Things I would write about if I wasn’t slinging code this week.

Terrie introduced me to the phrase “The Long Emergency” and what it’s got me thinking about is tactical pessimism. Stoicism is great for this. The tactical piece for me is not to allow myself to ever wait for a return to normal. Most obviously, I’m not thinking about the end of the pandemic. If it ends, great. But if it’s followed by something new and difficult, I’ll surf through that too. Basically, tactical pessimism made me happier and less paralyzed. If bad news paralyzes you though, then try tactical optimism.

Speaking of tactics. I have in my notes Interstitial Journaling is tactical mindfulness. Think of your morning meditation practice as general maintenance of your mind. That then leaves a basic question of how to guarantee that mindfulness turns into something useful later in the day. My answer is to habitually write short journal entries in between every task switch or meeting, i.e. tactical mindfulness.

In almost every conversation I’ve had with people I ask them if they were being proactive, how would they handle the pandemic inflection period of going from fully sheltered in place, to partially sheltered, to normal life? How would you handle it? (So far, I haven’t found any particularly powerful strategy other than to just ask and answer this question for yourself.)