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Re:My experiment in phonelessness was a failure. It also cha... by dstroot on Thursday February 08, 2024 @01:08PM (#39305357)
“Why, exactly, are we rendered so uncomfortable by concentrating on things that matter — the things we thought we wanted to do with our lives — that we’d rather flee into distractions, which, by definition, are what we don’t want to be doing with our lives? When you try to focus on something you deem important, you’re forced to face your limits, an experience that feels especially uncomfortable precisely because the task at hand is one you value so much.”

— Oliver Burkeman, Four Thousand Weeks

Re:My experiment in phonelessness was a failure. It also cha... by SketchySeaBeast on Thursday February 08, 2024 @02:52PM (#39306745)
I don't have an inspiring quote for it, but you can't focus on "things that matter" all the time, and often the things that matter that you can effect by thinking about them at that moment aren't that many. Yes, you can always be learning something new, but does learning for learning's sake actually matter?
Re:My experiment in phonelessness was a failure. It also cha... by xedrac on Thursday February 08, 2024 @04:11PM (#39307757)
This is why I love playing chess, reading fantasy books, and gardening... because they don't matter, and I'd rather spend my idle time doing those things than being glued to my phone.
Re:My experiment in phonelessness was a failure. It also cha... by SketchySeaBeast on Thursday February 08, 2024 @04:28PM (#39307974)
Yeah, that's what I'm trying to do as well. Less time on the phone, more time reading novel whose style and substance I enjoy. Reading isn't something that "matters", but I find one more fulfilling.
Re:My experiment in phonelessness was a failure. It also cha... by devilbunny on Thursday February 08, 2024 @06:49PM (#39309430)
Books and chess amuse.

Gardening makes the world a more beautiful place. You're right that in the long term, it doesn't matter, but when you walk outside and smell a gardenia...

Re:My experiment in phonelessness was a failure. It also cha... by j4yav on Thursday February 08, 2024 @02:49PM (#39306707)
Does he get to an answer in the book?
Re:My experiment in phonelessness was a failure. It also cha... by colecut on Thursday February 08, 2024 @03:46PM (#39307472)
The last sentence looks like an answer to me.