Correction: the "Just-Don'-Do-It" principle

You might have read that, last week, I had this sudden epiphany. As if finally seeing the Truth, I realised that the way to get things done was, well, to do them!

Galvanised by this ground-breaking revelation, I set out to finally get up early in the morning. Proper early, 5.30am. There have been some hiccups in the past week, but all in all, I'm pleased to say that I've made it. For the past few days, I've opened my eyes at exactly 5.30am, before the alarm going off, and got up to a glorious start. A quick coffee, a couple of deep breaths in the cold WA morning, and then 20-30mins of meditation or, as John Kabat-Zinn says, of paying attention to the present moment.

"Just do it!" is the motto. Don't ask yourself why you are getting up; rather, get up! "Become an early riser!" says Brett McKay, from AoM, a blog I read and respect. It's the "5am Miracle"!, as Jeff Sanders describes it. Too easy.

The Just Do It principle applies to a large chunk of society, apparently. All this people out there, determined to get things done, and struggling to find the right way, or just the time, for doing them. There's one clear rule for you to follow: Get out of bed. Just do it.

However, based on my own experience, there is also a - so far overlooked- Just Don't Do It principle. It  applies to a different demographic, or at least a different age group. A group that, though not very busy, nor obsessed with getting things done, finds it extremely easy to get up very early in the morning. This group has at least one member, my son, Child n. 1.

The Just Don't Do It principle goes like this:

Do not get up. Stay in bed. You are still to sleep. Go back to your bedroom. It is 5.30am for God's sake, this is my time, not yours. I didn't rape my own nature to stand in this kitchen with you before sunrise. No, you cannot watch TV, it's too bloody early. I'm not angry, I'm just frustrated. Let me drink my coffee, at least. Alright, let's play Lego. 

 

The "Just Do It" principle, or 'finding the man's cave'.

We have quickly absorbed the impact of the Burma holiday. The last days in Yangon were pleasant, and we made it back safely to OZ, as planned, although after a physically and mentally draining return trip. PEOPLE WITH SMALL CHILDREN: beware of cheap airlines, like this one. They offer you low prices, but once on board, they will make you pay even for a glass of water for your children. Plus, you'll be squashed in a tiny space, with no bassinet nor entertainment. But hey, it's cheap.

Anyway, we are now back to our pleasant and protected life by the beach, hoping not to be still incubating scary tropical diseases. It's been good to return to the comfort of Western life (though we never really abandon that in Myanmar). I suppose it's just good to be able to drink tap water, without worrying about typhoid.

Energised by the recent adventures, for the past few days I have been embracing the Just Do It principle. It doesn't mean I've been buying Nike stuff: rather, I have been fighting one of my arch-enemies, i.e. the "Why?"-question.

"Why doing it?". What's the point of getting up very early in the morning in order to meditate, go for a run, write, or study 18th century German Idealism?  This kind of questions will always defeat me because, although all these activities might be pleasant and, overall, beneficial to myself, the question is "Why now? Why not tomorrow or later?". And there is no winning reply to that, my friend, unless you are Horace and live every day as if it was the last one.

I think we tend to ask the "Why?" question more and more as we age, because we get tired of things. There's just so much crap going on in our normal days, stuff that we cannot avoid (work, screaming kids, screaming wives) and we take that as an excuse to not do the things that we enjoy, but that require energy, time, and some kind of perseverance. I'm not gonna get faster if I run only when I feel like doing it; I am not, eventually, coming to control my sea-wandering mind if I don't meditate every day; nor will I ever grasp the influence of Kant and Fichte on Hegel's philosophy, without regular engagement with whatever the hell they have written.

So, at 5.30am (ish), I just get up. It's out of reach for the kids, in most cases. Which gives me a safe 45 minutes to drink my coffee in the silence of the Australian sunrise, and then meditate. Then, on alternate days (and subject to family mechanics on the specific day), it's either run or study. I have done it for a few days, so there's nothing to celebrate as of yet. But it is a very welcome change, and I hope to turn it into a hexis.

I think this all goes back to the need for a man's cave.

Why I left Facebook

It's been two months since I closed my Facebook account.

I'd been feeling increasingly unwell on FB. I couldn't stand how much time I spent on it (loads!) and for what gain (zero!). I couldn't stand people's narcissism. Most of all, I couldn't stand the feeling, after having 'checked' FB, of having my neurons covered in some kind of sticky molasses. I was just cranky all the time.

I decided to close the account after careful consideration. Which was funny, because the more I kept asking myself 'What am I going to lose?', and the less I could think of anything.

The W-word

Most of the things we like to do, take time. I'd like to run faster. I'd like to write a lot. I'd like to learn Portuguese. And how to play the guitar. This stuff takes practice, and practice takes time.

And time is such a precious thing. I did not realise that until I turned 28, and left Italy. There are so many things to do out there, and yet we end up repeating that we "have to" work, and trying new thing looks like an impossible task.

I wish I could do it, but I don't have time for it - who has not said this at least once in life?

Waking up early: Mission Impossible

I am an academic, which is a great job to escape the horrible constraints of the 9 to 5 life, such as having to dress up to go to work every morning, driving to work at peak time, seeing the same annoying people every day... But there are lots of downsides with being an academic, among which there's the fact that work might follow you everywhere. The 9to5 person has an office, and work stays in the office: but for the academic, especially one who, like me, works always from home, there's the risk of work creeping into every aspect (and room) of your life.

Spring cleaning

I have gone through another existential crisis, and so has the blog. I eventually realised that I was becoming the kind of person I fear I might become, i.e. a weirdo in his late 30s who is giving all of his remaining physical and mental energies to running. There is some value in running to seek refuge from all the crap that goes on in life - but there is also something vicious in centring one's own life on running. I did it for a couple of weeks, and never felt good.

A few changes in the background have influenced this shift in perspective. My parents have gone back to Italy, after two wonderful months spent with us here in Fremantle. So, a sudden and violent increase in childcare-housekeeping-catering duties. On top of that, my parental leave has finished, so I have had to get back into the academic character, i.e. writing, researching, and answering stupid emails. I haven't really wanted to run for the past month, and the arch of my foot still hurts - maybe I've ended up with plantar fascitis, since it hurts exactly as per below figure:

 

Anyway, for the past 3weeks I have changed approach to my daily routine. First, I have put sport on the 3rd place in my priority list, after writing and family. (To be honest, family is not something you can move around on the priority list, for it claims priority regardless. It's not like "Oh, the baby is crying, but first I must finish writing this section!", or "I have to pick the other one from kindergarten, but I cannot miss my deadline", or "Woman wants me to go to grocery, but I need to check the bibliography first", etc.). As I work from home, I have been trying to maximise the early morning hours for writing (more on this in later posts). So, when the little one wakes up after her morning nap, somewhere between 10.30 and 11.30 am, I feed her, and then use her digestion time (during which she is usually extremely easy and happy) to do a 30mins workout.

This involves:

• 5mins jumping rope 
• 3x(10 crunch + 30sec dynamic plank) (no recovery)
• 3x15 push ups with Perfect PushUp. I should add the PPU is excellent, and I highly recommend it (and I do not get any cut from their sales)!
• 1xChange of nappy (little one shits herself half-way during her digestion process: and who can blame her for that?) Having to face poo in the middle of the workout makes you stronger
• 3x20 kettlebell swings
• 3x2x10 single leg squat. This is my nemesis, but I'll get to a full one, one of these days...
• some other random plyometrics stuff

Today I went for a morning run, my usual 7.5k course by the ocean. It felt good, and body was in agreement, but the foot hurts. Looks like it's time to fork out another 100bucks for the chiropractor.