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Re:I logged my activities at 15-minute intervals for the who... by CarelessExpert on Sunday January 03, 2021 @02:54PM (#25624620)
> If you had a year to live, you would definitely want to be productive.

No, I'd want to be happy. It's the uniquely American Calvinist view that conflates these things.

Re:I logged my activities at 15-minute intervals for the who... by MetalGuru on Sunday January 03, 2021 @05:26PM (#25625809)
Guitar makes me happy. Feeling stimulated and feeling like I’m progressing makes me happy. I can be productive in guitar. Where’s the conflation in this?
Re:I logged my activities at 15-minute intervals for the who... by ntsplnkv2 on Sunday January 03, 2021 @06:08PM (#25626155)
Progression in guitar makes you happy because guitar makes you happy. It isn't the other way around.
Re:I logged my activities at 15-minute intervals for the who... by kortilla on Monday January 04, 2021 @02:32AM (#25628625)
No, there is satisfaction in improving a skill. I enjoyed getting faster at end of night audits at my job in high school. I absolutely did not enjoy the audits themselves.
Re:I logged my activities at 15-minute intervals for the who... by CaptArmchair on Monday January 04, 2021 @06:29AM (#25629998)
The original take wasn't about conflating satisfaction/happiness with progressing through hard, tedious work. It's, more to the point, equating both concepts. As in: You can only attain happiness and satisfaction if you improve/progress.

It's perfectly possible to practice guitar and attain some level of proficiency, while detesting the concept of playing the guitar. As in, looking at the instrument, how to play it and how to get better at it from a strictly utilitarian point of view. e.g. I learn to play the guitar because I need to become good at it because I want to get a well paid job in the music industry as a musician.

Inevitably, though, you will be wondering why you are pushing yourself through the pain as you drag yourself to your weekly guitar practice sessions.

Conversely, it's perfectly valid to simply pluck at the strings, gradually explore the instrument and what it can do, and become increasingly more interested, motivated, incentivized to play as time marches on e.g. because you like the sound, the feel of the strings, finding like minded spirits, enjoy the rhythm, the way it allows you to express how you feel and so on.

You becoming more proficient, in that regard, is subservient to the above. It's a function of the fact that you are intrinsically motivated to keep playing. Because you play the guitar for no other reason then that doing that resonates with who you are.

Re:I logged my activities at 15-minute intervals for the who... by PhasmaFelis on Monday January 04, 2021 @12:33AM (#25628187)
You should read the sentence immediately following the one you quoted. That comment didn't mean what you think it means.
Re:I logged my activities at 15-minute intervals for the who... by oblio on Sunday January 03, 2021 @04:15PM (#25625313)
Yeah, agreed. I don't think I know any person that's written their will, for example.
Re:I logged my activities at 15-minute intervals for the who... by maya24 on Sunday January 03, 2021 @07:37PM (#25626740)
It's irresponsible for anyone with kids to have not done this.
Re:I logged my activities at 15-minute intervals for the who... by vntok on Sunday January 03, 2021 @11:23PM (#25627910)
Completely depends on where you live. Many countries have sane defaults for simple cases.
Re:I logged my activities at 15-minute intervals for the who... by lemming on Monday January 04, 2021 @01:45AM (#25628449)
No country can have a sane default for “who should look after my kids if both parents die suddenly?”. That will always be a very personal decision that depends very much on your family situation.
Re:I logged my activities at 15-minute intervals for the who... by vntok on Tuesday January 05, 2021 @06:28AM (#25644421)
The sane default is that the family is functional enough that the closest living relative will know best.
Re:I logged my activities at 15-minute intervals for the who... by lemming on Sunday January 10, 2021 @04:15PM (#25719946)
Which family? Mine or my wife's? Who chooses that?
Re:I logged my activities at 15-minute intervals for the who... by throwaway0a5e on Sunday January 03, 2021 @06:36PM (#25626355)
Maximizing productivity in the context of the parent clearly meant "doing the most of the things you find important". That could be writing a will. That could be smoking pot. It depends on the individual's preferences.

I get that misunderstanding the parent comment is an easy excuse to signal your disdain for American cultural norms but it's really not necessary in this context.