Ahmed Saoud

“Productivity is a trap. Becoming more efficient just makes you more rushed, and trying to clear the decks simply makes them fill up again faster. Nobody in the history of humanity has ever achieved “work-life balance,” whatever that might be, and you certainly won’t get there by copying the “six things successful people do before 7:00 a.m.” The day will never arrive when you finally have everything under control—when the flood of emails has been contained; when your to-do lists have stopped getting longer; when you’re meeting all your obligations at work and in your home life; when nobody’s angry with you for missing a deadline or dropping the ball; and when the fully optimized person you’ve become can turn, at long last, to the things life is really supposed to be about. Let’s start by admitting defeat: none of this is ever going to happen. But you know what? That’s excellent news.”
― Oliver Burkeman, Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals

“My pencil and I are more clever than I.”
― David Deutsch, The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World

“Essentialists see trade-offs as an inherent part of life”
― Greg McKeown, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

“و اكتشفت أن الناس يختلف أحدهم عن الآخر، لأن كلًا منهم يريد أن يكون الآخر على مثاله، فإذا ما أصبح على مثاله في النهاية، فإنه يبحث لنفسه عن مثال آخر ليخلق مسافة جديدة تصلح للخلاف من جديد.

لمَ لا يتعلم الناس التوازن رغم وجود الخلاف و التناقض، كما هو الحال في الطبيعة و الأروكسترا خاصة. إنك لا مفر واجد كلًا منهم يريد صمتًا مطبقًا من حوله، ليتغنى وحده بأفكار لم تتحدد معالمها بعد في خياله، و معتقدات لم تستقر تمامًا في قلبه، و انفعالات غير مسئول عنها.”
― أمين ريان, حافة الليل