A Pile, To Be Sorted

Compartmentalization in service of clarity.
Dedicated to my Dad and, by extension, his advice.

When I get overwhelmed (which is often), I typically call my dad. He’s always got some relatable story from his life I’ve never heard before, OR he hits me with the same piece of advice he’s been giving me for as long as I can remember:

“Of course it’s hard to stay calm when you look at the pile in front of you. Every responsibility, want and obligation, is not something we’re meant to face all at once. Break it up, take on one task from the pile, and focus on that.”

This has been such a stable pattern that I often don’t need to hear him say it. I’ll finish describing what’s going on and stop him before he can even start, so he doesn’t have to waste his breath on something I should know by now, it’s already helping just to remember it.

The best thing I can do for myself is to pick something out of the pile and handle it in isolation. I find that often each task will grow the pile exponentially. It’s easy to handle my health and fitness when that’s all I have to think about. But then I have to think about finances, maintaining friendships, taking care of my plants, dating, and finding time for a hobby. Each one of those things has its own nuances and complications. With all that in mind, going to the gym sounds overwhelming.

But— Going to the gym is easy. Pick one thing, focus, get it done, and watch the pile shrink. Repeat.

I’ve opted to create a design which illustrates this overwhelm and demonstrates how quickly those individual tasks lose form in the pile.

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Created by Chris McCully in October 2023 using p5.js, chroma.js, and GLSL