Interview: The importance of nuance, comedy, and blinking.

I sat down with Thank You For Not Wasting My Time writer, Heather Maidat, and asked her a question. Q: Does "not wasting time" mean getting things done faster? A: Great question. Not at all. Thank You For Not Wasting My Time means valuing how you spend your time. Not only in your schedule but in your mind and emotions. Moving forward and treating people, including yourself, with respect. It's actually important to slow down and spend time on the things you want to or need to spend it on.

Q: So, what do you consider a waste of time?

A: Getting caught up in drama instead of stating your preferences. Pushing through life instead of enjoying any nuance.

Q: Can you give us an example of nuance?

A: When you're talking with someone and can hear a smile in their voice, that's nuance. When you text with someone, there's no nuance. Nuance is essential to relationships. Any kind. They're the things we pick up on from each other that humanize us. In my opinion, nuance is about kindness, subtlety, and spontaneity.

Q: How can we experience more nuance in our lives?

A: We experience the world through our senses, right? So if you're staring at a screen surfing or playing video games most of the time, you're using your sense of sight, sure, but one dimensionally. And I suppose you're using your sense of... thumbs? But there's a limited ability to pick up shades of meaning when that's all adrenalin and a lack of blinking. Meanwhile, noticing the detail in the architecture of a building, walking by the smell of a coffee shop, the feel of different textures, talking to someone, it's bringing more romance into your life. I'm not implying if you're busy you have to slow down, I'm saying that even if you spend your busy time connecting with people and life around you, nuance can feed your sense of time.

Q: You said it's about subtlety. Can you tell us more about that?

A: Yes! Subtlety, to me, is about connecting on a deeper level. That's why I love good comedy because it's an unspoken understanding that we recognize the same subtle things. With comedy, you usually have to connect on two things at the same time. What you know, and what you noticed - that they also noticed. Comedy awakens this great thing in us that we're connected in ways we didn't even realize. You can't laugh and feel alone at the same time.

Q: (Laughing)

A: (Laughing)

Q: (Laughing)

A: (Laughing)