The Future of Work [3]
Opus Vitae
Over the last year, I’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of “work”. At times, this musing is like “organisational psychology for one person”: how does one pursue a productive life, how does one fill up the day—even when there’s no longer the necessity for a job or schoolwork…
Filling a day with random acts of exploration and novelty-seeking is not hard. When I listen to a podcast with Wes Bos on learning new technologies or read a Wikipedia article on “mise-en-scene”, there’s always a spark of stimulation in discovering some new topic or new ideas. One could listen to audiobooks, watch documentaries, attend social events — though where does all this lead?
Recently, I’ve also come to think about the “redemptive qualities” of work. “Work”, not in the sense of job or occupation or livelihood, but as a project of significance to which one dedicates a large chunk of life and most of its energy, a pilgrimage, a journey through the desert with a sight on deliverance, on salvation, on the promised land.
The productive life is an integral dimension of human flourishing. How much easier it is to sink with the path of least resistance, to indulge in an oblivion of beer and Netflix — those who went to the lab have chosen work over this oblivion, over the draw of morning slumber snoozing evermore into non-consequence. “Granted, that slumber is comforting” — this is Marcus Aurelius’ admonition — “but is ‘feeling like it’ what you are here for?” Indeed, there are so many things we have little control over, including falling asleep, but one thing we do have control over is to get out of bed.
Those who have made something do have amazing networks — then as Adam Grant (an organisational psychologist) pointed out, they built such networks through having done amazing work early on. It’s better to forget about senseless schmoozing, and produce great work. Phillip Rosendale didn’t find great people to work on virtual worlds, he started working on virtual worlds first, then great people came to him.
This is about finding one’s “station in life” and a sense of grounding through expertise and craftsmanship. Look not for passion — as Cal Newport would point out — find something of (marketable) value and get excited about it.
All the while, it’s important to consider where the work leads to. It should not be an intermittent burst of whims. Steven LaValle did very well, whereas, van Gogh, Marx, Tesla all died in penniless misery. One must also answer the Silver Question.
[ Part 2 ]
