I am actually facing this same problem myself. My personal life also got very interesting, and incredibly enjoyable. So enjoyable, in fact, that I really don’t want to do anything other than just enjoy myself and have even more fun!
My motivation has shifted entirely from getting things done to having fun, and the thought of doing anything significant to further my long-run interests seems too hard to bother doing. For the first time I can think of, I am now suffering from meta-akrasia: I know there are techniques I could use that would increase my productivity, but that would mean I would actually be working, and that doesn’t seem fun at all!
Costanza mentioned taking a break until things settle down. This is the advice most of my friends and family have given—enjoy myself for now, and set a date down the road to check in. I suspect if I wholeheartedly give in to the enjoyment, it will eventually fade a bit and my motivation to do other things will return. Of course, life has continual demands, and I do feel a strong pressure to utilize every moment. I am very torn on this issue.
Heh. Personally, my inclination here is to say “congratulations!”
I do understand that you’re framing this as a problem, and I don’t mean to dismiss that, but… well, I am curious about whence the “strong pressure to utilize every moment” that you feel, and why you choose to identify with/endorse it.
Relatedly: you seem to imply that having fun isn’t utilizing moments. I’m curious about where that idea comes from, as well.
Thanks! :D Congratulations are very much in order. Life is good right now.
I have wondered about that drive myself actually. I have always been strongly internally motivated, as far back as I can remember, much moreso than any external force has ever applied to me. I feel a strong need to optimize within all of my constraints, of which I feel time is the most binding. I identify very strongly with this drive, it seems very useful, and I have made enormous improvements in my life over the last few years since discovering rationalism.
Having fun definitely utilizes moments well. The problem is that I am not having XTREME FUN 100% of the time, there are many periods during the day where I end up mindlessly browsing the web, etc., and my to-do list contains items important to life which are not getting done.
I am actually facing this same problem myself. My personal life also got very interesting, and incredibly enjoyable. So enjoyable, in fact, that I really don’t want to do anything other than just enjoy myself and have even more fun!
My motivation has shifted entirely from getting things done to having fun, and the thought of doing anything significant to further my long-run interests seems too hard to bother doing. For the first time I can think of, I am now suffering from meta-akrasia: I know there are techniques I could use that would increase my productivity, but that would mean I would actually be working, and that doesn’t seem fun at all!
Costanza mentioned taking a break until things settle down. This is the advice most of my friends and family have given—enjoy myself for now, and set a date down the road to check in. I suspect if I wholeheartedly give in to the enjoyment, it will eventually fade a bit and my motivation to do other things will return. Of course, life has continual demands, and I do feel a strong pressure to utilize every moment. I am very torn on this issue.
Heh. Personally, my inclination here is to say “congratulations!”
I do understand that you’re framing this as a problem, and I don’t mean to dismiss that, but… well, I am curious about whence the “strong pressure to utilize every moment” that you feel, and why you choose to identify with/endorse it.
Relatedly: you seem to imply that having fun isn’t utilizing moments. I’m curious about where that idea comes from, as well.
Thanks! :D Congratulations are very much in order. Life is good right now.
I have wondered about that drive myself actually. I have always been strongly internally motivated, as far back as I can remember, much moreso than any external force has ever applied to me. I feel a strong need to optimize within all of my constraints, of which I feel time is the most binding. I identify very strongly with this drive, it seems very useful, and I have made enormous improvements in my life over the last few years since discovering rationalism.
Having fun definitely utilizes moments well. The problem is that I am not having XTREME FUN 100% of the time, there are many periods during the day where I end up mindlessly browsing the web, etc., and my to-do list contains items important to life which are not getting done.