Martin Varsavsky posted in his blog the life choices he has made in order to manage his time more effectively or, in other words, "simple ways to avoid wasting time and getting more things done".Leaving aside the ones that are out of reach for most of the mortals (e.g. using a privat jet to avoid wasting time at airports or hiring a personal chauffeur to drive you everywhere) these are the most practical ones that anyone could start applying right away:
- Avoid watching TV
- Avoid reading many books
- Avoid watching professional sports on a weekly basis
- Avoid excessive grooming
- Avoid using the phone whenever possible
- Avoid alcohol and drugs
- Avoid business meals
- Avoid attending to business events
One of the key aspects of his utilitarian mindset is the one that focuses more on doing rather than consuming:
"But just like I practice sports much more than I watch sports (I cycle around 8 hours a week) I write much more than I read. I read a lot in my 20s, now it’s my time to contribute to others."
He implicitly acknowledges that in the lifetime of a 'maker' (understood as an 'agent of change'), once you have the feeling that you have already acquired enough experience in a particular field of interest, you can extract more personal value and satisfaction from creating and acting rather than talking or just consuming other people's work.
From "The dangerous Effects of Reading"
http://blog.davidtate.org/2011/12/the-dangerous-effects-of-reading/
"In our personal lives we tend to optimize for one of two things: input or output. Reading or writing. Consuming or creating. The environment we live in – the prevailing culture – by default is optimized for consumption. Even our personal computers are turning into devices that are optimized for consumption! This is terrible and dangerous."
[...]
"If the world overwhelms you with its constant production of useless crap which you filter more and more to things that only interest you can I calmly suggest that you just create things that you like and cut out the rest of the world as a middle-man to your happiness?"
"when you don’t create things, you become defined by your tastes rather than ability. your tastes only narrow & exclude people. so create"
photo: Xavier Veilhan, "The large carriage"
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| Over time a maker has to start doing more than just knowing if her real intent is to create change. |
From "The dangerous Effects of Reading"
http://blog.davidtate.org/2011/12/the-dangerous-effects-of-reading/
"In our personal lives we tend to optimize for one of two things: input or output. Reading or writing. Consuming or creating. The environment we live in – the prevailing culture – by default is optimized for consumption. Even our personal computers are turning into devices that are optimized for consumption! This is terrible and dangerous."
[...]
"If the world overwhelms you with its constant production of useless crap which you filter more and more to things that only interest you can I calmly suggest that you just create things that you like and cut out the rest of the world as a middle-man to your happiness?"
"when you don’t create things, you become defined by your tastes rather than ability. your tastes only narrow & exclude people. so create"
photo: Xavier Veilhan, "The large carriage"
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