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How to Cure an Optimization Craze
On embracing deliberate defeat and doing the thing.
My first writer’s desk was a white, rectangular specimen from a Swedish furniture retailer. Its height was adjustable, and its surface was so large that I could’ve comfortably laid on it — the ideal desk, it seemed.
But then, as I was stuck in a rut one day, my desk suddenly seemed inadequate. Too big, too hefty, too minimalist. I craved change. And so, I disassembled the desk, put it on eBay, and decided to no longer work from home. From then on, I ventured to do all my writing at the university library.
Writing at the library was great for a while. I always sat down at the same desk. I felt productive. Until, one day, the library seemed inadequate, too. The air was stuffy, the productivity vibe distracted me, and anyway, there was no good coffee within a reachable radius.
So, here I am. I spent the entire morning browsing for new desks. The next desk will be the one. I’m sure of it.
While browsing for new desks, I randomly remembered a parable from the book Resonance by the sociologist Hartmut Rosa. Here’s how I recalled it just then:
Quinn and Blaire are aspiring painters. They both love to paint, but their approaches are very different. Quinn is a conscientious painter…