This is from the book "Ready for Anything - 52 Productivity Principles for Work and Life" by David Allen.
David's answer to the question "What is the one thing we do that gets in the way of being productive ?" is as follows:
It's not one thing but five things all wrapped together:
1. People keep stuff in their head.
2. They don't decide what they need to do about stuff they know they need to do something about.
3. They don't organize action reminders and support materials in functional categories.
4. They don't maintain and review a complete and objective inventory of their commitments.
5. Then they waste energy and burn out, allowing their busyness to be driven by what's latest and loudest,hoping it's the right thing to do but never feeling the relief that it is.
And the solution:
1.Get everything out of your head.
2.Make decisions about actions required on stuff when it shows - not when it blows up.
3.Organize reminders of your projects and the next actions on them in appropriate categories.
4.Keep your system current,complete and reviewed sufficiently to trust your intuitive choices about what you are doing.
Makes sense ... just like the quote below:
For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way. Something to be got through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life. - Father Alfred D'Souza
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
EQ ~ eMotional iNtelligence
The other day, I was going through some material on "Emotional Intelligence" and I came across some pretty interesting stuff.
It talks about a scientific experiment called "The Marshmellow test" that was done on 4-year old kids.
A marshmellow was placed in front of them and they were told that if they can wait for 15 minutes and not take this marshmellow, they will get two instead of one. So what did the kids do ? Well, some simply couldn't resist the temptation and took the marshmellow. Some kids, however managed to wait the full 15 minutes. These kids would close their eyes, sing a song or do something or the other to keep their mind of that marshmellow in front of them. And at the end of 15 minutes they were awarded with the promised two marshmellows. And the story does not end here. One would assume "So what? They are little kids and when they become bigger they will do better..." To really find out, these kids were observed for say, the next twenty years and their progress in life tracked.And to everyone's surprise it was noticed that the adults who resisted the marshmellow when they were small kids fared much better in their lives than those that couldn't resist the temptation.
And for the very same reason. The former were able to resist temptation and handle certain situations better in their adult life.This really surprised me. I never thought that such traits should be learned from such a young age and that if you don't change your kid's attitude or behaviour towards certain situations, it will never change... something to keep in mind.
It talks about a scientific experiment called "The Marshmellow test" that was done on 4-year old kids.
A marshmellow was placed in front of them and they were told that if they can wait for 15 minutes and not take this marshmellow, they will get two instead of one. So what did the kids do ? Well, some simply couldn't resist the temptation and took the marshmellow. Some kids, however managed to wait the full 15 minutes. These kids would close their eyes, sing a song or do something or the other to keep their mind of that marshmellow in front of them. And at the end of 15 minutes they were awarded with the promised two marshmellows. And the story does not end here. One would assume "So what? They are little kids and when they become bigger they will do better..." To really find out, these kids were observed for say, the next twenty years and their progress in life tracked.And to everyone's surprise it was noticed that the adults who resisted the marshmellow when they were small kids fared much better in their lives than those that couldn't resist the temptation.
And for the very same reason. The former were able to resist temptation and handle certain situations better in their adult life.This really surprised me. I never thought that such traits should be learned from such a young age and that if you don't change your kid's attitude or behaviour towards certain situations, it will never change... something to keep in mind.
Friday, July 24, 2009
26 Weeks and Going Strong !!!
One month has passed. "Little one" is doing good inside my tummy.
Most of the time, it will be quiet and still. Then at other times, it keeps
keeps moving around or "swimming"[ ;) ]. I am in the 26th week, and I have read
that now with the help of scientific advances, it is possible for a premature baby to survive at week 26.
I am happy I have reached this far and I hope and pray to complete the full cycle. The past 6 months have been turbulent, even if there was no work pressure. I have felt down and upset for most of the time, and Roy could not help me either.
I've been feeling very alone and isolated.I feel so much dependent on everyone and it is not nice. I cannot visit my friends on weekends or just go shopping whenever and whereever I like. Earlier I could take an auto or a bus, but nowadays I avoid this means of transport. The only solace I had were my parents who have come down to Bangalore, and Shobs.
Mama and Papa are very thrilled now. It must be a great feeling to become grand parents !!! They are back in Kerala but will be back next week. So whenever we talk, they enquire about "Little one". Hey,"Little One" has woken up as I'm writing this. It's moving around. Sometimes I tap on my tummy to communicate with "Little One" and "Little One" sometimes responds. But now it doesn't.
It's been a bit awkward to move with this ever-growing tummy, coz wherever I go, people always stare at my tummy first. Some, as if they are trying to see through my body and catch the first glance of "Little One" ,and others, just to see how big my tummy has become. Now it's ok though, as I got used to it. I've also got positive responses from people or rather strangers I should say.
Some will smile at me, others will help in some way or the other. On one of the few occasions I took a bus, a girl offered me her seat.I've been showered with a lot of goodwill by some people - some total strangers, and then too some people didn't bother to observe the fact that I am carrying a baby ...
Husbands too, will react differently. Some will be doting and extremely caring and anxious about each and everything that happens to their wifey. Like this one guy who accompanied his wife for the Lamaze class (exercise class for pregnant ladies) in Hospital. He would ask many questions and another guy would take snaps of his wife exhausting herself, maybe to keep those snaps as sweet memoirs to show their kids in future :).
Then, some other husbands will be lukewarm ... happy to be a "going-to-be" dad but that's it more or less. Roy belongs to this group. Can't blame him, coz men are usually not very sentimental. And how could they be possibly? The only thing they can see during our pregnancy is a growing tummy. Anyways I can consider myself lucky,as Roy has been able to come with me for all consultations and scans so far. He used to be very thrilled to see "Little one" growing bigger and bigger during each scan - from the size of a blob to someting more look-alike to a baby. And I have seen Roy being very affectionate with small kids and babies. In fact,I have seen many fathers proudly carrying their babies ... and mothers can carry the diper and bottle bag. I remember one "new" father carrying his baby out of the maternity ward, and not even letting his wife take the baby. ... I still wonder why that guy couldn't carry the baby for 9 months then too ... I know I know , this is still only possible in Arnold Schwarzenegger movies :(
Another weekend is coming ... And I have many plans as usual. Let's see how it goes this time. Bye from "Little One" as well. ;)
Most of the time, it will be quiet and still. Then at other times, it keeps
keeps moving around or "swimming"[ ;) ]. I am in the 26th week, and I have read
that now with the help of scientific advances, it is possible for a premature baby to survive at week 26.
I am happy I have reached this far and I hope and pray to complete the full cycle. The past 6 months have been turbulent, even if there was no work pressure. I have felt down and upset for most of the time, and Roy could not help me either.
I've been feeling very alone and isolated.I feel so much dependent on everyone and it is not nice. I cannot visit my friends on weekends or just go shopping whenever and whereever I like. Earlier I could take an auto or a bus, but nowadays I avoid this means of transport. The only solace I had were my parents who have come down to Bangalore, and Shobs.
Mama and Papa are very thrilled now. It must be a great feeling to become grand parents !!! They are back in Kerala but will be back next week. So whenever we talk, they enquire about "Little one". Hey,"Little One" has woken up as I'm writing this. It's moving around. Sometimes I tap on my tummy to communicate with "Little One" and "Little One" sometimes responds. But now it doesn't.
It's been a bit awkward to move with this ever-growing tummy, coz wherever I go, people always stare at my tummy first. Some, as if they are trying to see through my body and catch the first glance of "Little One" ,and others, just to see how big my tummy has become. Now it's ok though, as I got used to it. I've also got positive responses from people or rather strangers I should say.
Some will smile at me, others will help in some way or the other. On one of the few occasions I took a bus, a girl offered me her seat.I've been showered with a lot of goodwill by some people - some total strangers, and then too some people didn't bother to observe the fact that I am carrying a baby ...
Husbands too, will react differently. Some will be doting and extremely caring and anxious about each and everything that happens to their wifey. Like this one guy who accompanied his wife for the Lamaze class (exercise class for pregnant ladies) in Hospital. He would ask many questions and another guy would take snaps of his wife exhausting herself, maybe to keep those snaps as sweet memoirs to show their kids in future :).
Then, some other husbands will be lukewarm ... happy to be a "going-to-be" dad but that's it more or less. Roy belongs to this group. Can't blame him, coz men are usually not very sentimental. And how could they be possibly? The only thing they can see during our pregnancy is a growing tummy. Anyways I can consider myself lucky,as Roy has been able to come with me for all consultations and scans so far. He used to be very thrilled to see "Little one" growing bigger and bigger during each scan - from the size of a blob to someting more look-alike to a baby. And I have seen Roy being very affectionate with small kids and babies. In fact,I have seen many fathers proudly carrying their babies ... and mothers can carry the diper and bottle bag. I remember one "new" father carrying his baby out of the maternity ward, and not even letting his wife take the baby. ... I still wonder why that guy couldn't carry the baby for 9 months then too ... I know I know , this is still only possible in Arnold Schwarzenegger movies :(
Another weekend is coming ... And I have many plans as usual. Let's see how it goes this time. Bye from "Little One" as well. ;)
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