This provides lots of great reading material ideas! Thank you Jesse.
As I send more and more emails, a friend of mine who does physical work, who I met while also doing physical work, jokingly/derisively calls me “email guy.” There is just something so deeply satisfying about working for a palpable, concrete result.
James- Thanks for your note here. I find it difficult to reach that balance between the digital and physical worlds. If I'm 'all in' one or the other, I'm generally not satisfied.
Thank you Jesse, and I completely agree. For a time i worked indoors during the academic year, so the digital world, then outdoors working physically between the years. I haven’t been able to recreate that balance, but all in on either direction isn’t a direct route to satisfaction. I really enjoyed your article.
Jesse, I enjoyed this thoughtful reflection on knowledge work v. Our collective lineage as hunter/gatherers. Although I’m not a hunter, I resonate with the spirit of this post that there is something unnatural about the knowledge worker’s day-to-day grind of sitting in a cubicle, handling spreadsheets, sending and responding to emails, etc. In a sillier context, it reminds me of Peter Gibbons’ lament in the movie Office Space that human beings weren’t meant to sit in a cubicle all day and stare at computer screens. There’s something deeper, more visceral and human many of us seem to be disconnected from. Anyway, enjoyed this! Looking forward to more!
I can't believe I forgot about Peter Gibbons! Totally pertinent here. Thanks for reading and reminding me of that reference. I think there must be a way to harness the momentum of our lineage into modern knowledge work.
This provides lots of great reading material ideas! Thank you Jesse.
As I send more and more emails, a friend of mine who does physical work, who I met while also doing physical work, jokingly/derisively calls me “email guy.” There is just something so deeply satisfying about working for a palpable, concrete result.
James- Thanks for your note here. I find it difficult to reach that balance between the digital and physical worlds. If I'm 'all in' one or the other, I'm generally not satisfied.
Thank you Jesse, and I completely agree. For a time i worked indoors during the academic year, so the digital world, then outdoors working physically between the years. I haven’t been able to recreate that balance, but all in on either direction isn’t a direct route to satisfaction. I really enjoyed your article.
Paul Shepard! Not widely read!
I know. I’m happy to have discovered him.
Jesse, I enjoyed this thoughtful reflection on knowledge work v. Our collective lineage as hunter/gatherers. Although I’m not a hunter, I resonate with the spirit of this post that there is something unnatural about the knowledge worker’s day-to-day grind of sitting in a cubicle, handling spreadsheets, sending and responding to emails, etc. In a sillier context, it reminds me of Peter Gibbons’ lament in the movie Office Space that human beings weren’t meant to sit in a cubicle all day and stare at computer screens. There’s something deeper, more visceral and human many of us seem to be disconnected from. Anyway, enjoyed this! Looking forward to more!
I can't believe I forgot about Peter Gibbons! Totally pertinent here. Thanks for reading and reminding me of that reference. I think there must be a way to harness the momentum of our lineage into modern knowledge work.