On Moving
I really like this thought on the value of moving from Steven Johnson:
Another old friend — my oldest, in fact — wrote an email to me after I told him the news of our move. We’ve both been in New York for two decades, and we are both watching our kids growing up at lightning speed. “Change like this slows down time,” he wrote. When you’re in your routine, frequenting the same old haunts, time seems to accelerate — was it just four years ago that our youngest son was born? But all the complexities of moving — figuring out where to live, getting there, and then navigating all the new realities of the changed environment — means that the minutes and hours that once passed as a kind of background process, the rote memory of knowing your place, suddenly are thrust into your conscious awareness. You have to figure it out, and figuring things out makes you aware of the passing days and months more acutely. You get disoriented, or at least you have to think for a while before you can be properly oriented again.
It’s an interesting way to think about things.
[Via Adam Isserlis]
Hi, I'm 
I dig that. I would also posit that that is a similar positive byproduct of traveling. In both instances, you’re tapping into more heightened awareness, using deeper navigation and observation skills, and are focused more fully on the present – thus that delicious sensation of time-shifting. I’m often amazed how much more I seem to “accomplish” – maybe “experience” would be a better word – when I’m out of my usual environs.
I dig that. I would also posit that that is a similar positive byproduct of traveling. In both instances, you’re tapping into more heightened awareness, using deeper navigation and observation skills, and are focused more fully on the present – thus that delicious sensation of time-shifting. I’m often amazed how much more I seem to “accomplish” – maybe “experience” would be a better word – when I’m out of my usual environs.
I dig that. I would also posit that that is a similar positive byproduct of traveling. In both instances, you’re tapping into more heightened awareness, using deeper navigation and observation skills, and are focused more fully on the present – thus that delicious sensation of time-shifting. I’m often amazed how much more I seem to “accomplish” – maybe “experience” would be a better word – when I’m out of my usual environs.
I agree, but it doesn’t need to be physical space (especially if you’re a knowledge worker). Just try to change up the mental spaces you’re thinking in for 8+ hours a day. I try to change them up every 2-3 years or so. This way I’m navigating new mental spaces, challenges, and developing new skills and time still seems to slow down.
I’ll keep the old haunts and neighborhood gems the same, since they give great solace when you’re burning extra bright on a new project or piece of code.
Nice find.
So TRUE! It seems every time I move or get a new job, time stands still. The most memorable times are the ones where you’re disoriented from change.
I regret the moments where I sit for 10 years in the same spot doing the same thing. It shows up as 1 big block of my life with very little memorable fluctuations within it.
Change spurs growth and memory. Thanks for sharing.