Matthew's Blog
Creating Slack
Slack is an interesting word with multiple meanings, but when it's about creating slack in my blogging schedule, I like the following definition: An interval of comparative inactivity; a lull in business or in action of any kind.O.E.D. This last week I went on an...
My Daily Approach to Continuing Education
Each day I try to spend approximately one hour on a continuing education class outside of my areas of expertise. Usually this is a formal class. For example, I just finished a Philosophy of Mind course through the University of Oxford's Continuing Education...
My First Ikigai Misfire
My first ikigai misfire was the selection of my undergraduate major: Mechanical Engineering. I was the youngest of three children. All of us were exceptionally good students, all with 4.0 GPAs. My sister, four years my senior, went on to law schools in both England...
Turning the Corner With Deep-Writing Days
Twice a year my habit is to take a week off for something I call Deep-Think Week, but this year I'm modifying it to include several days of Deep-Writing. I have a current writing project which has yet to turn the corner, but what do I need to turn this corner? Simply...
Your Bathroom: An Ikigai Clue
Look around your bathroom and your bathtub (perhaps next to your soap or bubble bath?). Those dogeared books and magazines you read in the tub? There is a good chance they have got something to do with your ikigai.
Writing and Clarity
Here’s one of my favorite quotes from On Writing Well: Writing is thinking on paper. Anyone who thinks clearly can write clearly, about anything at all.William Zinsser Whenever I get stuck on a writing project, it's because I have lost clarity of thought. Think...
Writing, Mountain Climbing, and Risk
Writing is very similar to mountain climbing in one way. You can read books about it, watch documentaries on it, and study its masters, but this is no substitute for actually putting yourself out there—at some risk to yourself, whether it's physical or emotional—and...
My Holidays Twitter-Sleep: An Update
I am just over one-third of the way through my Holidays Twitter-Sleep, which I've scheduled from Thanksgiving through Christmas. It's going surprisingly well. For the first few days, I did have a desire to check my Twitter feed; I told myself it was to make sure I...
Ikigai, Words, and Memes
Although I believe the word ikigai—in the Japan of prior generations—is a nuanced concept encompassing life's purpose and value, for better or worse, it has been transformed into a visual meme: a four-part, colorful Venn diagram. It's now a "world-word," similar to...