PROGRAMMING MYSELF FOR A BETTER LIFE
I introduced a journal-writing habit into my daily routine a number of
months ago. I believe I am now seeing the gains that come from the
rich intrapersonal dialogue I've strengthened in myself through quiet
written contemplation. The efforts put into rendering my feelings,
thoughts, and desires into words has led me towards conclusions about
how to make myself a better me.
Two parts of my life hold the keys to my happiness: what I do from 9
to 5, and what I do from 5 to 9. Namely, my work-life balance. To feel
happy day after day I need to arrive at each phase as my best self and
I need to maintain myself as my best self day after day.
The guts of work and life are sometimes messy and irregular. But I
believe I can achieve some predictability in how I arrive home from
work and to work from home. How? By treating my lifestyle as a
programmable machine that makes outputs from inputs. For instance: a
blue screen leads to a late night and a late night leads to a groggy
morning; or, a poor diet leads to foul moods and foul moods lead to
lack of ambition. Obviously, there are inputs that produce favorable
outputs. But it is the negative inputs that are most disruptive.
I can achieve favorable states of living by identifying the areas of
my life that cause the most disruption if lived unbounded. For me,
that's computer and television. I will consume both in large
quantities if given the opportunity to do so. The effects of too much
of either is bad, even if it sometimes seems good. For instance: a
marathon computer session that takes up an entire evening will exhaust
me from programming for a few days, and it will disrupt my sleep
schedule, my eating habits, and my work.
Endurance--this is what I'm after. I want to do my favorite things in
smaller amounts over a longer time range. I want to be programming for
enjoyment everyday, even if it's not for very long. I want to be
getting really good sleep every night, even if it means making social
sacrifices. In another way, I want to have boundaries surrounding each
precious event in my day. Television should not interfer with
programming, programming should not interfer with sleep, sleep should
not interfer with work, and work should not interfer with life. In
effect, my aim is to protect each part of my life for each other part
of my life. I act kind of like a hypervisor managing a number of
virtual machines on one host: me.
The outcome of my lifestyle changes have produced a surprising result:
I get more done! I read more. I program more. I learn more. I am more
often carrying a positive and relaxed mindset. This all amounts to a
very favorable output: I've never been happier, and everyday it feels
like I'm making larger strides towards nearing the attainable
happiness of my life. In other words, I am getting better at being my
best me.
The programming thus far
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Below I gather three perspectives that have contributed to my better
work-life balance.
Computers
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The work I do with computers in my free time to do one of two things:
- Bring me joy
- Make my life easier
With this aim I let go of any notion that I might ever build something
really cool or really important. Instead, I hold onto the precious
ambition to build things that make me happy and help me keep my life
in order. I don't need to use the latest language or writing perfect
code any doorknob could understand. I can use what tools I'm
comfortable using and write in a way I understand. Computers should
help me maintain my life's balance.
Rules
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I establish and follow rule that keep boundaries around areas of my
life that--if lived unbounded--would descend me into chaos. I live
more consistently predictable days by following the following:
- No screens after 9:30PM
- Wake up an hour before work
- Weekday TV on noon hour and between 8:00PM to 9:30PM only
Weekends
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I let go of any notion that weekends are for making great
achievements. Instead, weekends are for:
- Enjoying a relaxed brain however I please
- Preparing food for the week ahead