A deadbeat, by my own definition is someone living a Beat life (not like Kerouac actually did, but the negative connotation of not being tied into the standard social systems of responsibility) and is, to culture, Dead – ie non-productive.
So, someone outside of the common social systems of responsibility but who is responsible to himself and productive for himself could be called a livebeat. It’s probably worth coming up with a newer, less derivative name for the lifestyle eventually – maybe once I understand it more.
On Friday I quit my job (after posting notice 2 weeks prior) and packed up 5 years of accumulated stuff, getting my projects covered by coworkers as much as possible and sorting through innumerable documents, art files, video and personal stuff on my company-owned laptop. Quitting was harder than I expected (beyond the difficulty in making such a risky move and saying goodbye to everyone I mean). All of the re-organizing was tough, I needed to shop for a new laptop and cell phone, now I need to get some sort of health insurance (not excited about that) and develop a routine for myself.
Some questions I need to answer:
1) Do I set an alarm in the morning or just see what happens?
2) How much time should I allot to personal development each day, like working out, reading, taking classes, etc.
3) How much time should I dedicate to work, that is writing, meetings, etc. This is definitely a big priority for me, especially in the early days, so the personal expectation of production is set.
I’m finishing up a writing project this afternoon and catching up on blogging. I think writing about my day-to-day exploits as an unemployee will help me organize thoughts and stay accountable to production so I’ll try to be on here often enough.
It still hasn’t hit me, the fact that for the first time since pre-preschool (I went to Montessori school, whatever that is) I don’t have to do anything. Not that I think there’s anything wrong with being part of a company. I actually really enjoy the community, accountability and direction – I’m just giving this a try to see if I might create my own deal.
I imagine these first couple of weeks will feel like vacation before I really feel it. Exciting/scary.
August 4, 2008 at 6:23 pm |
The bigger problem is what if you live a life that is productive, but not in the sense that is rewarded by the world’s wisdom and structures? As a Christian, it is a constant part of my life to be reminded that value is measured in a worldly way and a spiritual way and that the two do not usually synchronize. Even more sad is that the value which is greater – the spiritual in my opinion – is usually the one that does not lead to the benefits of worldly satisfaction as defined by the material means of the majority.