Whether it’s books, TV series, blogging, or whatever, I am having to accept that my interest in something cycles. I always tell myself that consistency is what I ‘should’ aim for. But the reality is that I dive into something with enthusiasm for a time and then all motivation drains awa... strandlines.blog

@strandlines You know, life is never just a straight line. Everything goes in cycles, like the ebb and flow of the sea, the seasons, the waxing and waning of the moon. Sometimes we have more, sometimes less. We sleep and we wake, we hunger and are sated. You'll get back to the book, sometime…

@strandlines I have exactly the same tendency with my (many!) hobbies. I recently read Oliver Burkeman's book Four Thousand Weeks (which is excellent), and one of the bits of advice he gives there is to not feel bad about cycling through your interests or projects. Given that our time on Earth is finite, he recommends working on only one or two things at a time (so that you can focus and finish them), so that means that you need to be comfortable with the fact that you will have to intentionally neglect some things some of the time and come back to them.

@Miraz yes, you are right. I think a bit of perfectionism creeps in...🙂

@bsag funny you should mention Oliver Burkeman, as I was listening to an interview with him on Friday, mainly about his new book. I think for me, I get frustrated at how setting aside something for a time doesn't feel like it's under my control. It's like my brain suddenly decides, 'Right, that's enough of that for now. Time for something else'. 😄

And of course, if I've acquired Stuff in the interest of a hobby - well that's a whole other thing. My loft is a graveyard of good intentions. On that topic, a comment on a forum thread about abandoned hobbies made me laugh; something about 'It should be recognised that buying craft supplies is a whole separate hobby from actually using them'....

@strandlines I think a lot of people can identify with that 🤣.

@strandlines I’m in the same club. Have started on a journey to declutter, and actually use the things I like the most. Sold some, gave some to family, and will continue to downsize. Started before I picked up “4000 weeks”, but it winded the kindle.

@jlrevilla Yes, I can imagine that being both a little overwhelming, but at the same time a golden opportunity to downsize. Even though I have a small apartment, (and have always had), there is just so many things that I thought I needed, or that I could just borrow from someone the few times I need it, and a lot of old stuff that I can’t believe I’ve been dragging from one apartment to another for 30+ years.

@strandlines a standard problem that i share… i have a lot of partially completed efforts!

@mbkriegh I don’t normally like self-help books (for want of a better category) but I found it really helpful in shifting my approach. Being an academic I always have way more than 3 projects that I’m supposed to be working on, so I need to get braver about neglecting some deliberately on a cyclical basis so I can complete others.

@bsag i actually found the subtitle a little misleading as i expected a more rigorous set of recommendations for, well, time management… but, i think the main thrust is where the value is… there is limited life span, decide what’s important and focus on it… i am in the process of reviewing books and essays that i have found inspirational over the years with an eye to distilling the message(s) they have in common… i have added 4KW to the list…

@odd yep, I'm on a de-cluttering drive, in theory. Physical clutter means mental clutter. I like the idea of repurposing things as well as passing them on or selling them.

@mbkriegh it does seem to be a universal experience!