The Column
Motto: Today was a two-fer
I was thinking recently about some of my favorite things I’ve ever created. This list includes (but is not exhausted by) the checklist of things a good person does every week, the old video scavenger hunts I put on with my friends in high school, the time log that I used to track every half hour of 6 straight weeks, and, most recently, the second-a-day video that has been a time capsule of my life for the past 7 months.
These were all fantastical projects that took many, many weeks of preparation and execution. They took lots of energy and focus. The yielded some of the best results and the most fun experiences I’ve ever had in my life. They are all things I would suggest for anyone to do at some point in their life. There is also something else all of these projects and ideas have in common - they were all directly and blatantly stolen.
Well, adapted, maybe.
The list of things a good person does in a week - adapted from an idea by Demetri Martin (who probably adapted it from Benjamin Franklin. The video scavenger hunt - adapted from an episode of Viva La Bam (I’m embarrassed to admit I watched that). The time log - adapted from an assignment that was given to Melissa in college. The second-a-day video - adapted from the video “This is what Madeline did”.
You could look at this as a bad thing - “Aaron, why don’t you come up with an original idea every once in a while?“. I would argue, though, that I have the capability to recognize good ideas and the courage to implement them in my own life.
I used to carry around a quotepad (play on “notepad”). That was a stolen idea from someone at some point in time. Forgot who. Now I just write down quotes on my phone.
If you see something someone is doing and you like it, maybe you should give it a shot.
Here’s a picture, unrelated to the rest of this column:
Top 5: Results from things I’ve adapted
- I have been doing the Demetri List for 15 weeks. I average 98.25/175 tasks. There are way more results, but that’s probably the big one.
- The Scavenger Hunt Highlight Film - the best moments from all three years
- The Time Log - I spent twice as much time doing the things I want to do and half as much doing the things I should be doing. Also, I spend about the right amount of time sleeping, but its distribution and consistency was horrible.
- The first half of my 24th year (it has kept going, but I refuse to show a video that’s over half done)
- I’m awesome.
Quote:
“Tell me how to get that laid back… OR I’LL KILL YOUR FAMILIES” Community Season 2, Episode 7 - one of the best ones I’ve seen