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Clean a Clean Toilet

True story.

I was having sushi with an acquaintance in San Francisco.

Very cool guy - Google engineer, very cultured, very smart on lots of topics.

One thing came up that was fascinating to me - he did an almost-silent Zen retreat for quite a while, like a month or two. I don't remember the exact details, but I think they only spoke for 10 minutes per day, or if the Zen master spoke to them? Something like that.

Anyways, he told me that it was all surprisingly mundane at first. No huge breakthroughs, just sitting meditating, and doing lots of chores. The first thing they did every morning was to clean the temple, including the bathrooms.

Thinking of doing a productivity run? Questions and Answers

Got a lot of great feedback and comments on this. Let's address them all.

Should we destroy our health in the process? (No.)

After 90 days, you’ll probably be broken. You’ll *have* to rest. -- Paulo

I disagree with this. Rest is a important part of being productive. -- Eduardo

I agree with Eduardo, I'm going to try something a little different -- keeping my health up as a core focus of this campaign, with good sleep, good exercise, good nutrition, good mental health and habits, and adequate relaxation. Burnout is so counterproductive, that I think avoiding it is crucial. There won't be any deathmarching here... if I feel my health start to go, I'll reevaluate, even cut other metrics to keep the health up. It's that important.

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