Project Mojave Blog - Latest Comments in Quitting Things and Flakiness: The #1 Productivity Anti-Hack

Re: Quitting Things and Flakiness: The #1 Productivity Anti-Hack

Sue — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:48:30 -0000

Clay,

This is a really thoughtful, well written post. What you have actually done is opted to voluntarily simplify your life. I think there are ways to respectfully convey the desire to cut back or bail out of unnecessary commitments without coming across as flaky or arrogant, so it's not a given that you will be perceived that way by others when you are clear in exercising your priorities. Taking the time to connect with ourselves in order to start identifying our passions and what we really value means being committed to carving out the time to just be with ourselves--and that in turn means saying no to demands on our time that don't support the process of identifying then taking the steps to move toward living on purpose.

Ultimately, when we find our passion and purpose--whether through paid work or devoting unpaid time and energy to a cause we strongly support--we become much happier in ourselves, we are able to live from a place of integrity, our productivity and energy levels are way higher than in the past, and we are in a MUCH better place to work toward effectively bringing about the positive changes in the world that we wish to see. While I'm borrowing Gandhi's expressions, I'll add that another of his mottoes was "My life is my message". Once he discovered his passion and purpose, he didn't just talk about it, he lived it--and was willing to go to jail for it on many occasions. Obviously, I'm not suggesting we should all go to such extremes to figure out how to make our life's work align with our passion and purpose, but it is illustrative of Gandhi's commitment to his "Project Liberation" -- liberating India from the British empire.

I'm just in the beginning stages of figuring out how to incorporate my passion and purpose into my life's work. Being in a work place that has gradually, over the last couple of years, shifted its culture to accept and encourage behaviors that are so toxic to my spirit that it has literally made me physically ill has been the final push from the Universe to get me realigned with the kind of activities that energize me rather than drain me. Thanks for sharing your story and I wish you great success in achieving Project Liberation.

Re: Quitting Things and Flakiness: The #1 Productivity Anti-Hack

carla — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 04:58:32 -0000

Very nice article. I learned a lot while reading this post. Leaving things behind if its time to let go and useless.

Re: Quitting Things and Flakiness: The #1 Productivity Anti-Hack

TheAndySan — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 23:34:50 -0000

Hello Clay, I'm a first-time reader of your blog and I'm really liking what I'm reading. It feels great to know that there are other people out there in the world who know that working that 9-5 job isn't the only way to get anywhere in life. I've subscribed and I look forward to your future posts!

TheAndySan
http://www.theandysan.com

Re: Quitting Things and Flakiness: The #1 Productivity Anti-Hack

Madhavi — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 19:30:42 -0000

I ran into your blog randomly...
Very well written Clay! I am amazed at how you have made this profound piece of writing so direct and so simple! and it makes so much sense....

Re: Quitting Things and Flakiness: The #1 Productivity Anti-Hack

gmv — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 11:13:43 -0000

What Jess said -- your blog makes my brain light up too! I just found it this past week and glad I did!

Re: Quitting Things and Flakiness: The #1 Productivity Anti-Hack

Jess — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 16:19:53 -0000

thank you for writing that. i've browsed around a bit...this is your 3rd post i've read. alternative approaches to life is my current passion; your blog makes my brain light up. thanks again...i'll be reading. :)

Re: Quitting Things and Flakiness: The #1 Productivity Anti-Hack

fartleby — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 09:36:09 -0000

Great advice...but what? But how? I would rather change to than change from and I have no idea what I want to change into. I know, I can take that stupid Kinsey test, blah blah bleh.

I can volunteer (for what?), I can come up with a blog (about what?) and claw/schmooze my way to the equivalent of middle management (#120001 on the Technorati list, etc) but I have no hunger for that. I have no hunger for anything so I just keep milling gold for The Man.

I'm not asking anyone to answer these questions for me, and I don't expect that I have to be happy and funded all of the time. If I could find something that meant more to me than I do I would dedicate my life to it. It should be easy, since I don't mean all that much to myself, but nothing seems to mean much of anything, not really. Everything is situational and contingent and doesn't last much past the wrap party.

Re: Quitting Things and Flakiness: The #1 Productivity Anti-Hack

Loraleigh Vance — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 19:14:22 -0000

Damn! I love your thinking and the way you write.

I'm sure this has been said before and pardon me if you already have but... Ever thought about writing a book?

Re: Quitting Things and Flakiness: The #1 Productivity Anti-Hack

Paige Turner — Thu, 15 May 2008 16:45:38 -0000

I don't think moving back in with your parents is a terrible thing. I moved back in with my parents because my husband was an abuser and I finally worked up the nerve to leave him. I moved 900 miles away and gave up making 65K a year plus benefits (which is a lot for me) to working in a temp job for $10/hr. I've never been happier. I'm helping my folks pay off their mortgage, and they're helping me get back on my feet again. Who cares what other people think?

Re: Quitting Things and Flakiness: The #1 Productivity Anti-Hack

Ann at One Bag Nation — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:54:38 -0000

This really resonated for me. I'm having a hard time devoting just 10 productive hours a week to my "paying job" because I find it so boring.

However, it is a means to an end, and with that in mind I want to become more productive and efficient so I have quality time for things that matter to me!

Re: Quitting Things and Flakiness: The #1 Productivity Anti-Hack

Vanleurth — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:36:55 -0000

Great Post,

I wonder if I can use it as a guest post in my cubiclehacks website. By the way I started getting out of tasks that were dragging me down and in a month a got a raise for incresing my productivity and have accomplished so much more than the last three years. I started by unsubscribing from all the crap and just keep rss feeds from people that will tell me what and how to do things.
Next stop, I went through all of my crap and decided to use extreme thinking (that is what I call it). This is, I imagine the fire department is in my building waiting for a bomb to go off. A fireman asks - Do you live here? - yes, I do - You have 10 minutes to get three things out of your place, a bomb will send everything to hell. Once I answered the questions what were those three things I will save I decided to get rid of everything else. Now, I don't clean that much and I have more time for production.

Please, let me know if I can use this post as a guest post in my brand new blog www.cubiclehacks.com

Thank you,

Re: Quitting Things and Flakiness: The #1 Productivity Anti-Hack

Clay Collins — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 23:31:38 -0000

@Jenny: Thanks for the nice words. Please do come back!!

Re: Quitting Things and Flakiness: The #1 Productivity Anti-Hack

Michael Moniz — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 19:24:41 -0000

I love your comment about do not hang out with friends you sort of like. We sometimes keep people in our lives that do not need to be there. Then we waste time trying to maintain the relationships half the way. It is better to let them go. Frees your time to spend with the people you LOVE! :)

Re: Quitting Things and Flakiness: The #1 Productivity Anti-Hack

Jenny — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:53:00 -0000

WOW! There were many valid points that you hit on that I have, to some degree, had to do. Yes it's hard but I have found that in the end it has been much more rewarding! In fact I have recently done a little "quitting" of some things and have surprisingly had more time to spend on my writing! I look forward to coming back to your blog!!

Thanks!

Re: Quitting Things and Flakiness: The #1 Productivity Anti-Hack

Tom Volkar / Delightful Work — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 11:32:10 -0000

Clay good thinking man. We all need a freedom list of things that others think we ought to do and that we are proud to say "Hell No" to! I can still remember how good it felt to not go to the funeral home of a certain relative or to say no thanks with the truth to a social invitation. I sometimes still say yes but I know I can always say no and exercise that freedom.

Re: Quitting Things and Flakiness: The #1 Productivity Anti-Hack

Mark Krusen — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 03:03:03 -0000

Clay, Isn't it interesting how one letter out of place can change the meaning of a word. I wanted to come back and read the comments I liked all of them but I especially liked Shann's. "Why not just cut out the middle man and say no". I love that. That darn Middle man is always getting in the way. He is always taking some of the profits. Great idea Shann. I'm cutting out the middle man all day today. I'm going to practice getting out of the way of my own self so God can get in.

Re: Quitting Things and Flakiness: The #1 Productivity Anti-Hack

Clay Collins — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:49:12 -0000

@Shilpan: You said that "part of the problem lies in the fact that too many people like to do what pleases others than what pleases their own soul." I think this is mostly right. In my view, people don't like to please others. In fact, when someone puts pleasing others over being true to themselves it probably makes the pleaser lose some self-respect and possibly become a little upset towards the person they're pleasing. I imaging that post people fail to act authentically (i.e. please others) out of fear.

--Clay

Re: Quitting Things and Flakiness: The #1 Productivity Anti-Hack

Shann Vander Leek — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 20:48:41 -0000

Thank you for this powerful post.

The list of things you don't have to do resonated with me.

Over the years I've become a master of the art of saying NO and living on my own terms. I am grateful to have the ability to say no thank you and no longer involve myself in activities that well, frankly ... suck.

Why on earth would anybody want to live a life filled with the impending dread and doom of the commitments they couldn't find the courage to say no to?

AND ...

Consider the lame use of the word MAYBE for people who are afraid to say NO, but want to say no, who let MAYBE slip past their lips in order to sneak away hoping that the subject matter never crops up again.

If maybe is the passive aggressive word for no, why not cut out the middleman and just say ... NO? I say Rip off the bandage and get on with your life.

Re: Quitting Things and Flakiness: The #1 Productivity Anti-Hack

Charlie Gilkey | Productive Fl — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 15:49:12 -0000

This is hands down the best post on authentic, productive living that I have read in a good bit, and that's saying a lot as I read a lot of blogs and write one in this vein myself. What struck me as the most powerful theme in this article was that productivity is merely a means to an end - and, if we examine our lives correctly and use that information, being productive becomes a secondary question to how we are living.

An opus, indeed, and I cannot see your how this post and the ideas within could be said or presented anymore powerfully or clearly. I think you'll find that this coming Friday's meditation on Productive Flourishing ends on a theme very similar to what you've said. Let me know what you think.

Re: Quitting Things and Flakiness: The #1 Productivity Anti-Hack

Vered@MomGrind — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:55:11 -0000

@Clay: "If you want someone else to pay you lots of money, then you

Re: Quitting Things and Flakiness: The #1 Productivity Anti-Hack

Chris — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:55:00 -0000

I agree that you shouldn't have to stay in college if you are not achieving growth. College should not be a chore, it should be a journey.

Clay you said,
"The elimination discussed in this article is for the sole purpose of creating space to grow a beautiful life, and as you eliminate, be sure to replace all your

Re: Quitting Things and Flakiness: The #1 Productivity Anti-Hack

Jay — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 12:53:28 -0000

Solid advice all the way through Clay. I do have one concern though... what if hacking my productivity to the Nth degree is something I don't want to do? By dropping that, have I created some kind of circular logic that will eventually turn black into white, vice versa, and ultimately negate existence? I fear your posts are starting to become too powerful!

Re: Quitting Things and Flakiness: The #1 Productivity Anti-Hack

Andrea Hess | Empowered Soul — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 11:50:32 -0000

Nice article, Clay! My criteria for "do I have to do this?" often goes like this: "Will the sun keep shining if I don't? Will the Earth keep revolving?" It puts things in perspective ... most of the really important stuff we think we have to do really isn't all that urgent.

Blessings,
Andrea

Re: Quitting Things and Flakiness: The #1 Productivity Anti-Hack

Evelyn Lim — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 10:18:15 -0000

Hello Clay,

This is by far, one of the More Excellent Posts I've read on your blog or for that matter, in the past few weeks over a number of blogs (And I do read a number...*wink*...). Well done!

"You have to clear the weeds to make way for a garden of authentic living." --- Nice quote you have there!

You've well articulated what I've been recently doing in the clearing out of clutter and to become increasingly focused on doing what feels right. It feels scary initially because in the decision to come alive, I have to discard habit patterns and the false security that had held me together for so long. But the pursuit of one's passion and to live up to one's ideal is a dream that became increasingly appealing, beckoning me to take a leap of faith.

Thank you once again for writing this piece. There is so much wisdom in it!

Evelyn

Re: Quitting Things and Flakiness: The #1 Productivity Anti-Hack

Mark Krusen — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 08:48:28 -0000

I'll have what Paul is having.:)Actually my wife and I are now stopping to smell the roses. But Paul says it so much better than I could.