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EP 67 - Embracing The River
14 Plays1 month ago
Thoughts on our tasks, and the flow of our lives.
For more info & to download a free PDF of today's episode notes, visit: www.chriskreuter.com/CDWI
Join the Kreuter Studios mailing list: https://mailchi.mp/810367311f3d/ksb
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Transcript
Introduction and Background
00:00:08
Speaker
On Chris deals with it, I talk about the frameworks and methods I use to clear personal, creative, and professional roadblocks. My goal is to help others bridge the gap between where they're at now and what they want to achieve. If you're new to the show, I'm an engineer, writer, parent, game designer, leader, and reader who leverages that experience to develop creative solutions to problems. An AI statement that all elements of this episode are products of the author, Chris Croyder, and made without the use of any AI tools.
Episode 67 and Creative Hiatus
00:00:38
Speaker
Welcome to episode 67 of Chris deals with it, embracing the river. So this came from my October newsletter, which is something I put out every month. There'll be a link in the show notes. And you can also go to my website, C H R I S K R E U T E R dot com to sign up for this newsletter. It's a great way to keep up with what I'm working on and thoughts like this.
00:01:00
Speaker
So I'm really thankful for the semi hiatus that I took over the past few months. I wasn't forcing creative work. I was taking time to think and reflect. I even took a month off from a newsletter and podcasting. I'm happily back in a creative groove. I'm working on a new book project, producing these episodes. I even dip my toes back into game design.
00:01:20
Speaker
for a little while there. i There are many reasons why that break was needed. Reasons that led to feeling daunted, overwhelmed, and frustrated. It forced me to step back and evaluate where I am, who I am, and where I'm headed. It was time well spent and done with purpose.
Task Management Challenges
00:01:35
Speaker
I had been growing disillusioned about my task list and how I organized things.
00:01:39
Speaker
This time it's less about my anxiety convincing me if I do things differently everything's going to work out better. Lately I'm realizing that I've really become disillusioned by the endless amount of stuff that needs to get done. I keep desiring my to-do list to become manageable. Something I can see on a single screen, wrap my head and hands fully around. I want to set out a plan for the day, accomplish it, and not turn around and see a new heaping pile of tasks in my inbox that need to be sorted and completed.
00:02:07
Speaker
Regardless of the tasks that do come to us, we need time to slow down and enjoy life, rest, recuperation, smelling the proverbial roses. There is a finitude to our lives. Recent events have reminded this reality very starkly. There's only so much we can get done, and there will always be many more tasks left undone. I reckon this has always been the case throughout history. Now our tasks have evolved far beyond survive another day, but it's always been in our nature to get things done.
00:02:37
Speaker
When I implement new methods of managing my life's tasks, it can feel great. It's a fresh start to a new era of ticking things off with clearer purpose and greater efficiency. But what feels good for a few days quickly returns to that daunting feeling. When could I possibly get all this stuff done?
00:02:54
Speaker
Envision a day where your to-do list is just complete. Every single thing you've ever been assigned or set out to do, checked off. I bet that would feel amazing, liberating, an achievement worth marveling at. But how long will that moment of triumph last?
Embracing Endless Tasks
00:03:08
Speaker
A day? An hour? How soon will the next request, demand, email task come in demanding your action? It's truly endless. And you know what? It's okay. Do we really want life to stop asking for our contributions?
00:03:23
Speaker
I do like getting stuff done. Sure, some tasks suck, they're tedious or come about because of mistakes we've made or cleaning up someone else's mistakes. I recognize that I'm fortunate to have a lot of agency over how I spend my time. And I don't ever take that agency for granted, because it's not guaranteed. Given the state of the world, I even feel guilty sometimes over having any agency at all. It makes me want to do more and greater things because I do have it.
00:03:48
Speaker
I recently listened to an interview with Oliver Berkman, and there's a link to that interview in the show notes, which offers up an amazing metaphor, the river. Rivers are consistently flowing, somewhat unpredictable things. No matter how much you work on the task within it, the river keeps flowing. It's nearly impossible to stop.
00:04:06
Speaker
The river changes throughout the course of our lives. Its level can rise or fall. Its path shifts. It can be calm or full of raging rapids. Sometimes the river floods and throws our lives in the disarray. Regardless, we need to venture out into the water and do the best we can.
00:04:22
Speaker
Rather than viewing my task list as some object to be whittled down with some percentage of completion, I can just view it as an endless, ever-shifting river, and I'm fortunate enough to go into it.
Reframing Tasks as Opportunities
00:04:32
Speaker
It's always going to be there, presenting tasks needing my effort. I can start each day at even par, rather than feeling I'm already behind on my list.
00:04:40
Speaker
There is no use stressing about this endless flow of life, that's its nature, and I should feel fortunate for my opportunity to partake in it. I can view each day, each moment as an opportunity to draw a few tasks from the river, complete them to the best of my ability, and if time and fortune allow, repeat.
00:04:58
Speaker
To some degree, we can construct an environment around this river. We can build embankments, bridges, even dams. A scaffolding around this endless stream of tasks. But these efforts can become ways of trying to transfer our individual finitude onto the river.
00:05:13
Speaker
If only we can contain the river, get it to flow in this very specific way. Perhaps then we can pause the flow long enough for us to take care of everything we need to take care of. That's not sustainable. There's a danger in looking to efficiency and automation as saviors from the endless river.
00:05:30
Speaker
And we can also train ourselves. We can improve our endurance and become stronger, more efficient swimmers, or build vessels to help us spend more time on the river without exhausting ourselves. There are countless methods for managing our lives and interacting with this river.
00:05:45
Speaker
But I'm embracing this mental shift towards seeing the river for what it is. It's just life.
Balance and Enjoyment in Task Management
00:05:50
Speaker
It's going to keep coming at me. Going to keep asking for my effort till the end of my days. And even then, the river's going to keep flowing long after I'm gone. It's truly unlimited in scope. So why am I stressing over this fact?
00:06:02
Speaker
Our task lists are important to things, as are the methods and organizational strategies that deal with them. But what's changing is my mental state towards its endless nature. It's really up to each of us to identify what's important, do those tasks the best of our ability, and maintain a mental and physical balance that works for us, our families, and our communities. So I'm gonna end the episode with a quote from chapter four of Oliver Berkman's incredible new book, Meditations for Mortals, which is the book I'm going to recommend to everybody till the end of time.
00:06:33
Speaker
Actions don't have to be things we grind out day after day in order to inch ever closer to some elusive state of finally getting to qualify as adequate humans. Instead, they can just be enjoyable expressions of the fact that that's what we already are. And with that, have a great day.
00:06:58
Speaker
If you feel that Chris dealt with it, I'd appreciate your support of the show by sharing it with someone who might benefit. Ratings on your favorite podcast player are also helpful in growing the audience. Visit chriscroiter.com for free downloadable PDFs with notes and resources from today's episode, sign up for the CDWY mailing list, or to send in your problems or requests for future shows. That's C-H-R-I-S-K-R-E-U-T-E-R dot.com or use the link in the show notes.