I don’t know about you, but the pandemic changed how I relate to time. Not just the collapse of time that’s made many of us ask, “Did that happen last week or two years ago?” But, at a more foundational level of how I structure my days, how my days are connected across weeks and months, and how I find harmony as things evolve.
Before COVID, the idea of taking two hours in an afternoon to bike or rollerblade was unthinkable. The very thought that we might need to push a huge deadline or clear multiple days of meetings would have sent my blood pressure through the roof. But, after two years, that’s changed.
I’ve done away with the idea of a 40-hour Monday-Friday work week. I’ve moved beyond the notion that there isn’t time to create harmony between work, personal life, and the things that bring us joy and refuel us to make an impact. Each morning, I look at the entire week, I look at seven days. I consider workload and deadlines, the weather, travel, personal commitments, how I feel, it all informs how things get prioritized that day. It isn’t about balance, it’s about harmony. One day may be primarily at a computer for work starting before the sun rises. Another may find me biking for three hours on a weekday while my mind examines our work from 30,000 feet, putting together the disparate pieces for how to move a project forward – unleashed by being outside, the awe of the mountains, and synergy between mind and body.
I am grateful that I have the autonomy to approach time in this way, knowing that isn't the case for everyone. Hannah Drake and I lead IDEAS xLab, collectively embracing a flexible schedule - something we've talked about explicitly. If you are in a position to give people autonomy for how they use their time, I encourage you to do so. The world isn't going back to what it was, and with the erasure of the dividing line between work and out-of-work time, finding harmony has become even harder when old work-week rules and expectations apply.
In Tim Ferris’ recent podcast, Boyd Varty quotes the Shangaan men he works with - a quote that has stuck with me. “I don’t know where we are going, but I know exactly how to get there.” Varty was talking about tracking animals in the wilds of South Africa. Finding the next bent blade of grass, paw print, clue that led you to the next, and the next. An inner knowing and belief in the process, even if the path wasn’t laid out like a paved road ahead of you.
A different relationship to time has allowed me to embrace that feeling more. An openness to what will unfold, to how creative endeavors will be built piece by piece as new ways of working and fresh ideas take it to the next level. That is how it's been with my Wearable Photos, experimentation and trying something a little different each time to see how the outcomes change. I don't know where it's all going or how long it will take, but I do know how to get there - one step at a time.
With gratitude -
Josh Miller
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Josh Miller Ventures Photo Essay: February - March 2022
