Chopping wood: 1800 vs 2023

Let’s go into the world of a woodchopper in 1800.

He goes to the forest nearby. He knows the area that he has been clearing the past few weeks. He chops wood for fuel and for some housebuilding in his settlement. All he has is an axe for chopping wood. And he gets started. He’s just chopping wood for hours with no distractions. And then he decides to take a break. He goes to a stream nearby to quench his thirst. He eats the food that he got packed in leaves and also looks around for some berries in the wild. He rest for a few more minutes and gets back to chopping. Nothing other than chopping wood. He’s also aware of his surroundings, his peripheral vision and his ears alert and scanning all the time. He continues to chop.

Thanks to the chopping he has done for 1000s of hours, he understands the trees around in and out. He knows each one’s age just looking at the texture of the wood. He knows the ones that the birds are dwelling in, the ones whose bark can be used for creating a dye by leaving it in water for some time, and the ones that leave a sticky residue that can be dried and used for some household needs. He knows the angle to chop at, and the number of chops he’d need to fell each type of tree of a given girth.

He’s been chopping for 4 hours now after the lunch and the Sun has started to set. He decides to take home the smaller twigs for firewood. He keeps all the bigger logs to the side to be transported later with the help of his oxen cart. He gets home, satisfied after a day’s labour.

Let’s now imagine a hypothetical woodchopper today in 2023. Using the same tools. Who goes to the same forest to chop wood. He starts at it. In a couple of minutes - his smartphone dings. His friend Mark has shared a story on Instagram, about going on a trip to an exciting place. He wonders where that is, and who’s going with him. Is he on a date? How does he find time for all this? His mind is wandering.

And then he goes to check the various WhatsApp groups - who’s around, going where, sharing what. A few minutes of browsing on YouTube gives him the daily dose of funny videos. He also checks out the much awaited trailer of the Star Wars movie for the 8th time, looking for new comments to read.

It’s already lunch time. He gets to eating his packed lunch. Doesn’t forget to add a pic of his meal on Instagram, one with the backdrop of the stream nearby and an axe carefully placed in the frame. Caption: “A break after 3 hours of chopping wood #woodchopperlife #forestgram”.

He gets back to work, but is constantly checking his phone to see if anyone has commented or liked his post. He spends another couple of hours on phone doing various things, while chopping wood intermittently. And it’s time to call it a day. There’s not a lot to clean up, but he does whatever he could and decides to pick up from where he’s left tomorrow. He’s glad he is heading home but somehow feels a bit hollow.

We are the woodchoppers of 2023 :).

We live in a world with dopamine traps all around that leave our mind on an overdrive. And that could deprive us from being able to engage in deep work. Can we do something about it? Yes, but it starts with the awareness. 😊 🌻