Day 008
(These are typed and audio notes that I am sharing as part of the ‘build-in-public’ growth of knowledge work studio. In these notes, I’m working through the topics that I want to discuss with you in subscriber experiments, and in future videos. I welcome your involvement and feedback. If anything here triggers a thought or discussion idea, reach out to me at https://twitter.com/AaronLawsonOG . Thanks for reading!)
Obstacles to meaningful work
The area of obstacles—the existence of obstacles to meaningful work, is the entire point of conflict and the entire reason for having a website about this, writing a book about this, for having something to work on. If there weren't any obstacles, there'd be no conflict because you can dream it up and make it happen. It's as easy as that. Make it up and make it happen, as David Allen said. Without the obstacles, we could just do that. But it seems like for meaningful work, there are always going to be obstacles.
One of the first obstacles, the obvious ones, is not knowing what that is, or having an idea of what work is that really matters. This group is going to be built around people who already feel compelled to do work. So I'm not going to be creating content that's trying to convince people to do work that matters. If you're here, I assume you're already feeling that pull and tug internally, and trying to figure it out.
What is meaningful work to you?
There's absolutely nothing wrong with being someone who wants to simply do their job, and simply do it well, and go home at the end of the day, and just think of nothing else. There's nothing wrong with a leisurely approach to life. I don't criticize it or look down on it. It's just that I'm wired differently. The passion that stirs up in me just comes from a different place.
Wouldn’t it be easier if I wasn’t restless?
I do want to learn better to speak with and speak to artists because I think their tempo looks different than mine, and I might not describe it very well. But my instinct is that we're talking about the same thing. Because I'm talking, in essence, about the people that I'm drawn to, and the people that I'm fascinated with. The connection is subjective inside me.
What does it feel like to practice mastery?
I like watching an artist work. I like watching the look on their face and the intensity as they get into their flow, and they lose track of time. And the work takes over. So, where my descriptions and language are going to be of a cadence of someone who's worked as a project manager for 20 years, I'm interested in people that make physical art. I'm interested in people that write, people that do improv. I'm interested in the people in the cook line at my favorite Chinese restaurant down the street. Because whatever they're making, they are in the zone.
They may not be having as much fun as I am. They're working. I am in a state of leisure when I'm paying them to make food. But there's a look of focus and intensity in what they're doing, and almost a carelessness, a careless intensity of just being in the zone and doing the work.
Watching people work is fun for me, but what about working while being watched?
I know that I'm rambling here, but I know that there's a common thread for me within everyone that tries to do a thing well. And that when they get to a certain point, they don't really look like they're trying anymore.
So, long rabbit trail to say, creators, artists are near and dear to my heart. People that I want to understand that I speak to. But this section was on obstacles. And so, one of the first obstacles to be able to do meaningful work, you said, was figuring out what that even means to you.
I think at first, that with the first obstacle of not knowing where to go and what meaningful work is…
All you can do is lean into the thing that you're drawn to at this moment.
You may not be able to make full sense of it or articulate it a certain way. I'm not saying that you have to. I'm saying that you have to keep walking towards what feels meaningful right now in order to learn where it is taking you.
What comes next for you?