Sabbatical

Facebook. Dissertation. Job Applications. Marriage. Apathy. What do all of these have in common?

They can all be categorized under "reasons why Joe's blog is more stale than gas-station Krispy Kremes."

Some are happy (marriage), some are obvious (facebook, apathy) and some really shouldn't be excuses, but sources of post material (job applications).

The meta-reason for lack of posting, however, sits squarely in the middle of my latest dilemma: information overload.

Not overlord, overload.

I've been looking closely at my own productivity lately, as is hip among academics these days, and have found myself, er. Hmm.
Not sure how to end that. I suppose I haven't. Found myself, that is. Because it is difficult to see yourself when covered in emails, Facebook applications, iPhone apps, website updates, visual voicemails, and the like. Earlier this week I had a day where I spent 9 hours at work and got nothing done. Wait. Strike that. I didn't produce anything. I consumed many things, mostly digital things. And a sandwich. And too much coffee. Anyway, when I got home, exhausted from, something, I decided to make a list of reasons why I didn't get anything done.

Aha, you say. But lists are time-wasters, too. Well, yes, they are. But a list of your lists and things that produce lists can be quite helpful. Point-in-fact:

I estimated that about 3 hours of my day is spend haphazardly absorbing information. Easy information. Like emails, and online news, and facebook pages. These things used to be filler at some point, I think. Now they are sort of the bread and the filler. Schedule a meeting and prioritize the goals therein? Sure! Execute said meeting? Well, I'm not sure I'll have time. Let me check my email.

I never really had to worry about this phenomenon in the past, sort of like my weight or staying in shape. But now, just like staying thin and in relative shape, I find I have to work at it. To further the analogy, it appears as though I need to more carefully control my information diet. In college I ate what I wanted, exercised when I wanted to, and blogged prolifically. But now, for deeper reasons to be covered in another post, I must be more disciplined on all these fronts. Thus the attempted re-start of this blog. Its like whole wheat crust on a pizza, or running on very cold mornings. Its something that I enjoy in its most basic sense, and something that, occasionally, I need to force myself to take part in. As part of my info diet, I am setting aside time for this blog. I'll probably take it from unstructured Facebook time. Because writing is better than e-stalking, I think.

So have a light beer in celebration, and jump for joy three times a week for 30 minutes. Mr. T. Loves Buddha has returned.

I hope everyone is well.

Peace,
Joe

Directions toward goals for things and hard working kids like me Mr. President.

So I admit it.

I DID watch old Bushy boy's final state of the union.

But worse than that, I watched the democratic (oops! I mean American!) response.

I think the good Gov. of Kansas might have completed a salient thought. Perhaps. But I did not catch it.

So instead, I give you the greatest series of videos on the interweb. Thanks to Josh for enlightening me!



I hope everyone is well. Also, Happy 2008!

Peace,
Joe

SHREDS.

A friend of mine showed me this today. It is hilarious in all caps. Like this: HILARIOUS! A very creative guy has taken famous guitar players and overdubbed live performances with his own considerably less talented (but no less awesome) performances. This one is my favorite so far. If you want to see more, just search "shreds" on YouTube.



I particularly like the clapping.

I hope everyone is well!
Peace,
Joe

Motivation Mud

This weekend I had the great pleasure of seeing family and friends that I don't get to see often. Work faded into the backdrop, cowering in the face of football with toddlers, Trivial Pursuit saturated by inside-joke style hints, and the simple happiness of sitting next to loved ones you don't often get to sit next to.

But now that I am back in my office, back to the windowless concrete box that houses almost five years of graduate school effort, the work has revived its bravery. It is demanding my attention in a way that does not match my motivation to do it. You see, even though I have showered twice today, I am covered in motivation mud. Strangely enough, this viscous substance does not imbue you with with motivation (as the name might imply); rather it slows your motivation-turned-action into a stilted, spiritless crawl. No soap for it. You just have to keep moving until it dries out, cakes, cracks, and finally falls off.

I do not hate my job. I just really love my family and friends. One day I'll figure out how to avoid the post-trip let down. But for now I have to get back to walking the mud off.

I hope everyone is well.
Peace,
Joe