My inertia default is evident on the days I go to the gym to work with my trainer for ½ hour. She’s always challenging me and I’m always complaining as I try to keep our ½ hour workouts as easy as possible.
It’s evident when I’m walking the dog and avoid the hills because they involve so much more effort than I am willing to expend,
When I sit down at the computer to play Solitaire for an hour rather than fold the laundry or vacuum.
And it’s evident as I sit here at my kitchen table, which rocks back and forth as I type because the bolts are loose and I’ve just been too lazy to get underneath and figure out what I’ll need to tighten them.
Am I a total sloth? Is my inertia worse than other people’s? Well, a little research (not too taxing, mind you) and it turns out it’s not.
The attention economy means that billions and billions of pounds of clever marketing and neuroscience investment works to draw you away from where and who you are. Very few of us were ever taught how these people co-opt our minds and manipulate our attention, so it isn’t a fair fight.
If you are struggling with any form of personal inertia, be compassionate with yourself. Many people struggle with choices or procrastination. Even today, I spend far too much time on my smart phone and on social media than I should do. Inertia is a phenomenon of our times – and it’s been creeping up on us all. theviewinside.me/...
I like this! Rather, it makes me feel better about myself. This, however, makes me feel better yet:
Design your own systems to bypass the inertia effect as much as possible. I have ways of getting things done even if I couldn’t be bothered to get out of bed. A lot of people look at what they want to do with rose-tinted spectacles of who they are and what’s realistically achievable for them. They design idealistic plans and actions that rely on them being their aspirational self – rather than their real self (or worst self). I don’t take an over-optimistic view of getting things done – I design systems that work even on my worst days. Essentially, if you struggle to make decisions or get going, there are lots of clever little ways you can get others to do it for you. theviewinside.me/...
Which leads me to what happened between starting this post and now.
Having done my research on inertia, I decided to scoot under the table with my iPhone camera and take a picture of the bolt. I would drive down to the hardware store with the picture. I was about to head out when a friend who lives nearby texted me that she was stopping over. She said she’d bring her toolbox. The two of us tackled the problem, (both on our backs under the table) when she noticed that one of the bolts was missing. I remembered then how about a month ago I had seen a bolt on the floor and had no idea what it was from. I knew that it had to be something important so put it away. But where? My first reaction was one of hopelessness: I’ll never be able to remember where I put it. I started searching through drawers in the kitchen and, sure enough, there it was where I usually put things I don’t know what to do with. We’ve got the table a lot sturdier than it was but it’s still rather shakey.
Another friend had been out walking with my dog and stopped by the hardware store to see what kind of tool they’d recommend to fix the table. He arrived just after my other friend left and said I could pick up exactly what I need to tighten the screws sufficiently for $26. He said he’ll stop by and do it for me next week.
So kitchen tables and inertia. A topic for tonight’s discussion.
Oh, and by the way, I purposely put up graphics that have nothing to do with the content. Hoping maybe they would solicit some humor in the comments.
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