It’s May and we’re not far off the halfway mark – how are you fairing? A recent topic with friends, colleagues and foes has been around burnout and the struggle to properly switch off. There’s a certain irony to the term “switching off” when living in the age of the “always-on” and integrated work-life cultures. When we do manage to switch off, it’s usually by switching onto something else:
“Another day of staring at the big screen while scrolling through my little screen so as to reward myself for staring at the medium screen all week.” – @Delia
Don’t get me wrong, there’s some great content out there (see bottom of email for recs) but is binging and scrolling enough for us to properly unwind and recharge? Keyne’s original theory of achieving a reduced 15-hour work week due to technological progress has so far fallen short. Instead we’re living in the battle of attention, where our average social media usage time is 17 hours per week.
Tech can’t be the sacrificial lamb here though. Woolf, Thoreau, Gebrald are just a sample of the various pre-digital minds who discussed the issues and desires of properly stepping back from work and related societal pressures. At least back then, there were more diverse ways to disconnect from work. Particularly in what’s known as “Third Places”, which is something I’ve long been fascinated by. A phrase coined by the sociologist Ray Oldenburg in his book, “The Great Good Place”, it refers to the social surroundings that separate from the two usual social environments of home (“first place”) and the workplace (“second place”). Urbanist and notable moustache owner Nathan Allebach summarizes the concept and further notes its recent decline in American society, particularly modern tech’s involvement as both cause and panacea.
The pursuit of quality down-time, both alone and socially with others is perhaps a separate rant of its own. Before I move on, it’s worth noting that many of us have also lost our ‘second place’—the office—due to the post-pandemic shift to remote work.1
Why is properly switching off even that important? Reading Cal Newport’s “Deep Work” was a recent personal reminder for myself. Particularly he considers it a core strategy to achieving stretches of genuine deep work and ‘flow states’. I’ll be the first to admit it’s easy to spend hours at your laptop, feeling like you’re doing work, until you take stock and have little to account. Of all the methods he outlines most notable was his insistence that to be bored has actually become a novel experience in modern life.
“To simply wait and be bored has become a novel experience in modern life, but from the perspective of concentration training, it’s incredibly valuable.” – Cal Newport, Deep Work
WIRED’s founder Kevin Kelly was also a big believer that having as strong rest ethic was essential for counterbalancing a good work ethic. Though he liked to phrase it as goofing off:
“I am a huge believer in sabbaticals, sabbaths, vacations, goofing off—as instrumental and essential for later productivity, [..] obviously for themselves they have value but they also happen to be one of the most productive things you can do.” – Kevin Kelly, Pathless Path interview
I’m sure none of this is novel; we’ve head it all before. If you’ve gotten this far, consider this a reminder to step out, unplug, and take a walk outside today—you’ll be better for it. Leave your AirPods and even phone behind. I dare you.
I’ll close out with this Kurt Vonnegut quote where he shares a short anecdote of buying a single envelope to illustrate his insistence on valuing ‘inefficient’ breaks throughout his day:
[When Vonnegut tells his wife he’s going out to buy an envelope] Oh, she says, well, you’re not a poor man. You know, why don’t you go online and buy a hundred envelops and put them in the closet? And so I pretend not to hear her. I go to this newsstand across the street where they sell magazines and lottery tickets and stationery. I have to get in line because there are people buying candy and all that sort of thing, and I talk to them. The woman behind the counter has a jewel between her eyes, and when it's my turn, I ask her if there have been any big winners lately. I get my envelope and seal it up and go to the postal convenience center down the block at the corner of Forty-seventh Street and Second Avenue, where I'm secretly in love with the woman behind the counter. I keep absolutely poker-faced; I never let her know how I feel about her. One time I had my pocket picked in there and got to meet a cop and tell him about it. Anyway, I stamp the envelope and mail it in a mailbox in front of the post office, and I go home. And I've had a hell of a good time. I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you any different.
– Kurt Vonnegut
Art Watch
Mark Maggiori is French-American painter who does incredibly depictions of the American West. A few of you on this mailing list I know are fans so a reminder he’s doing a print run soon.
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In contrast we have the O.G., John Singer Seargent who curently has an exhibition on at the Tate which I’d love to visit if I were a couple of oceans closer. It’s funny that before I started painting myself last year (a newfound personal strategy for switching-off) I wouldn’t have looked twice at his work. Now, with a deeper understanding and appreciation of technique I’ve come to realize why he’s so respected. In contrast to Maggiori’s hyper-realism, Sargent can capture the essence of his subjects using very loose, expressive brushwork that suggests rather than through delineated details. Less with more, etc.
These photos below are from Jane Casey on Twitter, who quips on his particular skill to so authentically capture his subjects:
“I went to the Sargent exhibition at the Tate yesterday. No wonder women loved being painted by him; he made them look like people with active inner lives.”
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Links
The Great Flattening – Ben Thompson takes the recent Apple iPad commercial scandal as an opportunity to tie it back to the original thesis of pretty much his entire blog (reminding us why he’s the leading biz/tech analyst in the process).
How do LLMs like ChatGPT work? Explained by Deep-Fake Ryan Gosling using Synclabs and ElevenLabs
Looking for AI Use Cases – Bill Evans has a good piece exploring how the real-world use cases of LLMs will develop. Will they solidify as universal tools (ChatGPT) that can do ‘any’ task, or do we wrap them in single-purpose apps?
Why the $2.43 billion Canva share sale is an epic moment for Australian tech – Simon Thompsen reminds us why this is so important for the tech industry here in Australia and how Canva is setting a new benchmark for Australian business in general.2
The complete history & strategy of Microsoft (podcast) – There’s some surprising insights here; a moment where Coke were asking Microsoft for G2M advice; how iconic the Start button in Windows 95 was for the new (at the time) general consumer market; how the various inter-personal connections made in the early days opened critical doors; the delayed alignment of tech to real-world end consumer use cases in the 80’s (echoing VR, bitcoin, etc.)
“Indeed, that is why the ad works in both directions: the flattening of everything means there has been a loss; the flattening of everything also means there is entirely new opportunity.” – Ben Thompson, The Great Flattening
Listen & watch
”Diamond Jubilee” by Cindy Lee (album) – Had no idea who Cindy Lee was before hearing this 2 hour album but it’s getting raved by all the critics and for good reason.
”Here in the Pitch” by Jessica Pratt (album)- I’m a big Pratt fan already. Wish it were longer. She also launched a residency on NTS Radio named "Rhythm on the West”. I’m stealing that name for something I don’t know yet.
”Ripley”, on Netflix (limited series) – A reinterpretation of Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr Ripley. I’m somewhat shocked this isn’t getting more recognition? Also, Maurizio Lombardi’s performance as Inspector Ravini low-key steals the show.
I’ve recently signed up to The Commons in Melbourne, if you’re also there shoot me a msg.
Being back in a shared-office space it’s notable how many screens have Canva open.