Extreme Productivity 2

I now realize that I have been offered a unique opportunity. Previously, I cursed the situation I find myself in, much more busy than in the past, but proud to conserve one’s free time for reading books and watching movies. In my new job, I see that this predilection for recreation or escape is no longer possible; therefore I can either slide by, winging it, or hunkering down and doing a swell job. This means working more than 8 hours, striving to be the best and doing whatever it takes, maybe even working on weekends. This seems to be the case as the normal hours no longer suite me and the work that needs to be done. A change occurred at midnight, where the rules of the game suddenly changed and no longer fits whatever education or tricks one has learned in the past. I saw that when I watched that TED video where the speaker emphasized on the changed world.

It is like that character in Murakami’s book ‘1Q84’, who wakes up one day and sees a familiar world, but with slight changes that make her realize that there has been a subtle shift, like having two moons in the evening sky. I guess that has happened to me when this new job was offered to me, thinking that I can just do what I do but with more efficiency, then realizing very quickly that the old ways no longer suffice. My reaction was perhaps trivial; going to the gym in the morning, requesting for a stand-up desk, using the white board for a to do list but quickly realizing that these improvements are cosmetic. In the book ‘Extreme Productivity’, the author said that one must sleep a full eight hours every day to be refreshed, so that would mean that I should be in bed by 10 pm so I can wake and be at the gym by 6:30 am. Often times I persist on my schedule, watching movies or reading books up until 11pm or 12 midnight; coming to work slightly dazed which the standing position at work does not help.

But working standing up has its benefits, it keeps me alert and focused, but more effort is expended, which makes me tired when I get home. Therefore, the change should be deeper and serious, go to bed early, and work more than eight hours including weekends if needed. I guess I have also grown tired of watching too many movies, it only causes the mind to keep moving; one should no longer strive for the ‘super mind’ as one would say ala Sherlock Holmes. The time for silly things is now over as Obama would say to the ideologues in congress and I guess that means me, too. But I have been handed this opportunity and there is no other option but to excel. Clearly, working in the office is not enough with the allotted time, especially with all the incoming work; the volume has increased and requires superhuman effort to be on top of it all or at least until one gets used to it. There are just too many things to do like one has crossed over into a new world where the rules have changed one midnight.

Will there ever be time for me to write? I guess the solution must be systemic; to apply all those tricks in the book ‘Extreme Productivity’ and being aware of the time, there is really no more occasion for childish things, perhaps to allot just an hour each day at home after dinner to do some work and perhaps another 2 – 3 hours during the weekend. There should be clear tasks to do like updating the enterprise PM program, replying to emails and doing whatever still needs to be done like updating the incident ticketing system. The easiest thing to do is to stop watching movies, lessen the borrowing of DVDs and just reserve that for the weekend. I still have not used my electronic gadgets like my tablet for my to do list, but it should be something that I can do easily. The maid obstacle is still the mind which keeps jumping up and down, distracted by whatever it see around. But one still needs to be bold, to throw caution to the wind and initiate the work to get things done; therefore discipline, courage and hard work; that age old triumvirate still rings true.

1Q84

A character in Haruki Murakami’s book ‘1Q84’ designates a new age when she noticed a change in a police man’s uniform. It was like the world had shifted and she missed the transformation; noticing that Japanese police men has new uniforms and high caliber weapons, no longer the quaint officer with an antiquated pistol. The character also missed the major event that brought about this modification, an assault against a highly equipped radical cult group in the mountains that resulted in the death of several officers.  Similar to Orwell’s novel, the world had shifted towards some new state which to Murakami’s character was un-noticeable until someone brought up the change in a bar. Sometimes I feel the same way, like humanity has moved towards a new turn and every one had adjusted except me. Perhaps that is what Murakami’s character had experienced, calling the shift ‘1Q84’. But these days, it’s common; all about revolution whether technology, politics or world events like the Arab spring.

The shift is evident in Jonathan Alter’s ‘The Center Holds’ about Obama’s re-election as president, highlighting the sophisticated data driven campaign the led to victory. Of course, his election as the first African-American is also change, as well as Obama care, same sex marriage, drone warfare, electronic surveillance and so on. Last weekend, I watched a video of a lecture from the London School of Economics by a Chinese official who now works for the IMF, where previously he worked in the Chinese central bank. He talked about the changing patterns of finance and the emergence of Asia as the coming giant in world trade and finance (especially China but with Japan and Korea). Times are a-changing as Bob Dylan would sing, but it is no longer an intellectual exercise but an actual reality. For the past several weeks, I am starting to appreciate tablets and its link to smart television via Google and YouTube, with access to new content like lectures; everything is being created for a mobile world. Perhaps it’s the shift everyone seems to be moving to.

At work, I am in a new role, though still bewildered despite being in this position for nearly 2 months, struggling with my former position, still working on a project that has not gone live due to several issues. I was optimistic, thinking my mind would handle the changes but like a conservative Republican, missing the mark; now one has to accept mediocrity, perhaps slowed down by age and the maturing brain. I lose track of emails, missing some deadlines and important information, not replying in time and slow in adjusting to the new software that everyone needs to use. Accepting change is not a concept but a reality of adapting; often dissolving into drink or mindless activity (surfing the internet or watching television or movies) that I have reached my own 1Q84. Perhaps this is the new totalitarian entity, the onslaught of change, bedevils GOP conservatives striving to inject vigor by absorbing libertarian ideology from the tea party. One wonders if the center will truly hold.

Actually embracing the change is the key, not the passive intellectual acceptance of its concept, by constantly being in motion, with no time for reflection. Tomorrow I will be traveling to Columbia for the district officers meeting, a new experience since becoming area governor, another new role in Toastmaster. More and more one realizes the benefit of quiet time, of reflection and meditation, whereas one goes to the gym or swim which merges meditation, physical activity and biological upliftment. This is the key to accepting change, where one needs a momentary pause, perhaps via yoga or Tai Chi or mindfulness but also by exercise, running and swimming so the mind is stilled or coursed with oxygen. I still have not finished my project of laying down tiles in my back yard, but already I am planning for the next project - a pergola where I plan to spend some evenings reading articles or watching video in my tablet while I enjoy an outdoor fire place and watching the sky. But when this tomorrow comes, one is confused and looking at the next future.

The antidote to a restless and anxious mind is music. One night I could not concentrate, could not focus on the book I was reading and wondering what do so I listened to Mozart, enabling me to read several chapters and relax. Another is to write; forcing the mind to focus and scribble sentences, but one cannot do so at work, so music is an alternative. I had thought that it was a distraction, but taken in the right light, can be soothing and calming. I guess it depends on the music that one listens too.