Flux as a constant

A reminder to all of us: We are the flux generation. The only thing constant in our lives, in this timeline of post Moore’s Law of exponential growth of computing, is change. We have more computing power than we know what to with it. And things are changing fast.

Whatever we learned five years ago about the tools we use, that’s all outdated. Whatever we exited our universities knowing, that’s all ancient history. The generation before us had to transition from pen and paper to computers, but the computers were still used as a straight stick, a piece and charcoal, and perhaps a slide rule. What a fucking waste.

We however are aware that every tool we use is temporary, the app we invest in learning today will be replaced tomorrow. The codes we use will be replaced by new code once its half-life has been reached. And the skillset we have today will have to be updated, replaced, refreshed constantly. 

And we are conditioned to this, it is not a negative, it is just the normal of our lives. We went from dos to win 3.11, all the way to macOS or whatever else our branch lead us to, we branch out, we switch branches, we are toolset fluid, and that is the biggest strength of our generation’s professional development. 

This is not news, McKinsey writes about reskilling and the next normal every day these days it seems, Kaizen, flux, reskilling, upskilling, as CEO of McKinsey Norway said:

- ‘Imagine learning a set of skills at 22, and expect that to last for the rest of your professional life?’

Accepting that we are in flux is the first step towards being forever employable, or more important being forever prosperous, and enterprising. Both personally, professionally, be it in employment or on your own two feet. 

The next is the mindful acquisition of relevant skills and tech, which is my reminder to myself, always be learning. Never waste a year without learning something new. However being mindful of what you’re acquiring is equally important, as the branches are more like a dense forest than a clear path, don’t get distracted, be mindful of what you learn.

The last reminder is to reject the hustle culture, never fall into the trap of believing everything you do is to become good at something, to sell it, maintain balance in all that you do. I like this quote by E.F. Schumacher:

- ‘Work and leisure are complementary parts of the same living process and cannot be separated without destroying the joy of work and the bliss of leisure.’

One of my new skillset goals for 2021 was to maintain content production here, I was thinking that a biweekly update, big or small, would be an achievable goal that wouldn’t break my back. Right now it’s mid-March, so roughly a quarter into the year, and I’m 0 for 24 currently. However, that’s due to change. With Spacemaker getting purchased by Autodesk, there have been new contracts to sign, a new round of approval of content production here, new levels of engagement. Again: Just some more flux.

So let’s boot up again, 1 for 24, here’s to 23 more this year!

Cover photo by Adomas Aleno on Unsplash