Dandori & Sourdough

I have started to notice that I've been living in accordance with a false sense of efficiency. Whenever I would do anything, I'd have to justify it by multitasking. If I were going to play a game, I would also listen to a book. If I were going to listen to a book, I would also catch up on work. The other day, I caught myself watching a show, while also playing a game, and scrolling on my phone. Maybe if I tried hard enough, I could fit a fourth screen somewhere! I'm positive most of you can relate to this scenario; even Netflix has realized people can't put their phones down. Which is why they stopped putting effort into some shows, since they know they won't have their audience's full attention.

Three years ago, I learned about the Japanese term "Dandori" from the Nintendo game Pikmin 4¹. Dandori is the term referring to the strategic planning, organization, and efficient execution of tasks. I'm now realizing that practicing Dandori isn't about maximizing the number of things you are doing at any moment, but rather the intention behind each task. I've slowed my life down for a few months and tried to give myself the space to be more intentional. This has led me to feel a lot more satisfied in general. Instead of giving 50% of my brain to a game and 50% of it to an audiobook. I'm giving 100% to both separately. Indeed, this isn't the most time-efficient way of consuming, but it's definitely the more rewarding way. Imagine you are going on a road trip, maybe taking the freeway is the fastest and most efficient way to travel, but taking the slower scenic route will cement the trip in your mind forever.

The purpose of this article is not to discourage the idea of multitasking. Obviously, that would be ridiculous. I am, however, trying to advocate for you to be more present and intentional in the way you live your life. Minimizing multitasking was simply a medium that I found helped me achieve this. Another way I have been more present in my life is that I have (as pretentious as it sounds), stopped scrolling on my phone. I tried setting time limits on apps, but they are too easy to ignore. I saw an ad for a product called "Brick," which is nothing more than an NFC chip² that you have to physically scan on your phone to unlock apps. I thought this would help me, but I know better than to spend $60 on an NFC chip surrounded by a 3D-printed case, so I found another app, "Foqos," that would let me program my own NFC chip to achieve the same effect. I made it so I have to scan a Toad Amiibo³ to unlock my phone. If you also have a problem scrolling on your phone, I encourage you to also try this method. (You can find NFC chips on Amazon for under $5).

At our latest book club meeting (we read The Bell Jar⁴, it was okay), my friend gave me some of her sourdough starter. I've been wanting to make sourdough for such a long time, so I was thrilled. I have made 3 loaves so far, and I am now realizing how, in order to make sourdough, you must plan your entire week around it. Trying to figure out when and how much to feed the starter and how long to let the dough ferment requires a lot of strategy. But it is exactly what I needed to help scratch that Dandori itch. It is funny, but something as simple as bread has helped me reintroduce the art of Dandori back into my life, but this time in a more intentional manner. Sometimes the small changes in your life help reshape it entirely.

Footnotes

1. Pikmin 4 is the 4th mainline entry in the Nintendo Series "Pikmin" released on July 21st, 2023. The Pikmin series is a real-time strategy series where you gather small plant-like creatures called Pikmin to help you collect resources, fight monsters, and solve puzzles. I bought a blue Pikmin plush when I visited the Nintendo New York store a few years back. It sits on my desk.

2. An NFC (Near Field Communication) chip is a tiny computer chip that enables two devices to communicate wirelessly when they are placed very close together. NFC chips are how everyday tasks like tap to pay or hotel key cards work.

3. An Amiibo is an interactive, collectible figurine or card created by Nintendo. They use NFC technology to let players scan the figurines to get special features in games. Toad is a character from the Mario universe.

4. The Bell Jar is Sylvia Plath's semi-autobiographical novel, published in 1963, detailing a young woman's descent into mental illness amidst the societal pressures of 1950s America. We read this for our third book club meeting. View my Goodreads account if you'd like to read my review of it.