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After flying New York > Maui > Sydney > New York, Iām writing to you from land situated between wakefulness and comas to apologize for the reticence a few of you have inquired about. In short, these travels and a rapidly progressing novel are to blame, but from next week (or I guess technically right now), my regular scheduling of posting once a week will resume, aided by the training camp that Iāve just started.
Fighters are inspiring in many ways, but one of their greatest contributions is showing us how to work: In regular society, most people live halfway on and halfway off, working languidly but consistently until The Great Dissipation returns every Friday. Boxers, on the other hand, spend their lives in and out of training camps: 8-12 weeks where they work like mad men and then emerge for a big fight. Then, win or lose, they party like rockstars before starting it all over again.
Fortunately, writing has afforded me the ability to create such a schedule for myself andāpartially encouraged by fighters, partially terrified of the dissolution of Dick Diver, partially pained by hangovers that now span multiple daysāIāve decided to enter into a ātraining campā until my novel is complete. No drinking, no mental junk food, and a complete immersion in the world of letters until something has been accomplished.
But this type of schedule should extend beyond individuals who can create it for themselves: Most people donāt want to waste away at their desks nor burn themselves out, so companies should create cultures around periods of hard work followed by guilt-free cool off time. In reality, Iām aware of zero companies that openly encourage a schedule like this with the exception of some law firms where trial months work you out and other months cool you off.
Seen from an alienās perspective, herds entering fluorescently-lit offices five days each week and then numbing themselves to sickness every weekend hardly seems advancedāworking like a fighter, when possible, is a better option.