thinkers vs. doers

Today I was thinking about the plight of the information worker. In hindsight it happened for a few reasons, namely:

1. the sky was blue

2. the end (of the year) is in sight

3. I was in between things, and ne’er the twain did meet (i.e. I found myself staring out past my monitors at a glary window, at a loose end, unable to settle on anything at all)

Anyway – what I thought to myself was – what the hell are all us desk workers doing? Eating a la desco, if at all (or from the vending machine, because it’s the closest thing to hand). Hunched and cross-eyed and sore-headed. Swamped but unproductive, negotiating our way through spam and meetings and emails and emails and emails.

Then going home, and doing it some more. But telling ourselves it’s okay because at home it’s a different setting. Sometimes the cats brush against our legs and every now and then we think to absentmindedly pat them. We have a glass in hand, music outside of our earphones and the promise of bed within a 10-metre radius. And there’s a spouse in the background, talking. What they’re saying is like wallpaper: hard to zone in on when you’re engrossed in a scintillating bout of meeting scheduling or passive-aggressive colleague email flaming in the dark of night.

I think this is probably just part 1 of Thinkers vs. Doers. The whole Greek/Roman thing. I think about it a lot, or at least I used to, when I had time to think outside the thinking I get paid to do.

There’s something to be said for using the mind and there is something to be said for using the body. Moderation in all things. Balance. I have noticed lately that I have a habit of using old-hat truisms as a way of making my point. I just wanted to be the first to point that out.

Back in the days of Classical Studies I identified as more of a Greek than a Roman; more akin to a thinker than a doer. More like me to write a poem than to build a bridge.

But now, however-many years on, I don’t know. To be honest, with a few more years to my name, I’d rather be a doer than a thinker, if the choice were mine.

Any opportunity to get outside my head – or to step away from the desk – is a good opportunity. Bring on summer.