That's what they say.
When people ask me, "So what do you do?" I often respond, "Surviving"
Of course, this doesn't satisfy the average salesperson at a crypto conference, and they often react with slight confusion and follow up with, "I meant professionally."
Which as a writer, you can always counter with "Procrastinating".
That won't have answered their question either.
But it is grammatically and factually accurate.
I don't think it's just writers who procrastinate, either. According to the Instant Gratification Monkey TED Talk, we all do.
Yet, it's noticeable how often the activity associated with triggering procrastination is writing a paper or a master's thesis.
Is it because it's tough?
I'd say so. Maybe what makes it worse is that there's truth in writing is thinking.
Bad writing is bad thinking. So, a medium post states.
I wonder what that says about all those ChatGPT-generated blog posts flooding LinkedIn.
Are we not used to thinking so that we prefer to put it off altogether as long as possible?
It's easy to be distracted, hitting yourself with constant dopamine from likes, comments, and new follower notifications. It's easy to look busy at all times, jumping between platforms and answering messages constantly without deep thought wasted.
Sitting down to write is hard.
'Perhaps thinking, too, is just something like building a cabinet [Schrein]. At any rate, it is handwork.
Heidegger
Sharing your thoughts with the world in writing is exposing a piece of yourself.
Something AI won't do.
What's its personal narrative?
Who knows. Does it think? If yes, probably badly as far as the writing goes.
As Byung-Chul Han concludes in his blog, Heidegger would say, "AI does not think because it does not have a hand."
The next time someone asks me what I do, I shall answer, "Thinking."
Day 6 of my writing every weekday challenge.
Let's see if I can make it to 30.
