Yesterday’s challenge was to avoid any meme, article, video or other link that didn’t take you closer to your information goal. For me, that was making sure that any content I consumed online made me a better and more focused storyteller. I’m not going to lie, this was the hardest challenge this week; I didn’t realize just how much I liked reading stuff online until I placed a restriction on myself.
I can’t say I did all that great, though I definitely gave it my best shot. There’s just too much great stuff out there you guys — and especially with the news being what it is and this election cycle being as outrageous as it is, the desire to keep on top of what everyone else is talking about is a lot stronger than I thought it would be. Chances are I’ll be trying to master this challenge again in the coming days and weeks, restricting my attention to the things that will make me a better writer.
How did you folks do? Did you find restricting your attention to just a few things as hard as I did, or did you have an easier time with it?
Today’s challenge is a little different; instead of honing our focus to one task or one wonderful minimalist screen or one topic of interest, we’ll be reaching out to someone else to have a meaningful conversation about something we care about. In person or over the phone, the goal today is to have a conversation at least seven minutes long about a piece of information you learned sometime this week. It could be about an article that helped you be more creative, or something you learned that made you a little more knowledgeable about the topic you wanted to know about this week, or simply…catching up on the life of someone you haven’t spoken to in a while. The topic is yours to decide, but you have to draft a friend to talk about it with for at least seven minutes.
I’m not going to lie — this actually sounds kind of hard. For those of us who are shy around people or have gotten used to superficial conversations, really digging in to a topic and exploring all sides of it won’t come easy. But it’s worth it; just think of how much closer you’ll feel with your conversation partner, having gone on this adventure together!
He doesn’t know this, but I plan on having a seven-minute conversation with my husband about storytelling through role-playing games tonight before going to see Warcraft. He just leveled a doozy of a twist last night in our Dresden Files game, and I’m itching to pick his brain about how he came up with it and planted seeds for it in previous sessions. Fun stuff!
Our week of challenges designed to combat information overload is almost over, but don’t worry — it’s not too late to join in! You can go back and read previous posts this week and take any challenge you’d like today. If you’d like, I’d appreciate a note or two about your experience so I can compare.
Day 1: Zen and the Art of Single-Tasking
Day 2: The Minimalist Phone
Day 3: You Shall Not Pass, Meme!
If you’re curious about what this is all about, head on over to Note to Self’s Infomagical page to get up to speed.
See you tomorrow, folks. Consume mindfully.
From the Desk of Jakebe T. Rabbit 