Author: alearningaday

Print out calendar and the To-Do list for the day..

This is a practice that’s been adding quite some value over the past couple of weeks for very simple and practical reasons.

Printing out the calendar helps ear mark appointments and also in a way track what I’ve been doing during the day.

The to-do list is invaluable. Helps me with my points system for the day as I put work tasks, personal tasks etc on it and plough through it during the day! Makes it more interactive and fun.

Additionally, the act of coming in the morning and setting up the to-do list and printing it gives a whole feeling of ‘I’m all set and ready to go’. Typically, I work on it the previous night and the morning just includes the fine edits.

If you do not have Einstein-esque smarts, being super organized is definitely a boon.. ;)

The wake up music list..

is a customized list of fast action packed songs that I use every day now in the ‘doldrum‘-like period after lunch.

The morning period is generally pretty productive thanks to the ‘start-of-the-day‘ enthusiasm and the evening is the most productive thanks to the ‘end-of-the-day‘ enthusiasm.

The most un-productive component is the afternoon, especially the period after lunch. All forces of nature seem to egg us to catch some shut eye. Anyway, the wake up list has been a nice solution that has given me an energy boost from time to time!

I’m guessing that as time progresses, I will get used to keeping up the intensity during the work day but for those who have similar troubles, this is something to try.

The key part here is to call it ‘Wake up‘ because it’s more a psychological trigger after a while – whether or not the music has the effect..

:D

Joys of an absolutely lazy weekend..

After about 5 weekends which spelt frenetic activity (moving into new house, settling in new house, 2 weekends traveling and another that was a farewell weekend for a close friend), I’d decided that this weekend was going to be one of inactivity.. and it was!

It has been bloody brilliant.. Lots of sleep, a bit of reading and lots of lazing around. There was a bit of activity yesterday afternoon but aside from that, it’s just been a weekend filled with lots of nothingness.

Just blasting ‘Friday‘ and it is true –

Today’s Friday (well, maybe not)

Today is friday, it is my day to do what I want
Mama can tell me that I’m goin nowhere, I’m just a prisoner of my fate
Would you come along, bring me in
Would you come along, bring me in
Bring me in

Today if friday, it is my day to disappear
To kings and queens and make-believe and the demons in my head
Would you come along, bring me in
Would you come along, bring me in
Bring me in

If you were around in my sleep
If you could be found in my sleep
Give me a sign
Give me a sign

Today is friday, it is my day to live a simple life
Put on my make-up, dress up in color
Maybe you might see me down here
Could you come along, bring me in
Would you come along, bring me in
Bring me in

If you were around in my sleep
If you could be found in my sleep
Give me a sign
Give me a sign

Maybe we’ll walk into the rain
To ease what’s on my mind-
You both hand in hand
And you’re living your life over again

Today is friday it is my day to do what I want
Mama can tell me I’m goin nowhere
I’m just a prisoner of my fate
Would you come along, bring me in
Could you come along, bring me in
Bring me in

If you were around in my sleep
If you could be found in my sleep
Give me a sign
Give me a sign

Today is friday, it is my day to live a simple life
Put on my make-up, dress up in color
Maybe you might see me down here
Can you come along, bring me in
Will you come along, bring me in
Bring me in

—

All charged for an activity filled next few weeks!

Never stop dreaming – The Pilgrimage..

This is a rather long excerpt from the Paulo Coelho book ‘The Pilgrimage’ but is a must-read in every sense of the word..
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This is from Paulo’s guide Petrus to Paulo on their way to the Cathedral of Santiago..
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‘We must never stop dreaming. Dreams provide nourishment for the soul, just as a meal does for the body. Many times in our lives we see our dreams shattered and our desires frustrated, but we have to continue dreaming. If we don’t, our soul dies, and agape cannot reach it. A lot of blood has been shed in those fields out there; some of the cruelest battles of Spain’s war to expel the Moors were fought on them. Who was in the right or who knew the truth does not matter; what’s important is knowing that both sides were fighting the good fight.

‘The good fight is the one we fight because our heart asks it of us. In the heroic ages – at the time of the knights in armor – this was easy. There were lands to
conquer and much to do. Today, though, the world has changed a lot, and the good fight has shifted from the battlefields to the fields within ourselves.

‘The good fight is the one that’s fought in the name of our dreams. When we’re young and our dreams first explode inside us with all of their force, we are very courageous, but we haven’t yet learned how to fight. With great effort, we learn how to fight, but by then we no longer have the courage to go into combat. So we turn against ourselves and do battle within. We become our own worst enemy. We say that
our dreams were childish, or too difficult to realize, or the result of our not having known enough about life. We kill our dreams because we are afraid to fight the
good fight.’

‘The first symptom of the process of our killing our dreams is the lack of time,’ Petrus continued. ‘The busiest people I have known in my life always have time enough to do everything. Those who do nothing are always tired and pay no attention to the little amount of work they are required to do. They complain constantly that the day is too short. The truth is, they are afraid to fight the good fight.

‘The second symptom of the death of our dreams lies in our certainties. Because we don’t want to see life as a grand adventure, we begin to think of ourselves as
wise and fair and correct in asking so little of life. We look beyond the walls of our day-to-day existence, and we hear the sound of lances breaking, we smell the dust
and the sweat, and we see the great defeats and the fire in the eyes of the warriors. But we never see the delight, the immense delight in the hearts of those who are
engaged in the battle. For them, neither victory nor defeat is important; what’s important is only that they are fighting the good fight.

‘And, finally, the third symptom of the passing of our dreams is peace. Life becomes a Sunday afternoon; we ask for nothing grand, and we cease to demand anything more than we are willing to give. In that state, we think of ourselves as being mature; we put aside the fantasies of our youth, and we seek personal and professional achievement. We are surprised when people our age say that they still want this or that out of life. But really, deep in our hearts, we know that what has happened is that we have renounced the battle for ourdreams – we have refused to fight the good fight.’

‘When we renounce our dreams and find peace,’he said after a while, ‘we go through a short period of tranquility. But the dead dreams begin to rot within us and to infect our entire being. We become cruel to those around us, and then we begin to direct this cruelty against ourselves. That’s when illnesses and psychoses arise. What we sought to avoid in combat – disappointment and defeat – come upon us because of our cowardice. And one day, the dead, spoiled dreams make it difficult to breathe, and we actually seek death. It’s death that frees us from our certainties, from our work,
and from that terrible peace of our Sunday afternoons.’

—

Thank you Paulo Coelho, for this is genius!

How can we keep up the enthusiasm..

One month into work and I’ve heard a lot of implied talk about ‘freshness‘, ‘eagerness‘ when it comes to a youngster in a new job. I agree with it as well – when you’re young and just starting, you’re all out to go the extra mile, do more and make a good impression etc..

I find that the most common thing among people I look upto are those who haven’t given up the zest, who still have that fire and are, at every monent, alive!

I think the key is – How can we keep the freshness? How can we keep reinventing ourselves to make sure we keep that spark alive?

As Dumbledore (from Harry Potter says) – ‘The biggest mistakes adults make is they forget what it is like to be kids’

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On this note, I’m reading Wal-mart founder Sam Walton’s autobiography ‘Made in America’ and even at the age at which he wrote it (must have been above 70), I can feel the freshness, the eagerness and the energy!

Now that’s the way to roll! :)