productivity

theres a certain archetype of person that im surrounded by.

they live life solely to have fun. every morning (or afternoon probably), when they wake up, their goal is to maximize the amount of fun they can have in the next 18 hours until they fall asleep again.

no real ambitions, goals, curiosity, passions, hobbies, interests, at least none that would challenge them. theyve been practically donated a comfortable life so far, and cling to it how a baby monkey clings to its mother.

you might think that im, at least partially, exaggerating this for dramatic effect. im not. you really dont have to look very far to find them at all.

they will never work on anything if it doesnt directly show or reflect upon them (exams). they will never go out of their way to learn about a topic. their lives start and end with whatever they percieve as things they enjoy.

in my eyes, just wanting or dreaming about achieving something doesnt count as a goal. it only starts counting when you start putting significant efforts into achieving it.

it might be the college im in thats the issue, but im forced to be around that type of person every single day, and its genuinely starting to drive me crazy. it isnt even one, or a couple of people that i specifically have in mind here, it feels like i simply cannot escape them. their lives, at least to me, as a 3rd person viewer, feel so chokingly surface level. all they do is hang out with friends, scroll reels, abuse whatever substances they deem cool, just,,, exist. literally anything that takes the least amount of effort and brings in the greatest amount of fun or comfort within that moment. no greater drive or motivation, nothing to really show for themselves and the time they spend, and no willingness to have aspects about them that arent just about having the said fun.

and to clarify, im not demonizing any of the things i brought up. i enjoy all of them too, and by themselves, theres nothing inherently evil about them. its the type of person who cant seek greater joys in life outside them that i take issue with.

i dont think ill ever be able to wrap my head around it. how do you have nothing greater or deeper to strive for in your life. how do you sleep at night knowing that you have nothing to show for your previous day. how do you lie to yourself and convince yourself that youre making the most of your life while living such a routine. especially when that life is financed by the works and effort of others. how do you at the very least, not endeavor to be an interesting and knowledgeable person.

who are you lying to? how long will you be able to keep this pretense up? for how long will these inherently shallow frivolities keep you entertained. doesnt the entire appeal of them come from them being a break or a change of pace from your regular life. where does the appeal lie if that becomes your entire life. how do you gain any amount of enjoyment from it at all?

recently events have taken place in my life that really opened my eyes to how volatile life can be. we can never know how much time we really have, and what is spelled out for us in it. how could you not at least strive to make the most of it.

productivity, in my book, is the measure of how much time you spend on things you really want to do, rather than ones you do out of comfort. it really is that simple. the answer comes instinctively to you.

i think that you can be productive nearly 100% of the time. you might not be able to work or study 100% of the time, but thats not the quantifier of productivity anyway.

im going to try my best to be as productive as possible in the future. i encourage you to join me :)