Outside of the Box

One of the things I do at work is keep a detailed journal of my daily activities.  It serves a couple of purposes.  First, it lets me track what I am doing through the day so I don’t lose track of things in the high pressure and fast moving environment. Second, it gives me a level of institutional memory that I can refer to when something tickles my consciousness. Finally, on stressful days, when I am feeling overwhelmed, it gives me visible evidence that I am actually accomplishing things – opening new items, investigating ongoing items, closing old items. It is a very detailed working journal, basically a very long list of single line items that capture the critical “who, what, when” data elements. It also serves as an effective tool for analyzing “what I do” each day – not what I think I do, but what I actually do. It is that element that brings me to the box.

Getting “outside of the box” is actually a very difficult thing.  Most people who imagine they are outside of the box really aren’t, at least not to any significant level. At best most folks manage to stick a toe out of the box or peek over the edge of the box every now and then, usually just before scampering back inside their own particular box. This applies even more to people who “think” they are individuals.  The “rules” of modern individualism as far stricter than the rules of simply being a normal person (and falling in the normal range of behaviors). The farther out to the edges of normal behavior you move the more restrictive the rules are – not less restrictive, more restrictive.

So, looking back at my work journal – it’s nice to be normal.  It’s nice to be in the middle of the range.  It’s nice to be in the box.  Even though I dream about going outside the box, I know that the amount of energy and effort required to get out of the box is very high – and I want to expend that energy carefully. On those times when I leave the box, I like to leave the box…with enjoyment.