Productive Procrastination #39 – A couple of seedlings
Welcome back
My name is Johannes Kleske, and you’re subscribed to my newsletter.
As you might notice by receiving this newsletter only once or twice a year, I have problems getting my thoughts formulated into proper texts. Doing a decent article or newsletter issue always feels like it needs a lot of time and, thus, too big a hurdle. But recently, someone pointed me towards Matt Webb’s 15 rules for blogging, which lower the bar tremendously. So to just put thoughts into rough and unpolished words on a website, I’ve now started a notes blog at notes.johanneskleske.com. What follows are the first three “seedlings” I put out this week.
I need a new place to think aloud, and here it is
Published April 18, 2022
Too many other spaces are not my own or are too performative (Twitter, LinkedIn, the official blog, etc.). Even with my newsletter, I feel too strong of an urge to put out properly polished editions. The reality is that I don’t post any words at all. But as writing is structured thinking for me, I need to do just that on a much more regular basis. And thus, I started this new blog.
It’s is mainly inspired by two trains of thought: Robin Sloan’s concept of ‘working with the garage door up’ (via Andy Matuschak) and especially Matt Webb’s list of ’15 rules of blogging,’ which help to take away the typical hurdles that keep him from getting the words out.
The rules, which are specific to me, are intended to bump me out of certain mental traps that I know will otherwise stop my words.
My goal for this blog is to have a space to push out formulated thoughts on anything that has been on my mind lately. It’s foremost for me. Any considerations about you, the audience, come second, meaning posts can be unpolished and out of context. Nevertheless, I’m always interested in conversations emerging.
I’m starting with this approach and will adapt wherever and whenever necessary.
Getting in front of the wave
Published April 19, 2022
I’ve listened to a politician recently detailing his morning media diet of newsletters, clippings, etc. It helps him feel prepared for the day (“getting in front of the wave”).
It made me wonder: as a futurist/futures researcher, what could my morning routine be like to prepare me for the day?
Thinking through my meetings and working sessions and preparing whatever I can, which would mostly be writing notes?
- Reading trend stuff on the topics I’m currently working on?
- Doing a theory session to advance the methods and approaches I plan to use throughout the day?
- Doing a classic braindump/750 words kind of session to empty my brain and make space for fresh thinking?
- Go for a run or a workout because it helps most with energy and focus?
This train of thought connects to a similar one, which has been on my mind recently, prompted by this quote:
What is it you do to train that is comparable to a pianist practicing scales? – Tyler Cowen
The bigger question I feel lurking behind these Ferriss-esque questions about my morning routine is what I actually need to do my work and get better at it.
- A broader horizon?
- An excellent toolbox of methods?
- A critical mindset?
- A fine-tuned set of scanning sources?
- …
Obviously, it’s all of the above which triggers the idea to use different days of the week to focus on each aspect.
No such thing as “future-proof”
Published April 21, 2022
That’s it. It’s relatively easy. There’s nothing that can be future-proof. No matter what some marketing material or keynote speaker wants to promise.
We can prepare for different futures. We can work on resilience or anti-fragility, or adaptability. But there is no way to ensure that anything from an organization to a building or a strategy is “future-proof.” The future doesn’t work that way.
Until the future becomes the present, it is open and uncertain. And as long as we can’t be certain about the future, we can’t be sure that our plans will work out until they have to prove themselves in the future present.
Sure, the term is often used when talking about preparing for the future in general. “Future-proofing” refers to keeping devices compatible and buildings adaptable to future use.
But I find using this specific term—which suggests certainty—fascinating, primarily when used in marketing. It’s a strong signal for the human yearning to know what’s ahead and to be prepared. And the more known unknowns we become aware of, the stronger the urge becomes to go for the solution that promises to be future-proof. And thus, as usual, “future-proof” has nothing to do with the future presents and everything with present futures. The future is not real until it becomes the present. It only exists in our heads as images, hopes, dreams, fears, wishes, anticipations, and expectations.
“Future-proofing” means doing something in the present to keep the anxieties about the future at bay. And that’s completely fine and can be helpful. But we should not fool ourselves by thinking that because something is labeled as “future-proof,” it will be safe in the future.
Remember that these are seedlings, which means they are unpolished thoughts or ideas that will grow and mature over time. Let me know what you think about it via Twitter or hitting reply.