{"id":8336,"date":"2019-02-19T00:50:10","date_gmt":"2019-02-19T00:50:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/?p=8336"},"modified":"2019-04-08T00:37:23","modified_gmt":"2019-04-08T00:37:23","slug":"spark-joy-in-which-a-novelist-applies-the-ideas-of-konmari-to-his-entire-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/spark-joy-in-which-a-novelist-applies-the-ideas-of-konmari-to-his-entire-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Spark Joy: In Which a Novelist Applies the Ideas of KonMari to His Entire Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Inspired by my organizing genius wife, I recently watched the program Tidying Up<\/i> with Japanese organization guru Marie Kondo. In the program and in her books (The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up<\/i> and Spark Joy<\/i>), Kondo explains the necessity of keeping in our lives only those objects that \u201cspark joy\u201d for us. If an object does not spark joy for us, Kondo says, we need to thank it for its time with us and let it go. Kondo\u2019s methodology is called KonMari<\/i>, and it\u2019s not new. Organizing experts like my wife have understood this idea for years.<\/p>\n

Anyone who knows my wife knows that she is incredibly<\/i> organized. Her work office perpetually looks like she was just hired or fired. Since we\u2019ve been married, although we\u2019ve only ever lived in small apartments, my wife has been a master at eliminating clutter and developing systems to keep our things<\/i> contained, accessible and efficient. It\u2019s one of the many things about her I\u2019ve come to really admire.<\/p>\n

This past weekend, my wife and I \u201cKonMari-ed<\/em>\u201d our entire apartment. Following Marie Kondo\u2019s methodology, we began with clothing, then our books (a library of 1,500+ volumes), then papers, then\u00a0komono<\/em> (basically everything else in the house), and finally sentimental items. When we were finished, having only kept those items that spark joy for us and reorganized them, I felt a deep sense of calm and peace.<\/p>\n

\"\"Besides watching Marie Kondo\u2019s TV program, I\u2019ve been reading a Kondo parody entitled The Life Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck<\/i><\/a>, as well as a book about the new Japanese Minimalism entitled Goodbye, Things<\/i><\/a>\u2014in which the author argues for only having in your life those objects you absolutely need<\/i>. Admittedly, this idea is a bit too extreme for me. Do I really need <\/i>my original Barry Manilow and Billy Joel LPs? No, but I enjoy them.<\/p>\n

For now I\u2019m sticking with Kondo\u2019s \u201cspark joy\u201d principle and have decided to apply the principle to all<\/i> aspects of my life: not only physical things, but also the people and relationships in my life; businesses, institutions, restaurants and stores I interact with; and perceived obligations from outside entities. I decided that from now on, whenever I\u2019m considering an interaction, I\u2019m going to ask myself, \u201cBased on my previous experiences, will this interaction bring joy into my life, or will it only create a new experience of annoyance, frustration, anger and\/or sadness?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ten days ago, I had an opportunity to put the \u201cspark joy\u201d principle into action. I went to a Poughkeepsie, NY post office with three boxes of inscribed copies of my books. In the past, I had always been able to get the Media Mail rate (less than \u00bd of the Priority Mail rate) without an issue, because the boxes contained only books. The boxes I attempted to ship on Friday also contained only books, and<\/i> they were addressed to libraries. For these reasons, I thought my boxes would beyond reproach.<\/p>\n

However, despite having used Media Mail for dozens of shipments in the past, this time I was informed that my boxes had been flagged for possible inspection. Why? Because, the clerk said, people often tried to send non-media items with the Media Mail rate. I pointed out to her that these boxes were addressed to libraries<\/i>; what else could I possibly be shipping to libraries other than<\/i> books or media? When this didn\u2019t convince her, I told her to open the box and inspect it right there in front of me. She told me she couldn\u2019t, that only \u201csomeone higher up\u201d was allowed to inspect the boxes.<\/p>\n

\"\"So I left with my packages, because I wasn\u2019t willing to have some faceless entity maybe<\/i> open my boxes at some undetermined date and maybe<\/i> approve them. I left, but not before giving them a long-overdue, festering rant about how it\u2019s precisely this kind of nonsense that is inexorably putting the USPS out of business. I stated (emphatically, but without shouting) that I have been a regular USPS customer for over 20 years, spending hundreds or thousands of dollars a year, but no more; from now on, I won\u2019t be buying so much as a stamp<\/i> from them. I will never again pay the USPS for anything<\/i>. I added that the USPS losing loyal customers like me is their death knell. For a long time they\u2019ve operated under the delusion that they\u2019re the only game in town, but they\u2019re not; \u201cThere\u2019s this new thing out,\u201d I said, glaring at the postal workers. \u201cIt\u2019s called the Internet.\u201d Finally, as I held the door open, letting the frigid February air gust in, I said to the two employees behind the counter, \u201cI hope you\u2019re saving for retirement, because I give the USPS five more years. In five years, you\u2019ll either be out of business entirely, or the USPS will be a fraction of the business it once was.\u201d<\/p>\n

And by the glimmer of fearful recognition that shone in the postal workers\u2019 eyes when they heard my prediction, I know I\u2019m right.<\/p>\n

\"\"
E.B. White, writing in his barn office overlooking the Maine coast.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

(By the way, if you think my prediction of the USPS going out of business within five years is ridiculous, then you don\u2019t know your history. My model for this prediction is the history of the railroad in the US. After WWII, all rail service\u2014passenger and freight\u2014declined precipitously because of the rise of faster, more convenient alternatives: personal automobiles, the US Interstate system, and long-haul trucking. Well, the USPS is like the railroad of yesteryear, and other shipping companies and the Internet are like those faster, more convenient alternatives. Writing in his 1960 essay<\/a> \u201cThe Railroad,\u201d E.B. White unequivocally describes the precipitous decline of the railroad after the war and presages its eventual near-extinction. And with the speed of information and change today, I contend that the decline of the USPS is going to be even more rapid; five years is surely too long; it will probably be utterly gone within three years.)<\/p>\n

So we now come to the main idea of this blog entry\u2014choosing things that \u201cspark joy\u201d over ones that make me want to brandish an axe. When I left the U.S. Postal \u201cService\u201d that morning, I took my packages to United Parcel Service (UPS). Yes, I paid about twice what USPS would have charged me with their Media Mail rate, but the excellent, serene experience I had with UPS made the extra cost worthwhile.<\/p>\n

Instead of being grilled about the contents of my boxes or informed that my boxes might<\/i> be inspected by some nameless, faceless entity; instead of getting backtalk from surly, passive-aggressive employees, I got the following from the UPS clerk: \u201cYes, sir. No, sir. Absolutely, sir. Here is your tracking number, sir. Thank you for your business, sir. Have a great day, sir!\u201d Seriously, the young man must have called me \u201csir\u201d about eight times in two minutes. It was a pleasant<\/i> experience\u2014the kind of experience I hadn\u2019t had with the USPS in a very long time, if ever.<\/p>\n

Applying Marie Kondo\u2019s \u201cspark joy\u201d principle to this situation, it\u2019s as if USPS was like an old sweater in my closet, a sweater which, per her ritual, I took out, laid on my bed, and asked myself, \u201cShould I keep this in my life? Does it spark joy<\/i> for me?\u201d The answer was, \u201cHell\u00a0<\/i>no.\u201d The sweater was old and torn, had inexplicable stains on it, and didn\u2019t fit me anymore. In retrospect I see why I\u2019d kept the sweater around: because I\u2019d purchased it a long time ago\u2014back when it was shiny and new and it did<\/i> fit me. I had come to associate that old sweater with some ancient positive experiences I\u2019d had wearing it, forgetting that since then all of my experiences with it had been the sartorial equivalent of tarring and feathering<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In contrast, when I took out my UPS sweater, I had a great experience. UPS truly \u201csparked joy\u201d for me, so I\u2019m keeping that<\/i> sweater and tossing the U.S. Postal \u201cService\u201d one.<\/p>\n

As I thought about this in the days following, I realized that I\u2019ve been \u201cKonMari-<\/i>ing\u201d my life for 20 years without being consciously aware of it. Since 2002, when I quit my day job with Merrill Lynch, I have applied\u2014often without conscious thought\u2014these ideas of eliminating clutter and distractions in my work life. There is a long<\/i> list of things I don\u2019t do, people I don\u2019t spend time with, activities I no longer engage in, and \u201cobligations\u201d I no longer honor.<\/p>\n

For example, over the past two years I\u2019ve dramatically decreased my involvement with social media, to the point that I now only go on the internet<\/i> once a week, and that only to check my email. I glance at my Facebook account even less\u2014maybe every three weeks\u2014just to make sure people haven\u2019t died or tried to contact me with important opportunities.<\/p>\n

Guess what? Invariably, they haven\u2019t done either.<\/p>\n

A part of me would love to pull out of social media and the online world altogether, but having totaled up the amount of time I\u2019ve \u201cinvested\u201d in my online presence, I know that over the course of a decade I put a work<\/i>–year<\/i> into that crap. To simply delete all of my accounts would effectively be throwing away a year of my life. I\u2019m better off just leaving the pages and links and SEO junk out there like Old West storefront shingles, weather-beaten and creaking in the dusty wind. At least then I might eventually gain some positive return on my time investment.<\/p>\n

Returning to the KonMari<\/i> idea\u2014keeping only the things that spark joy for me and dumping the stuff that makes me crazy\u2014I am now applying KonMari<\/i> to everything in my life. Immediately after last Friday\u2019s imbroglio with the USPS, I started creating lists of people, places, things, restaurants, stores, etc. that give me joy, and lists of those that make me crazy.<\/p>\n

\"\"The bottom line is, I\u2019m getting rid of the stuff that makes me crazy, and keeping (and doing more with) those things that give me joy. Here\u2019s another example: three months ago I recognized that alcohol no longer brought me joy (if it ever did). While in a drunken stupor, I punched something or somebody (no idea; I blacked out), and I broke my hand (the 5th<\/sup> metacarpal neck; see picture of X-ray). When I woke up the next morning, I knew the alcohol was making me crazy and had to go.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve quit drinking for very long periods in the past (as long as 8 years), but there are two differences this time. One, I\u2019m now in Alcoholics Anonymous\u2014going to meetings and \u201cworking the program.\u201d Two, I\u2019m applying what I\u2019ve learned about KonMari<\/i> to the problem. Alcohol equals no joy<\/i> for me; therefore, alcohol is officially out of my life forever.<\/p>\n

This week, I turn 49 years old. Even though health- and fitness-wise I routinely pass for a guy ten years younger, the fact is, chronologically I\u2019m almost 50, which means that I have endured the existential, psychic weight of nearly half a century.<\/p>\n

I am now officially \u201ctoo old for this crap.\u201d<\/p>\n

While talking on the phone with a high school friend the other day, apropos of nothing he said, \u201cWe are running out of time<\/i>.\u201d Another friend, over a year ago, told me how when he turned 50, he made the decision not to spend time with people who don\u2019t make him feel good.<\/p>\n

Both of these ideas have been ringing in my head since my friends uttered them\u2014especially the point about time:<\/p>\n

I am running out of time<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Time to become the best writer I\u2019m capable of becoming. Time to enjoy my life and those people most important to me.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Orcutt, July 2018. On his T-shirt is his creed as a writer: “It is your object to convey everything to the reader so that he remembers it not as a story he had read but as something that happened to himself.” – Ernest Hemingway<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In terms of my writing, I think if I continue to keep myself in great physical shape, I should be able to produce excellent work for another 20\u201325 years. With this endpoint in mind, however, it\u2019s imperative that I continue to KonMari<\/i> my life.<\/p>\n

If I only have another 20 years to become the best writer I can become, I\u2019ll be damned if I\u2019m going to willingly give a second<\/i> of it to anything or anybody who doesn\u2019t give me joy in return.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s taken me decades of focus and saying \u201cno\u201d to lots of things, but I\u2019ve managed to hone my life to a razor\u2019s edge. I\u2019ve raised to an art form the elimination of distractions and things that will prevent me from becoming the best writer I can become. Because I draw great inspiration\u2014dare I say joy<\/i>?\u2014from a disciplined, routine, Sisyphean life that would make most other people want to put their head in an unlit gas oven and breathe deeply, I will continue to do whatever I must to protect that life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Inspired by my organizing genius wife, I recently watched the program Tidying Up with Japanese organization guru Marie Kondo. In the program and in her books (The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and Spark Joy), Kondo explains the necessity of keeping in our lives only those objects that \u201cspark joy\u201d for us. If an object … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7799,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,29,7,209,10,233],"tags":[94,506,517,514,504,513,96,155,516,518,505,515,508,507,510,512,509,511,302,221,355],"class_list":["post-8336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chris-orcutt-books","category-film-tv","category-personal","category-social-media-technologyandinternet","category-technologyandinternet","category-writing-life","tag-chris-orcutt","tag-email","tag-komono","tag-konmari","tag-mail","tag-marie-kondo","tag-novelist","tag-orcutt","tag-organization","tag-organization-for-writers","tag-snail-mail","tag-spark-joy","tag-united-parcel-service","tag-united-states-postal-service","tag-ups","tag-us-mail-sucks","tag-usps","tag-usps-sucks","tag-writer","tag-writers-life","tag-writing-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8336"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8336\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8349,"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8336\/revisions\/8349"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7799"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}