Neal Stephenson Politely Tells Solicitors to F*ck Off
"If I organize my life in such a way that I get lots of long, consecutive, uninterrupted time-chunks, I can write novels."
All of my time and attention are spoken for—several times over. Please do not ask for them.
—Neal Stephenson
How do you protect your time?
We often believe we can easily find time for the things we want to do, only to be surprised each week by how much time seems to slip away. Replying to texts and emails, scrolling through our phones, and catching up with friends all add up.
Many of us, myself included, are unaware of just how much time we waste each day.
That’s why I felt a twinge of jealousy when I learned about science fiction writer Neal Stephenson’s approach to protecting his time.
I came across the following in Deep Work by Cal Newport.
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When you check out Neal Stephenson’s author website, you’ll find that he does not provide an email or mailing address.
This absence can be better understood through a couple of essays he shared on his earlier website, hosted on The Well, in the early 2000s, which are now archived by the Internet Archive.
In one of these essays from 2003, he outlines his communication policy:
“Persons who wish to interfere with my concentration are politely requested not to do so, and warned that I don’t answer e-mail... lest [my communication policy’s] key message get lost in the verbiage, I will put it here succinctly: All of my time and attention are spoken for—several times over. Please do not ask for them.”
To elaborate on this policy, Stephenson authored another piece called “Why I Am a Bad Correspondent.” He explains that his limited accessibility stems from a critical choice he made:
“The productivity equation is a non-linear one”
“This accounts for why I am a bad correspondent and why I very rarely accept speaking engagements. If I organize my life in such a way that I get lots of long, consecutive, uninterrupted time-chunks, I can write novels. But as those chunks get separated and fragmented, my productivity as a novelist drops spectacularly.”
Stephenson believes he faces two conflicting choices:
(1) he can either produce high-quality novels consistently or…
(2) respond to numerous emails and participate in conferences,
The latter would likely lead to lower-quality novels and a slower writing pace. He opted for the first choice, which necessitates minimizing shallow tasks in his professional life.
This topic is so significant to him that he explores its various implications in his 2008 science fiction novel, Anathem, which depicts a society where an intellectual elite lives in isolation from distractions and technology, focusing on profound thoughts.
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