My Never-Ending Quest For Productivity

Not a single day passes without going to bed with the guilty feeling that I’ve wasted yet another day not being productive enough, and yet no matter how much I do (and on most days I get lots done), I feel as if I could have accomplished much more.

Surrounded by distraction, I strive to do good work, while at the same time, working even harder to eliminate, or at the very least, block-out distractions.  It always seems to me that as soon as I get into a productive cycle, something always comes around to interrupt my creative process, be it an unexpected phone call, conversation from someone nearby, or even the sound of a slamming car door.  I even went so far as to oil all of the door hinges in my house to prevent the squeaking noise every time the door is opened or closed.  I did the same thing in college, when I gave everyone in my dormitory hall $1 each to let me oil their hallway door hinges so I could study and be productive.

I’m one who prefers the peace and quiet, especially while I’m working on something I consider to be of utmost importance.  But most of all, I prefer to avoid unnecessary conversation.  It’s not that I’m being mean or antisocial, I just usually have a lot of thoughts and ideas running circles in my head, and unrelated conversation is the biggest distraction of them all it seems.

Note To Self: Try to establish my own canon of literary works to which I deem epic, such as The Catcher In The Rye and The Great Gatsby.  Establish a written list, sorted alphabetically, and post it on the Internet in such a way to allow for sharing and collaboration.  Well-read intellectuals and autodidacts like myself should have a place to meet and collaborate, even if such a place just so happens to be on-line.

If I could be granted just one wish, I’d wish for all of the recorded memories of my younger years, especially the recorded cassette tapes, and early webcam videos.  I know it may sound selfish, but the remnants of our own playful beginnings are priceless.