Fall Ride

Yesterday we went for our weekly bike ride on the Swamp Rabbit Trail. The trail was beautiful with the fall colors. It rained the previous day and the sky was grey. Despite the sky being dark with ominous clouds, the colorful trees with red, yellow, green, and brown leaves were enough to lift one's spirits. We tried to bike on Saturday but realized we forgot the bike keys for our battery: a pitfall for electric bikers. We did not want to use our bikes without the electric juice as the ride to Travelers Rest and back was just too long; about 20 miles back and forth. Instead, we walked along the Reedy River and stopped at the junction of the cancer center where there was a walkway through the towering trees along the river where two men were fishing.

As usual, the 2-hour bike ride was good to relax the mind and the fall weather was cold so we wore several layers to keep us warm. The trail is a rare joy to enjoy for everybody and there were several people on the trail despite the possibility of rain. In past years, we often hike in state parks or the park near our home during the weekend but the discovery of e-bikes converted us. Challenges in the office kept my mind tangled with thoughts but the bike ride was enough to relieve some anxiety. We went to Costco afterward and got home by about 1 PM for a steak and shrimp lunch. 

I planned to prepare for the coming Nanowrimo November challenge but I procrastinated by watching a Netflix documentary on the earthquake in Nepal. After lunch, I went to the gym to have a sauna and bought 6 sacks of mulch. We recently got a letter about weeds in our front yard, specifically in the flower beds. I plucked out the weeds the previous day and laid down the mulch in the evening after dinner. Before going to bed, I completed the 2 online learning courses that I needed to finish by the end of October.

I kept thinking about a few emails that agitated me; where I felt I needed to respond to, but I thought it was my ego again wishing to be heard, to make people know of my contributions to a project we were doing. I thought about the events of the past week with several meetings and pressure to deliver, of my frustrations with my colleagues and my boss who often only think of themselves and lose the important point. Of the creeping unease of not making the grade and missing some action and every man for himself. The fall ride amidst the autumn leaves helped me calm my mind.

Tool Shed

For the past several weeks, the question of what tool to use takes too much mental time. One Note is becoming the de facto tool for note-taking; though sometimes it is also used as a to-do list. MS To Do is the primary tool for this scenario but the confusion between taking notes and creating a to-do list freezes thoughts into limbo. A distinction should be quickly made so the planning can happen. Another confusion is when the planning merges into an action. Perhaps this is the distinction that needs to be managed when the tendency to act and get lost in the rabbit hole instead of stepping back and planning future action.

The GTD method advises that if the action takes less than 2 minutes, then it has to be done at that moment. This is where I lose track as the action bleeds into other areas that I get into a trap of taking on other related work. Perhaps it is the all-or-nothing thinking that my therapist always warns me about; being a perfectionist I have to get all related stuff done as well. The second problem is that I don't 'refine'  my notes or review the tasks that I set aside in my to-do list; just work through the course of events that I eventually get to those tasks by happenstance.

This is where I get lost in scenarios that I need to be on top of; which I neglect until events or other people come to remind me or the situation gets out of hand. The refinement of notes and review of tasks need to be a cold-blooded effort whereas my mind goes into panic mode, imagining all sorts of situations that may come about. Hence, the procrastination happens as I remain in the tool shed diddling with all sorts of tools and their features. As one article states, procrastination is a challenge in managing emotions.

One tries to overcome such shortcomings by being an expert in the toolset rather than in oneself. I watch several YouTube videos on One Note and productivity that I am getting to be adept at these tools. For the emotional part, meditation, Tai Chi and Yoga may do the trick. A system needs to be fashioned that one is inching forward via trial and error. From a theory perspective, books like 'The Organized Mind' and 'Atomic Habits' provide some ideas such as externalizing ideas outward and doing one small thing at a time.

On the Road To My 2nd Brain

The dreaded mistake of spending more time on the tools rather than on the process has plagued me. For trying out which is the best electric drill, buy a few models and try each one instead of using the tool to create. I get caught up in the intricacies of planning and nothing gets done. I have gone so far as to structure my folders and create respective categories but I struggle in creating good notes and fumbling with my to-do list and calendar.

The first mistake in handling my email which is my Waterloo.I persist in keeping the email in the inbox instead of acting: create a calendar entry, add to the to-do list, and transfer it to an active folder or archive. I do well in transferring to the folder and flagging the note though I did not act upon it; as if the act of flagging has done the job. Instead, I let the email languish in my inbox.

I am confused about mixing email and notes; thinking that the email is a captured note and one should just flag it or move it to a One Note folder. It is not a note but a message that one should deal with, or nothing could come out of it and there should be action. I still keep the action in my mind instead of moving it somewhere like a to-do list or a calendar entry to move the process to the next stage. I lack the skill to review or come back to the list of to-do items or flagged emails.

The next mistake is failing to capture fleeting notes and placing them into a folder. I am not comfortable in dashing out a few short sentences and prefer long-flowing entries like in my journal. In fact, I should be reflecting in the same manner as in my journal entry both with a more concise and brief description. Instead, I linger on. Hence, I am still in the Capture mode and have not succeeded in the next steps: Organize, Distill and Express.

I also get mixed up in my tool set on whether notes are TO DO tasks or an entry in Microsoft One Note for my work or  Google Keep Notes for my personal work. Moving to the next phase or Organizing and Distilling requires a different mindset than note-taking. I get all mixed up in the scheme of work as I also need to use other tools like JIRA and EasyPPM and Microsoft Teams. These are systems that help execute a project but are not really used to build a second brain. 

Aside from the tools for knowledge management, Microsoft  Teams is a powerful tool set including Sharepoint and Planner that can help organize work. The rich toolset will bewilder you because they refer to different aspects of the project and daily work though some tools such as One Note can serve both BASB or project work. Into this mess is the everyday stress and excitement that the work brings into the mix.     

 

Workshop with the French

Last week we had a 4-day workshop with our Europe team. One member was originally from Columbia and emigrated to France after marrying her French husband. The other member has a surname that has origins in England. On our side was a lady from Mexico who took American citizenship though speaks fluent French. The other member, me, is from the Philippines and took Singapore citizenship and is now American.  The other member is from the American South and loves fishing in the Florida keys.

I kept quiet most of the time in the workshop as I represented computer technology while the others were on the business side. Sometimes keeping quiet is the best contribution that one can bring though it gives the mind a sense of paranoia as it second guesses what one perceives to be where one should speak. It is the imposter syndrome. However, everyone knows (at least I think so) that I am engaged in several projects both as squad leader and Project Manager.

My mind is prone to rumination, churning along as I had to focus on cleaning up PMB data, planning for going live,  meeting with my squad members, scheduling meetings, and handling several issues\. I am at a disadvantage since I have to do double work as compared to when I was only a squad leader and my work has increased with the turnover of the other projects. This is the best outcome as helps me avoid bureaucratic effort if no person is the project manager.

Yesterday, I ran in the 6k GE race which was held at Hartness subdivision which was like a park with a lot of green hills, lakes, and excellent views of the countryside. In the afternoon, we were at a party with our friends where we were exchanging stories and as usual, expressed where individual projects which were better than the others. In our case, moving money from the Philippines to the US stock market. Various tax strategies were discussed.

 Today, I swam in the early morning, rode our bike in the Swamp Rabbit trail, went to the Fall for Greenville where I had 2 glasses of beer, and samosa, and watched a Jazz and Blues band called amongst the trees. Afterward, we walked to the new Grand Bohemian hotel looking at the waterfall below with great views from the balcony. It was a great weekend with time to get out of my ruminating mind which ad focused on paranoia and imposter syndrome rather than celebrating our own contribution.

Perhaps it is because of our young American colleague who is eager to show her intelligence. Youth is on her side and I am glad she is on the team. As usual, there is a lot of politics involved with my young boss trying to be part of the team in this project. My paranoia has gotten the better of me and my 6k race in the rolling countryside, weekend swim and bike ride, and Fall for Greenville has brought me back to my senses. 

 

Video Casting

I started my course on video storytelling in The Great Courses. I took the first 3 courses after my workday ended. I also have several other lessons on video casting in Udemy and MasterClass. The plan is to start a second career in this space; to be a content creator. There are several YouTube videos on the topic. This is the natural progression of courses in increasing productivity like Building a Second Brain.

It makes sense to move to this area as I have experience in blogging and uploading YouTube videos made from pictures. I studied AdSense, SEO, monetizing blogs, and other such topics for several years but the endeavor never took off. Most of the successful entrepreneurs in this space are young with a new life ahead of them. My goal is to have something to do after I retire; hopefully to generate income; the old fogey strikes back.

I bought an Apple Mac mini in an attempt to jump-start this plan. I also bought a Smartphone Gimbel as well as a new Pixel 6 with a dual camera.  What I lack in youth I compensate with experience as a project manager and extensive computer skills and the naivete of an amateur. Lessons on Building a Second Brain and other productivity topics have given me a spark of possibility that I lacked before; instead of ruminating in a never-ending thought cycle.

My new role as squad leader necessitated my quest for increasing productivity which is really an emotional challenge. Procrastination is all about managing one's emotions and trying new techniques such as interstitial journaling is a way to handle one feelings and be mindful at work. All this learning in productivity, including my daily meditation, had provided mental space to bring in these new thinking with the potential for achievement.

My work-life and personal goals merge into a single stream with the common elements of using new tools in Microsoft, Google, and personal knowledge apps like Notion and Obsidian. Interconnectivity and synchronized workspaces are the keys. Externalizing one's thoughts based on concepts like The Extended Mind, Building a Second Brain, and The Organized mind make this possible.

Sprint Demo

Our squad had its sprint demo today with squad members presenting their accomplishments. The day started slightly disorganized as the team scrambled to complete the presentation. One slide was missed and the team rushed to add the missing slide a few minutes before the sprint started. The demo went well with certain members presenting their accomplishments. After the demo, we had a retrospective to review what worked and did not and what needed improvement.

The session was brutally honest as more areas needed to be improved compared to what went well. It was a call for changes and I did my part by scheduling weekly sessions with each squad member. A humbling experience for me but I had the reckoning coming. The honesty of the session was good as everyone had a chance to speak out and clear the air. The next step is clearly to perform and make improvements. This is the kind of situation that I like due to the challenges.

In the afternoon, I had my frequent feedback session where we cleared the air with my domain manager. There were past episodes of tension and my boss had a chance to express her concerns while I had an opportunity to apologize, More work was piled on me but that is what I wanted anyway since the model I wanted to do was not approved. Such is the game that I find myself in with challenges from the squad and from my boss.

The productivity videos and books that I am reading are just in time for such a quandary. I do not feel any stress and took these challenges in stride. These are the circumstances of any manager facing tough times at work and one needs to keep his wits and weather the storm.  The work day ended on a good note with the last meeting of the day where I explained the plan for the deployment of a project I was leading as project manager. The business team supports my view.

There is a lot of talk about mental health these days as people cope with inflation, return to work, covid ( some people in the office still wear masks) personal challenges, and work demands. The threat of nuclear war in the horizon with the war between Ukraine and Russia. Is this milieu causing people to complain more? Can this situation be attributed to external factors rather than immediate work stress? People have their own perception of reality ( see Vladimir Putin) that the world is a mess.

Building a Second Brain

In my new role, I often feel overwhelmed and bewildered. There is no one helping me as my French colleague would say, perceptively concerned about my mental health. There is a challenge in my current cognitive ability and discovering new tools such as BASB is a God send. A tool in the burgeoning field of knowledge management. I am using all the new tricks that I can find on Youtube to keep above the water.

I hit the motherlode of new self-help books: Atomic Habits, The Organized Mind, Building a Second Brain, and The Extended Mind plus the several Youtube creators out there is fuel enough to educate the uninitiated like me. In fact, I have been building a second brain without my conscious knowledge by using tools like EverNote, Dropbox, and MS OneNote. However, I lacked the Aritoteliean rigor of categorization, which would have helped in simple things like organizing my file system. Or even my garage.

Instead, I get stuck in the software tools. I downloaded Obsidian, then Notion but never got to use them, preferring the suite of tools I already use; for work Microsoft suite of Outlook, To Do, Teams, and OneNote. For personal use, I look to the Google suite of Gmail, Keep Notes, Gmail, Tasks, and Drive. Despite having used these tools for a while now, I am unable to smoothly incorporate them into my workflow.

Last week, I tried interstitial journaling, creating a new notebook in OneNote where I make daily entries. The idea is to be mindful of my working day and to control my emotion. Procrastination is really about managing one's emotions and journaling is a way to be aware of what I feel during the day. This technique shows some promise in calming my emotions and controlling my thoughts. I do not have the time to write long journal entries like these on a daily basis as I used to do in the past.

Listening to Tiago Forte, in the process of BASB, one must become a producer or creator instead of being a consumer. I am a glutton for consuming media which reflects my overall attitude with one look at my cluttered garage. I am in the midst of clearing this mess up which takes a lot of mental energy because of the awareness of my sickness of consumption; whether media or physical things. In fact, it is a mental disease that has corrupted me with mindless material accumulation.

Externalizing the mind, liberates one from rumination and too much thinking, by creating an external brain that one must bring order and clarity, to be organized and productive. This is the goal that one must achieve instead of diddling with the various software tools out there. Again the mind gets stuck with all the thoughts that swirly around with the possibilities of what one can do with these various software tools.