Welcome back to Thank God It’s Monday!
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​tl;dr In a world that optimizes everything for efficiency, we are losing the value of dilly-dallying.

We live in a world where every day, some piece of technology is improving, some mundane task is being outsourced, and some redundancies are being eliminated. As a result, human error is being reduced, results come faster, and people can focus on more creative projects and big-system thinking.
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On the downside, there is so much value placed on efficiency that we are losing sight of the joy that can be found in meandering through life.
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Recently, Mark Manson wrote a brief newsletter about a similar idea, and it’s been occupying space in my mind since. Usually, the messages that stick with us (from reading, listening, watching, etc) are the ones that have the greatest emotional impact on us.
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Consider the last fun fact you learned that you shared with everyone who crossed your path for a week. It might’ve been a piece of gossip or a nugget from history. But it stuck with you because it surprised you in some way, horrified you, or struck a chord somewhere deep down.
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What is it about the value of dilly-dallying that keeps ping-ponging around my brain?
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First, it's probably because it’s something I’m not good at. I spent so many years being as efficient as humanly possible that now it’s hard to turn down that “productivity” dial. When I read the newsletter about humans losing the joy of wandering through life, I wondered how much I allow myself to live in that space. It’s certainly an area I can improve upon.
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The second reason this resonated so much, I believe, is that it’s counterintuitive to one of my values: pursuing purpose in this life. Contributing to future generations through work, art, or community is how we (I think?) assign purpose to living on this rock orbiting through the universe. And I can understand deep down that without taking the time to simply “be,” we cannot pay it forward by helping others. But it feels conflicting on a superficial level to equate meandering through life (perhaps inaction) with working on purpose (action).
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How well do you balance improving efficiency while enjoying the inefficiencies in life?
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A distinction that I think is worth making is how we fill this time “wandering” in life: consuming versus participating. There is a tremendous epidemic of overconsumption, namely of social media, which is not to be confused with participating in joyful, “meandering” activities like being with friends and family.
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One feels like it leaves our proverbial cup empty, and one leaves it full. The happiness rendered by the “inefficient” parts of life is lasting and fulfilling. This is different than the longing that is left after a deep doom-scrolling session. Both are “inefficient,” but they are not the same.
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We’re all works in progress. Is learning how to enjoy the meandering in life something you are working on? If so, how do you practice this skill?
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Things that I notice help me with enjoying downtime are cutting back on social media consumption, scheduling my week to visualize when will be “productive time vs less productive time,” and planning for what activities I want to incorporate in those “dilly-dallying hours.”
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I wish it were as simple as, “just be present!” But sometimes learning to live in the moment takes some planning ahead.
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If you have other tips, feel free to reach out with your go-to skills!
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If you found some value in this, please share it with a friend you think would enjoy it! And let me know if you’d like to be added to get TGIM.
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This week, my podcast recommendation is from the Aubrey Marcus Podcast, “Reset Your Life in a Single Day with Kyle Coursey.”
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With that, I hope everyone had a safe and fun Fourth of July weekend (and has all ten fingers still accounted for)! I’m incredibly thankful for another great celebration and having so many wonderful humans to share the day with. Let’s make it a great rest of the summer, with lots of intentional dilly-dallying!
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Until next week,
Shannon