John DiMarco on Computing (and occasionally other things)
I welcome comments by email to jdd at cs.toronto.edu.

Tue 26 Feb 2019 06:27

Intentionality

I spent all of 2018 intending to blog, and not doing it. Sadly, this is an all too human situation. We intend to do things, when we can, when time permits, but we can't; time doesn't permit. Or at least this is one of those stories we tell ourselves. The truth is a little simpler: throughout 2018, my intention to blog was not strong enough for me to re-prioritize things in my day so that I would do it.

I had plenty to say. I continue to have plenty to say. I had plenty of important things to do, and that also continues to be true. Despite my other responsibilities, I am making time now, and I will continue to make time, every so often, to say things in this blog. I am being intentional about it.

To be intentional about something means to be deliberately purposeful: to make one's actions a directly chosen consequence of one's thoughtful decisions. For most people, myself included, life is full of input, distractions, demands, requests. It is easy to fill time without much effort. But if I am not intentional, it will be filled with reaction, not action: things that circumstances and prior commitments have chosen for me, not things I have chosen for myself.

Reaction is fine, even good and necessary. Many people, myself included, build up throughout their lives various important responsibilities: responsibilities to family, work, friends, communities. Responsibilities carry with them a commitment to react to the needs of others. This is well and good. But it is not enough, at least not for me. I realize that to be authentic, I have to consider carefully what is important to me, decide what to do about it, and then act on it. This is intentionality. I've decided to be intentional about blogging. Look for more blog entries in the coming weeks.

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