desire to slow down combined with a drive to get to all the things we wan to get to. Merphy Napier calls it the duality of experience in reference to her desire to dive into a book and read voraciously, but at the same time slow down to experience every piece of what the book has to offer.

At the same time forces us to view each moment of our lives in terms of the money that could be earned if we were working¹. We have to do this in part because if we don’t earn enough a capitalist society throws us out as unworthy and then deserving of every bad thing that may come our way because we don’t have money or are unproductive in the world at large. This is where my term capitalism time comes from, the world we must inhabit to look successful and earn money.

This extends to our creative time as well as capitalism seeks to capture creativity to make sure it’s monetized². Thus the exhortation to have a side project or some business you’re running to earn a few pennies more. You can’t simply have a hobby that earns nothing, it must at the first possible moment be turned into fuel for the economy.

I feel this relentless pressure as I’m sure you do. It’s hard to simply lay in the hammock and do nothing or read for pure pleasure. I’ve got cars to look at, things to fix around the house, and kids that want some of my time because I “never” spend time with them.

Unfortunately, I don’t have any answer on how to slow down. I’m simply working to recognize when I’m speeding up for no good reason and should slow down instead. When I should let a kid bake with me because I don’t need to get cookies done on some schedule so I should simply enjoy the process.

I’m working on being more lenient with myself about the number of books I read and the number of things I get done. Possibly more importantly, I’m working to be more understanding of those around me not doing things when I’m running around frantically. My wife should have room to sit and enjoy coffee. Just because I’m running around doesn’t mean I need to inflict that pace on her.

Notes as a conversation partner

This idea of your notes as a conversation partner is the oft-proclaimed benefit of adopting a Zettelkasten style system, but disenchantment with the lack of that happening is also a common thing you’ll see on any forum dedicated to note-taking. People start out with all the dreams in the world about how their notes will help them think better, then it doesn’t happen and they wonder why they invested all the time into their notes.

Maybe it’s time to invest in letting your notes surprise you again. While I don’t use it as often as I’d like random notes is a good way to surface previous thoughts in your note system.

Anil on Substack

We constrain our imaginations when we subordinate our creations to names owned by fascist tycoons. Imagine the author of a book telling people to “read my Amazon”. A great director trying to promote their film by saying “click on my Max”. That’s how much they’ve pickled your brain when you refer to your own work and your own voice within the context of their walled garden. There is no such thing as “my Substack”, there is only your writing, and a forever fight against the world of pure enshittification. – Don’t call it a Substack

I cancelled all my subscriptions to Substack creators last year and told them all why. Today I think I follow one writer on Substack because it’s the only place I’ve been able to find good writing on Canadian politics. I’d rather not follow them there, but I’ve found it hard to get good political commentary focused on the country I live in. If you’ve got suggestions I’d love to hear them.

This is a reminder that you should be blogging, Twitter threads should have been blog posts and the same goes for content on Mastodon.

1. Saving Time Pg XIV ↩︎
2. Against Creativity Pg 12 ↩︎