Take fewer classes.

After writing this, I realized that it is a bit longer than most articles. It took Kayo three minutes to read it, and I hope you will take the time to finish it.

Every week, the New Yorker arrives in my mailbox. Folded in half, it fits neatly in my back pocket. I try to keep one on me wherever I go so I have something to read while I'€™m on the bus or waiting for a friend. Or sitting on the toilet, my one real sanctuary time. Heaven forbid I waste a moment not learning something new. But the stupidest thing is that I try reading while walking home, in the dark, at 2am on most nights. I haven't been hit by a car yet, but I'm working on it.

I'€™m not sure which is worse: that I always go home at 2am or that I need activities to fill every waking moment.

I've recently started reading The Atlantic, which, as of this month, has been exploring "€œThe American Idea" for the past 150 years. In the anniversary issue, Walter Kirn laments the dysfunction we are imposing on ourselves as we constantly fill our already-too-full lives with multitasking. We'€™ve been deluded by the "€œefficiency, convenience and mobility"€ that "€œliberating"€ technologies have promised us. Not only do we think we can do "€œanything," we also think we can do "€œeverything." But we can't.

As I write this (at 2am, incidentally), I am also brushing my teeth, doing homework for New Product Definition, compiling the IDSAB nominations, and periodically checking my email (just in case). I am inundated with things that I "need" and "want" to do. So to keep up, I'm reduced to reading in the dark while walking home after a days jammed with meetings and homework and more meetings. Worse, I derive some perverse sense of pride from being such a busy guy that I don't have time to notice that I am neglecting things like my health, my friends, and my sleep.

Patrick has expressed concern over our "insane" need to drown ourselves in classes, naïvely (and ironically) thinking that more classes means we are getting more out of our very expensive education. I've been no better than the next person, averaging 5-6 classes at any given time. But instead of delivering enlightenment, the frenzy we've worked ourselves into is delivering only fatigue. And, Kirn warns, we may be seriously damaging our ability to think as deeply as we could (and need to).

So as you consider what classes you want to take this coming Spring, I have one suggestion: slow down. Take it easy, sign up for fewer classes, and be deliberate about what you take. You'll be glad you did.

As for me, I plan to take fewer classes and spend the time to get the most out of each one. And tomorrow, I will leave my New Yorker at my desk so I can quietly reflect as I walk home.

Comments

[Sriram]

Great article Eric and couldn't have come at a better time.

I woke up this Sunday morning at 8:30, stressed about all the things that needed to get done so that I would have time to do what I wanted to do. Does that even make sense?

I take pride like you in being able to have a constant stream of information - whether it's reading magazines in the shower (don't ask) or listening to news excerpts on the ipod while simultaneously browsing rss feeds on my cellphone.

It's a sickness.

I often wonder how much of this sickness is because we are surrounded by others like us. Perhaps if we found ourselves in a far off land, where life's pace is not so hectic, we would respond by slowing down just a bit. Maybe but I'm not sure.

But for now, I'll try to take your advice to slow down. Perhaps I won't listen to my global news report on the way back - and instead use the time to quiet the constant mental chatter.

[ericniu]

Thanks.

Yes, I agree that a lot of it is a result of escalation. "They" say extremism begets extremism, and that this duality is in some ways a result of our language. So there's a fast camp and a slow camp; our goal will be to choose the balance that's right for ourselves instead of just thoughtlessly striving for an idea that's promulgated on us.

In the spirit of slowing down, we should get lunch sometime over the break.

[Vince LaConte]

Fine words of wisdom.

I'm not sure if it was intended but your meta-comment at the beginning about it taking a (whole!) three minutes to read this, is very appropo.

I agree completely, by the way. Although, I think there are two related issues here. One is the general contemporary phenomenon of workaholism -- at least that's how I diagnose it; even if you're not "working" you're getting an adrenaline buzz from being busy all the time, plus the cocaine-like dopamine rush of feeling more effective and productive than anyone around. But I think this is a social issue, which would need to be solved at the society level.

The other issue about taking fewer classes is more tactical, and makes complete sense. I never understood the argument for maximizing return on tuition by maximizing work-load. Number one, not all credit hours are equally valuable (unfortunately), and number two, as any good marathoner knows, coming out ahead (and alive) is all about pacing yourself.

[Vincent LaConte]

Addendum: the very next story in my RSS feed today was a manifesto that is directly relevant:

http://www.experientia.com/blog/a-slow-approach-to-innovation/

“In the world of slow, there will be less waste as there’s time to be more resourceful and to use the materials already available. Because we are in complete control, we are more likely to meet the needs of our diners especially when ingredients can be in or out of season. Finally, we can also use slow dining to improve social interaction within families or other social groupings.”

[Alex Cheek]

I think that you touch on something important that goes beyond productivity and business in this note, Eric.

You say, "I don't have time to notice that I am neglecting things like my health, my friends, and my sleep... [By staying so busy,] we may be seriously damaging our ability to think as deeply as we could (and need to)."

I think more than anything, our focus on "work" and "productivity" leads us to abuse ourselves and those around us.

In the Charette that we held this weekend, we heard that many students, not just international ones, felt that they could not express themselves in the current ID atmosphere. I have a number of theories about the cause of this stifling sensation, but one of the strongest came from a charette participant's suggestion that each of us must cultivate his personal culture in order to have a diverse student body. We must have something to express and without extracurricular and creative experiences, we become numb and process driven, rather than human-centered.

[Melody Roberts]

Recommended reading for the 2:00 a.m. walk: "On Paradise Drive" by David Brooks. Either read the whole thing slowly or flip directly to the chapter on 'the Achiev-a-tron."

[Laura]

In the spirit of slowing down, I think it's inevitable that we sometimes get lost and feel overwhelmed by the pace of life at ID. When planning your schedule, take into account time to meet with your teams. Just the other day I wrote on the whiteboard for my team: "thinking is a framework" and I meant that in context of doing analysis. Take some time to think about and reflect on what you just read, the work you just produced and give it some breathing space. In the end, you gain objectivity which can be so helpful in gaining clarity and perspective.

[chris conley]

Nice article, Eric. I concur with your advice to take fewer classes. Look for ways to achieve/learn more by doing less. But it may not really be about doing less so much as creating a balance of the kinds of activities one engages in and the DEPTH with which a single activity, direction or concept can be taken. Many of you know my characterization of the working world with the acronym EEEMP: Email, email, email, meetings, and presentations. We talk more about design thinking and innovation than we do it. This needs to be balanced with exploration, prototyping, experimentation, and reflection.

[Woo Jin Danger Park]

I would also like to add the efficiency coefficient (weird that coefficient is spelled as such) to this time equation. Yes, we should think about lowering the # of classes we take, but we should also be mindful of how well we spend the time we do devote to EEEMPS. Meetings are run extremely inefficiently, a lot of class hours are a waste of time, and we quibble over things are at the end of the day aren't worth it. You can gain more time but cutting out a class, but make sure that doesn't equal to you "wasting" more time with the ones you keep!

[ericniu]

Thanks for all of the comments. I absolutely agree that taking fewer classes is just the first step. Having fewer things in our head will let us be more productive with our meetings and give us the time to think more deeply about (and play with) the classes that we do take.

Then we can also invest more time in ourselves, in what Joyce Chen calls the "the critical [activities] for staying sane."

[pollygreathouse]

Living in the "Edge Habitat" between design studies overload and overdrive creativity, here is comic relief. For proof this ode to distraction can be sung, see: http://payplay.fm/berryman6.

The Universe: 14 Examples
Track 4.
ARTISTE
INTERRUPTED
©2007 Lou & Peter Berryman

I've started so many there's painting's I've st-- you know
Sketched on the out-- on the back of an envel-- I’ve
Doodled the lay-- the perspe-- or the outline or
Thought of a p-- or a theme in the car,

But I haven't got any, you know nothing's fin--
Nothing really compl-- you know, pages of --
And I've gone thru whole sch--, you know, schools
Realism, Dada, something bizarre

But it's all in my -- I can't come to a c--
I can't settle on: "Oh yes acrylic is chic
Because oil is passe" --but I really like oil
Cause oil is -- then there's Photoshop tho?

Am I Rembrandt and chiarosc-- or Vermeer?
Or Klimt or Modigli-- Matisse or abstract?
is it Mad Magaz---? is it R. Crumb or Disney? Is
Disney the k--? but then how 'bout van Gogh?

There’s noth-- I can't fin-- it's my mind-- is decisions
I can't make, you know , so I here I s-- man, it's like,
What-- it's inersh-- my momentum is-- oh if I
Ever got go-- I could, or maybe not -- so

What am I do-- is there something the mat--
I can't finish a sent-- I can't fi-- I can't read,
Oh my God, I try reading, it's what did I just? This
Cra-- I'm in-- oh it's my focus is shot
Now what was I? Oh, then it's, “Maybe ceramics” or
Woodcarv-- or concrete or silk sc-- you know,

Am I craft fairs or gallery? Flea market? eBay? Or
What demographic? Did I just say that?
Is it wearable art, like design-- you know, beading
Retro like macra-- like tie-dye, like sandcast
Or leatherwork -- no, not leather, but vinyl
A vinyl dashiki, a jack-- or a hat?

So I go thru this morn-- you know, noon and at mid--
For week after w--- and for year af-- my God and I
Somet-- I gotta, -- it's breaktime -- it's crazy
Come on take a va-- take it eas-- you know, slow
So I Lie on the-- oh, what's on channel fifteen?
Or, no, three is --, oh well it's twen-- or it's two
I can't stand it, I'll go for a walk or a dr--
Oh my bike is-- but anyway, where would I go?

So I put on my sh-- now that shirt is faded
I think I'll-- but what's wrong with faded, it's f--
My jeans are, well nothing to, they're all I own, so I

Made a decis-- but then back to the shirt
I think first I should eat, food is something I usu’ly
Cereal, cheeri-- or shred-- or a sandwich
A sand-- like a tuna, or then-- or some sherbet
There's one thing I finish and that is dessert

[Laaté]

Eric, great words of wisdom and wonderful notions to ponder. "In Praise of Slowness" has inspired many that I've come in touch with recently. In fact, I remember that my last quarter at ID was filled with many activities and many questions, and taking only three classes allowed me a chance to delve deeply into subjects like I had never done before. It appears to be a different type of training, however, learning how to unlearn what us ambitious types have taken for granted.

[Amy Palit]

Eric, this is interesting that you're talking about taking it easy now, especially since I recently started taking your example to invade the peace of the late night commute after witnessing you "utilize" the time so well with your readings. (You were musing over Kunstler back then) It's not just you, but keeping up with all the Joneses er .. classmates at ID. The importance of being up to date on news and trends on top of everything is not so subtly stressed here.

Keeley started class last Monday asking us what our knowledge of Amazon's new Kindle was. The class shot up with hands and students shared the reasons why this was such a great product. I'm sitting in class thinking "What is everyone talking about?" and more importantly, "Why does everyone else but me know about this?". I spent the next 5 minutes culling the web for information about the Kindle. Then I spent the next 5 minutes searching my rss blog feeds and news headlines about the Kindle and finding none, becoming angry, almost ashamed, that all my efforts had failed me. Then I subscribed to a few more blogs, hoping such a thing would never happen again.

Since our shared commute home together, I've started plying on ted talk videos and podcasts onto my ipod so I can imbibe information during my previously silent, contemplative night time commute. Since, you know, I can only take advantage of my 35 rss feeds and news subscriptions (I just counted) when I'm at a computer. Maybe I'll hold off from the ipod for now, but I still worry about when I'll find time to keep up with everyone else. I guess that's how my extra time from fewer classes will be filled (it can't be helped Woojin). By the way Eric, I just subscribed to your blog.