Ethosophical

theonion:

Brain-Dead Teen, Only Capable Of Rolling Eyes And Texting, To Be Euthanized

(via Instapaper)

"I got a massage recently, and the woman told me to “undress to my comfort level.” So I put on a sweater and some corduroy pants, and I felt safe."

John Mulaney

John Mulaney, guys, Seriously.

Is the media treating Michelle Bachmann unfairly because she’s a crazy woman? 

Featuring America’s most prescient political commentator, Duncan Birch.

simpledesks:

Maggi Pattillo’s DIY Desk:

A really interesting project and a nice final outcome. The original article is worth a read - it details the steps Maggi took to build the desk.

Via welikesnow.

(via theonion)

(Source: peternandhavan)

I had a revelation tonight about how I can use Merlin Mann’s stuff and chances are, if you read this thing you’re also a Merlin fan and may well respond to this particular idea too, so try it on for size.

Merlin’s work is all about managing your time and attention to tweak your productivity, right? And Merlin’s emphasis on productivity probably has something to do with having ADD, an illness whose primary negative consequence is a steep drop in productivity.

Productivity, to be honest, is not a problem I have, nor is ADD. My problem is anxiety, an illness whose primary negative consequence is a sharp increase in focus on the potential negative consequences of one’s actions. That’s also a problem about managing time and attention. Both are problems about managing and mitigating unproductive thoughts. Both are, more or less, centered around using mindfulness to remember what you really care about.

So, just to see, I’m going to start doing all the little productivity lifehacks, not to be productive, but to be less anxious. I’ve got one of those browser extensions that blocks distracting websites during the day, not so I can stay focused on work per se, but so I can stay focused on whatever I’m doing and feeling without using my refresh button to hide in some new fleeting thought or distraction. I’m gonna start carrying around a cheap notebook and leave it open with a pencil every time I sit down somewhere, so that I can write in it whatever’s going through my mind, even if it’s just doodles and even if it’s totally useless.

Does it seem dumb? Yeah, it seems kinda dumb. But I’ve spent so much time focusing on and medicating the outcomes of all my unproductive thoughts that it’s worth spending a little time trying to prevent them in the first place. Lots of this, of course, comes back to respecting and fighting for the kind of person you are, and allowing yourself to care about the things you care about even when other people don’t. For me, at least, that starts with following my gut about what the right thing is for me to be doing right now, damn how strange it looks, and build that up into days and weeks and months.

I don’t want to minimize whatever’s holding you back by saying that it’s about managing your time and attention, but it might well be. You should at least consider it. Because, while it’s never gonna be a panacea, I think everybody can benefit from focusing on the thing that they like and that makes them alive more often.

Things Chase likes:

• Monks.
• Double monks.