Does clarity come from knowing or discovery?
Wow, turns out I have even more to say about clarity.
I had another post planned for this week, but when I came across this concept on ’s Substack, I just had to talk to you about it! Anna credits David Perell for this framework. I couldn’t write this without both of these people putting their ideas out into the world, so thank you Anna and David!
The concept I want to talk to you about is this:
“There are two ways to think about building anything in life … you can take the planned, methodical approach of an Architect or the unplanned, exploratory approach of an Archaeologist.” –
Readers who have been here for a long time know how much I CRAVE an Architect’s life – where I always know exactly what I should be working on in a perfectly crafted methodical way.
In last week’s newsletter, I didn’t realise it, but what I was talking about was learning to think like an Archaeologist:
Do you know or do you discover your focus?
Architects know. Architects have their vision, and they put steps in place to execute on that vision. They are the people who go into a career after school, work their way up to the highest echelons of that industry, and retire having achieved exactly what they set out to do. Architects are rare.
Archaeologists, on the other hand, make learned guesses – “I think if I start digging around here, it’s likely I’ll find something interesting”.
Where does this fit into the Extraordinary Life framework of Clarity, Focus and Action? Those concepts above may look like:
Architect: clarity > focus > action
Archaeologist: action > clarity > focus
To me, this concept is about how you find clarity – in knowing or discovering.
Personality types or operating modes?
For Project People like us, I think of these are operating modes, not personality types.
To my mind, you are not either an Architect or an Archaeologist – you can be both in the course of your life, depending what you need most.
Most Project People need to at least make a start as an Archaeologist if they feel stuck or overwhelmed. Through that process of exploration, it’s likely you will find (excavate!) your next thing, in which case you might switch gears into Architect mode.
But the ever-evolving nature of a multifaceted career – especially a Relay or a Pie Chart career – requires an ongoing Archaeologist’s perspective.
So my question to you is this: are you pushing yourself to be an Architect when you need to spend some time excavating, exploring and discovering instead?
This Week’s Life Curriculum
Bring in your extraordinary life, inch by inch, day by day.
DO | commit to a screenless hobby! This week, after years of talking about it, I joined Geneva Vanderzeil’s DIY School, and signed up for her embroidery course. This week I’ve spent several nights working on my sampler (ie. a test where you practice different stitches). It’s mind-blowing how long it takes me to do what seems very basic, but I am loving it and no fabric in the house is now safe. Whether it’s a board game or floristry or drawing – I think we all know that it would be good to spend less time looking at a screen.
MAKE | Nigel Slater’s pork-stuffed peppers with a salad of potatoes, dill and mustard on the side. The perfect quiet weekend summery dinner, when it’s still light outside but the air has cooled off.
WATCH | this lovely hour-long documentary on the development of Oscar de la Renta’s Pre-Fall 2024 collection. While I don’t feel like I really “get” fashion, I do appreciate craftsmanship, which this offers up in spades. Take a look inside the textile mills of Italy, and the embroidery houses of India… if you’re looking at a screen, let it at least be full of beauty!
I'm so happy this concept landed with you so much that you delayed your post for this week to replace it with the Architect vs. Archaeologist framework hehe! Thank you for sharing ❤️