Doing one unproductive thing

Or finding “sovereignty over my own time.”

“Choosing to spend four hours doing one ‘unproductive’ thing is a middle finger to a culture that treats busyness as a virtue.” — gris / Gray Matters.

The “virtue” of being a CEO is coming to an end. 2027 will find me unencumbered by that title. I’ll have more time to be “unproductive.” For most of the last 40 years “productive,” meant work. And like many, I found out too late that “virtue” had a price. And, truth be told, the price was paid by others. I can’t fix that. All I can do is do better.

I’m looking forward to this new “unproductive” state. In my mind it looks like this.

• The day doesn’t feature a “task list.”

• No one needs an “update” or my “opinion.”

• The calendar has more white space than not.

• Fewer people expect me to “show up” in some form or fashion.

• Making peace with not multitasking.

• Reading more of what I want to read (hello Daniel Silva, John Sanford and the Robert B. Parker replacements) and not what I “should” read (hello unsubscribe to a staggeringly long list of newsletters I’ll be delighted to ignore).

Which brings me to fly fishing.

The river and the fish don’t give a shit about any of it or even if I show up.

That’s the beauty of fly fishing. Standing in the water looking upstream at the myriad opportunities is the focus. The vision and the moment, enhanced by the feel of the water, the sounds around me, and the fragrance in the air are all there is to think about.

I’ll get to read the water and my fly box. My calendar is the time it takes to traverse the section I plan to fish. The water gives me an update, and the fish give me an opinion. The task list is reduced to “fish,” “enjoy” and “don’t get hurt.”

gris makes an eloquent point about why she fly fishes:

“But that’s not why I go back. I go back for the sovereignty over my own time.”

I couldn’t agree more. Now and in the future.