Giblet's Journal

[Hitaru]

30 more minutes of Wife Time than Son Time. Hm. 

Hm. 

[giblets]

28 Nov 17

Days to Ultra-Trail: 167

Days until I graduate: ~328

Days to next run: 11 @ Auckland // 47 @ Hobart

Yo Giblettoto. So much happened today, it was intense. Drinking from a firehose. I think I could of better prepared myself by paying more attention to my calendar so I could brace myself for the barrage of meetings and better prepare myself for them rather than trying to pick it up as I go - but sometimes that is my only option. I have been wasting my time outside of work during the week a little bit again, or at least I feel like it, so I need to tighten that up and this planner will help me identify that. If it is doing nothing else it is making me plan my life in 30 minute blocks and pushing myself to stay focused in those 30 minutes - aka I was not aware of how much time I waste on web browsing until now, and I'm only one day in to recording it.

Anyway I am not sure if I have much to write here right now. Well, sorry I do have a lot to write here, but I need to spend some time reflecting on my conversation with Cam to come up with a battle plan for tomorrow which is a higher priority. I also need to e-mail @Zala I think it was my worksheet for anxiety which I was supposed to do a couple of weeks ago but totally slipped my mind through the server being down. Sorry mate, that's on me.

The rest of the week is going to be hectic again. But strangely enough, I feel right now I am ready to take it head on.

Grateful corner

1. After dragging myself home feeling sorry for myself from my day, hearing my son shout DAAAAAAD while I walked up the road was pretty amazing. So proud of the little guy.

2. Relax tea. It's so powerful it's almost like a sedative, and very handy to help re-centre in some periods of stress or emotion. I should probably link this with cognitive therapy.

3. My little computer. While I was typing a few notes on it during my conversation with Cam I couldn't help but pause and look at it and think to myself, I am so thankful that the company made this. So handy.

Battleplan / closest snapping alligator

1. I came to the realisation today that I have so much I want to achieve, but some stuff is "parked" until I can prioritise it properly or until they get their turn once the higher priority tasks are over. I think I am good at this but there needs more improvement - come up with a more visually striking way of prioritising my tasks, or rather mess around with TaskCoach and see if it does it already.

2. Boot up my old laptop and get the worksheet for Zala and a few other files off of it.

3. Setup bookmark syncing between my laptop and phone.

[giblets]

13 Dec 17

Days to Ultra-Trail: 152

Days until I graduate: ~313

Days to next run: 32 @ Hobart

It's been a while since I have been on this site, and so much has been happening. The big ticket item was I completed the West Coaster last weekend - 42km of pain through some of the toughest terrain I have dealt with in my life, including a 2km vertical gradient. I am still recovering from this - initially my knees hurt the worst, I assume because I had to do so much high/long stepping over rocks and tree roots, but now it is energy. I have none. It gets to approx 6pm in the day and I want to go to sleep, then in the morning I really struggle to get going at around 5.30-6am. This process has been going on for 4 days now, so I hope it ends soon. One thing is for certain - if the Ultra-trail is going to be in similar terrain (which I think it is), I am in a lot of trouble and my training so far is but a drop in the ocean - I need to increase the intensity. I have a heart rate monitor now to help out with that.

It is clear I do a lot better on days I journal/mindsweep. I probably have mentioned this before but the last few weeks have solidified this. I have continued to journal offline in RedNotebook, which I find very helpful as I feel more comfortable being open about specific issues or incidents. I didn't get my video journal going in the end - never worked out how to store/archive them, but then again I didn't do much research into it either, just not prioritised.

Feeling a little nostalgic about some of the connections I made on this site that don't seem to be around anymore - maybe that is one of the reasons I haven't been on here very often. I still do enjoy reading the other forums so I will continue to do that as much as I can. My life seems a bit "busy" right now, even though I don't think it actually is, so I need to declutter my days and make it more streamlined. This should also have a by-product of letting me achieve more with less by forcing me to sit with tasks, thats when I was super productive, when I was hyper-focused on a small number of chores/tasks/to-do's, rather than nibbling at each one which I have gone back to now.

[WorkInProgress]

30 minutes ago, giblets said:

My life seems a bit "busy" right now, even though I don't think it actually is, so I need to declutter my days and make it more streamlined. This should also have a by-product of letting me achieve more with less by forcing me to sit with tasks, thats when I was super productive, when I was hyper-focused on a small number of chores/tasks/to-do's, rather than nibbling at each one which I have gone back to now.

I know this feeling. Sometimes prioritization works great sometimes you just do a little bit of everything and need to get back on track to see improvements. Still a little bit from everything is better then doin nothing. I wish you success at going into productive mode again.

[giblets]

I think I came to a bit of a realisation yesterday afternoon.

With my battle/challenge/goal of not getting emotional (at work or else) but yet still "failing", I think I am only getting emotional about old issues that have plagued me from the past.

For example, when a new issue or a new problem arises (whether it is someone in my face, causing issues, or just a "stressful situation"), I seem to take it in my stride and attack it in a cool and collected manner. But, when something from the past comes back, such as an argument I have had for years or many years ago, or a situation similar to what I experienced years ago, or someone who has annoyed me or got under my skin many years ago - that's when I get emotional.

The specific situation which made me realise this is when someone was doing something incorrectly at work. This specific task was one of my "bug bears" about ten years ago. I can't even remember why it was one of my pet hates or issues so long ago (but isn't that the case with the majority of these things?), but that I know it was.

So, my question to myself is, am I suffering from nostalgia over these issues? Am I just digging up these old emotions instead of defining or giving these situations new ones like I am in my day to day life?

My challenge now is going to be how can I redefine these old issues or topics. How can I forge new emotions for situations that made me emotional back in the day - in the short term I need to give myself more time to respond rather than react. In the longer term, I need to work out why they are still conjuring these emotions and why I am blocking myself (subconsciously) from allocating new emotions to them - or ultimately having no emotions at all.

Food for thought.

[giblets]

Merry Christmas everyone!

I hope you're had a really good festive season. I meant to post on our Christmas Day (and beat you by a day) but I forgot my password! I have had my whole family over at my house so haven't wanted to spend much time on my computer trying to work it out.

I am in a really good space right now, the family is testing the ole patience here and there but I am extremely proud of how I am handling this, which is far better than I did last year, and I really have to thank quitting gaming and focusing on personal development for that.

[Hitaru]

I was starting to miss you! Yep handling the family is an global thing, but it's all about healthy boundaries. Respecting each other space and that. 

[Cam Adair]

6 hours ago, giblets said:

Merry Christmas everyone!

I hope you're had a really good festive season. I meant to post on our Christmas Day (and beat you by a day) but I forgot my password! I have had my whole family over at my house so haven't wanted to spend much time on my computer trying to work it out.

I am in a really good space right now, the family is testing the ole patience here and there but I am extremely proud of how I am handling this, which is far better than I did last year, and I really have to thank quitting gaming and focusing on personal development for that.

Booya!

[giblets]

23 hours ago, Hitaru said:

I was starting to miss you! Yep handling the family is an global thing, but it's all about healthy boundaries. Respecting each other space and that. 

I did realise yesterday that I haven't really contacted anyone since I started Christmas leave. It's been that time of year, focusing on family! That's the whole point right?

Do need to run more.

[giblets]

Have been a bit frustrated the last few days with a few things, so I have decided to try and fix what I can influence over.

So, today, I am running in the morning for the first time in years. I hate running in the morning - but a combination of the heat during the day (35 degrees celsius yesterday - that's close to 100 fahrenheit I think), visitors, and my son's sleeping schedule I think this is the only window I have, so I need to grasp it with both hands.

I do need to write a bigger journal entry to help me mindsweep, but this is a start! Here we go - 30km.

[giblets]

So the run in the morning proved to be a success! I totally underestimated the craziness that was the city for setting up for New Years fireworks though, so the running involved a lot of back tracking, dead ends, dodging barriers and people etc. In the end I was so frustrated with it all (more so myself for not realising this was going to happen and avoiding it) so stopped and caught the ferry home. I was aiming to do 30km and ended up doing 20km, which I am still happy with.

Sadly though... I have not run since then, which makes it 3 days without exercise. So while I am really happy with including the run in the morning, it makes me feel great, it gets it out of the way before all the craziness of the house waking up just like everything else I achieve in the morning, it does mean I need to get some quality sleep so I don't wake up feeling like death; and thats what I have been waking up to since. It has been a combination of not going to bed early enough (New Years), being too dehydrated (beer), and not getting deep sleep (son waking up at crazy o'clock). So thats the next target for me - come up with a strategy for better quality sleep. The easiest target to start is reducing/removing beer/alcohol from my diet. I have been contemplating this for quite some time, maybe up to 9 months ago, when I first started running a lot. Drinking just ends in regret because I say or do something I wish I didn't, I get annoyed when I am trying to look after my son and I don't have my usual coordination, and I think is the main contributor to why I still have a bit of a belly (though I am down to 60kg, which is the lightest I have been for maybe 10 years). The hardest challenge will be to get some sleep while my son is still waking up a lot - I think that is something that I am going to have to live with and try to push through anyway.

[WorkInProgress]

On 3.1.2018 at 10:18 PM, giblets said:

So thats the next target for me - come up with a strategy for better quality sleep. The easiest target to start is reducing/removing beer/alcohol from my diet. I have been contemplating this for quite some time, maybe up to 9 months ago, when I first started running a lot. Drinking just ends in regret because I say or do something I wish I didn't, I get annoyed when I am trying to look after my son and I don't have my usual coordination, and I think is the main contributor to why I still have a bit of a belly (though I am down to 60kg, which is the lightest I have been for maybe 10 years). The hardest challenge will be to get some sleep while my son is still waking up a lot - I think that is something that I am going to have to live with and try to push through anyway.

Not drinking besides one some rare occasions helps a lot with better sleep in my experience. Since I am a father now too I make it a habit never to drink when I should take care of my son. This way I am absolutely sure that I am able to react to whatever happens in the best possible way and with a clear judgement (and coordination!). In my mind this is part of my responsibility as caregiver for a baby who needs my help with anything. 

The only way to deal with him waking up I found is going to bed early. This way I have usually around 2-3 3 hour windows of sleep which is enough for me to feel pretty ok to well rested. I go to bed with my wife and the baby at around 20:00 and sleep usually around 21:00. This way we also have some time together where the baby is surely not waking up for around 3 hours which helps a little bit with the limited time we spent together at the day.

[giblets]

I didn't notice how early I was going to bed to maximise time with my son until I would want to go home at 7.30 so I would be in bed on time, where as they would want to keep talking until 10-11pm! I just figured I was old

[giblets]

Absolutes.

I need to be less perfectionistic, less absolute. This is one of my weaknesses, a strength that has gone too far. I used to take pride in getting 100% in  things, and a personality test I took last year said that I always waited to inject into arguments/discussions until I was 100% correct, which resulted in me not saying much or not engaging in conversations a lot.

Sometimes, a solution is the solution itself, and it doesn't need to be perfect.

The reason why this has come to head is twofold. The first is that Erik Finman tweeted something similar a week or so ago, but then during the preparation, and running of, the marathon yesterday. I heard so many people talking about having a perfect preparation routine, getting a personal best time, etc. It seemed very few people were there to enjoy the moment. If they had not waited so long for a perfect preparation then maybe they could have been running a marathon a year ago, or more.

A few people I have talked to or encouraged to run a marathon are the same, maybe in a year or two, maybe after I get to X weight, maybe after I can do X speed. I don't see this as perfecting your preparation, I see this as excuses.

I am going to keep an eye out at work today for signs of this, whether I am doing it personally or whether my team is, and slowing down work processes or tasks. The time required to get from that 90% solution to the 100% solution might not be worth it.

[giblets]

No matter how addicted you are to gaming, there is always something better to do.

Reminding myself of that this morning.

[giblets]

Hello!

 

It's been a while  since I have mindswept or conducted a journal entry. My morning routine is been disrupted the last week or so; my son now gets up stupid early which means he is up at the same time as me, so I don't have time to focus on my to do list or routine, and getting up even earlier is not an option - nothing good happens at 4am. Great poem on 4am that was delivered a TED - I recommend it. Secondly I have been trying to run in the morning for up to 90 minutes to get it out of the way before the day gets in the way, which has been amazing (I do recommend it) but means I have to leave the remainder of my to do list routine in the morning to be dealt with after the day gets crazy.

I have been maximising my day, thats for sure. No moss is growing on me. Doesn't solve the problem of not mindsweeping and its impact on my anxiety. I also need to incorporate meditation back into my day - and maybe combine the both into a routine when the day gets too much. The next three weeks are going to be really busy for me as well as I take on a few extra duties at work. Trying not to get stressed out about it or think about it too much.

As I write the above and think about what I need to achieve in the next few weeks, I can't help but wonder, how did I ever have time for gaming? I can barely get what I need done sorted let alone waste some hours staring at a screen - or maybe I have just been loading myself up with the extra capacity I have found? It is possibly a bit of column A and column B. Part of my solution for this, and part of trying to work on my perfectionistic trait is delegating more to my team. I need to transit more from the operator mindset to a manager mindset anyway so this is a good time to practice this. This week I am going to force myself to stop and pause before every task and think about who I could hand that too and coordinate them instead. Also need to ensure I don't keep handing it to the same person - the love needs to be shared!

 

500th post right here too! Happy 500 to me!

[giblets]

Got a bit of quiet time to myself tonight which is letting me reflect on a few things. The main thing I am thinking about, short on an epiphany, is eliminating any new "gateway drugs" that might have crept in over the holiday season - and by gateway drug I mean something that is derailing my productivity from my usual standard that I am happy with. The main one I think I need to challenge is sport.

I do enjoy watching sport, and a lot of it generally, and have easily justified it to myself as a social event, a relaxing way to unwind, etc etc. Because it was "real" and not a movie or a science fiction tv show etc etc I never felt guilty. Until now, where I think there is not much value to be achieved from spending a few hours a day watching sport.

The reason I say it is a gateway drug is it has indirect results on my time - aka preparing, travelling, talking with friends, preoccupation, amongst others - similar to what gaming has done. While I don't have studies to focus upon for another few weeks I have allowed this to happen. A better choice would be to spend this time on chores, or sleeping so I have more energy during the day after expending so much running.

So I am contemplating starting a new detox, either a consumer detox or a sport detox or something along those lines. I am a bit hesitant to call it a "consumer detox" because I don't think I have an overly big problem with wasting time on the internet or on my phone after recent changes (no smart watch, placing the phone away when I get home, grayscale etc), but maybe I would if I removed watching tv all together?

I am excited to start another detox as a lot of good things come from them, I think I need to determine what exactly I want to detox from before I start it to increase my level of success. Total TV ban? Entertainment ban? Sports ban? Sunk time ban?

[giblets]

Alright I'm still lurking even though I haven't posted for a while. I went without internet for a few weeks because of work so I have shifted my journal writing offline. BUT, I have listened to a couple of fantastic podcasts the last few days, which has been timely because I have been somewhat depressed lately. I can delve into that more later but I have been meaning to put these podcast links here for your enjoyment. It could be just me but I think the podcast group has gone.

 

School of Greatness: The Zero-Waste Guide to a Simple Life

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• What hydrofracking is (2:06)
• Why recycling isn’t enough (7:24)
• If Lauren gives in to temptation of items that come in packaging  (11:57)
• Where and how Lauren buys her clothes (14:22)
• How many people she’s influenced to be waste free (15:26)
• How her life became simplified (17:56)
• How to get rid of plastic in the most efficient way (19:45)
• How she deals with all the haters (21:14)
• What she’s working on the most right now (25:30)
• When Lauren reached her breaking point (28:04)
• Advice for female entrepreneurs in their 20s (29:30)
• What Lauren is going to do to get to the next level this year (31:30)

 

 

Susan David: The Art of Emotional Agility

All of us want to be happy. Many of us pursue happiness in different ways, and sometimes that includes trying to block out “less than happy” emotions.

You might have noticed that becoming obsessed with this pursuit can actually make you less happy in the long run.

That’s because all emotions are meant to be experienced. They are meant to pass through you, and when you suppress them or try to pretend they aren’t there they will just come back to you with a vengeance.

So how do we be truly happy?

That’s exactly what Susan David has spent her career studying.

 

 

Command Line Podcast: 2017-09-10

I ponder motivation and energy.

[giblets]

Alright done with the dinner break.

Takeaways/action points:

1. Lauren Singer (Zero-Waste guide)

   • I didn't have too many action points from this one, but it really opened my eyes to the zero-waste movement. I have a few friends that are what I would call "hardcore environmentalists" but I thought they were loopy. A lot of Lauren's points were very powerful, and even though I am not zero-waste, it is something I can incorporate into my life. Like it takes 17,000 litres of water to make a block of chocolate. 17,000! That's incredible. I have transitioned away from some foods because they make me feel sluggish or they have gluten in them, but I would now have no problem avoiding something like chocolate because of the resources required. It seems like such a waste.

   • Do some more research into the environmentalist movement. At a minimum there might be a few cost savings to be had.

2. Susan David

   • This one was really powerful for several reasons. Apart from the obvious, it was my chosen word for 2018 (emotionless), and it is something that I have talked about in detail with Cam recently. Finally it has been something I have been talking about a lot at work with my team, to not get emotional. This is a very rough approach which needs refining, which I think Susan has given me an insight into.

   • Emotions are data points and don't drive us to make reactions. We choose how to react to emotions, these data points. Treat emotions like data points and work out what you can learn from them and implement in your life. Up to this point this year I have been fighting or ignoring them and missing the learning opportunities they were presenting.

   • Break down larger "umbrella" emotions (like "stressed", "frustrated", "depressed", "overwhelmed") into what the emotions actually are and what you are feeling, aka anxiety, fear, excitement, etc. I have been trying to do this (I have been putting a lot of effort into avoiding the word stress and just talk about what is making me feel like that), so it is good to see I am on the right track, just maybe a little bit misguided/disjointed.

   • Would like to watch the TED talk she became famous for.

3. Command Line Podcast

   • I am very surprised by the topic covered in this podcast. CLP is a nerdy podcast which I have only just started listening to, but this episode was all about motivation, or what has been coined here as "sitting with it". They talk about how to try and crack on with tasks or projects when you don't have the luxury or being enthusiastic or energised or interested, but just have to get on with it.

   • I felt this was powerful and timely as I return to study in the next few weeks, and it will be a challenge to shift from having a lot of spare time to now forcing myself to read or study in my spare time rather than just relaxing and listening to podcasts.

 

I am looking forward to maintaining this momentum and finding more useful podcasts to help with our development!

 

[giblets]

I am very grateful for the opportunities I have right now of listening to so many podcasts. I am finding quite a lot which I am stashing for future use and I hope someone else can find useful as well.

The latest one I have found is:

Jordan Harbinger Show: Art of Crisis Leadership

So Jordan Harbinger used to be the host of the Art of Charm. I have no idea what happened and why he left, I found out about it through an advertisement on an alternative podcast. He has started his own show now, which is essentially the same thing with a different title. This episode, with Rob Weinhold, (no I don't know who he is either), he talks about crisis leadership.

Key takeaways:

• The first thing about crisis leadership is admitting or accepting that you are in a crisis.
• The real leaders take responsibility or accountability for the crisis rather than trying to push the blame somewhere else. These are the types of leaders people want to follow.
• Look for opportunities to turn a crisis into an advantage.

 

I look forward to listening to this one again as well.

 

University returns Monday for me, which means it is time to get back to being hyper focused. I have allowed myself to "let go" this year. Combine this with the amount of work I have been doing and it feels like I am a bit awash and floating in the stream, similar to those foggy type feelings when I was spending so much time gaming. I am somewhat excited about the prospect of studying and having something tangible to work towards that I value. I am going into this subject (or study year) with very clear intention, something that i haven't had with study for a while.

[giblets]

Today is the first day of University for the year, and I am weirdly excited. Maybe part of it is knowing that this should be the final year (when I pass everything - notice the when not the if), part of it is reading about Moe's success, and part of it is heading back to the realm of hyper-productivity after letting myself relax and switch off for the last few months. I have been quickly looking at a few techniques to help me hit the ground running (other than the "sit with it" mantra) and as we already know a lot of places keep talking about journalling. I want to avoid spending an hour plus on my journal like I was previously, but I still want to journal, so I have seen a bit about the "5 minute journal". I am going to google that in a moment (after I google hard drive recovery services), but before I go, today's podcast that I am finding value in is:

GameQuitter's Podcast #19: How to Binge on Productivity

I have listened to all of the GQ podcast episodes again as they are bringing me value again (the one with Amber Valdez is particularly moving) and this one is really standing out to me. I can't remember if I thought it was really valuable last time, but it is definitely useful now as I look towards making study my main focus going forward in the short term.

Key takeaways:

• 5 Minute Journal. I am hoping this will bring the benefits of journalling and mind sweeping, but also not take up all my time in the mornings like my last entries have been doing. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with long journal entries, I do enjoy writing them and I enjoy reading other people's to see how they are going and how I can add value to their life, but I think I might reserve those for weekly wrap ups rather than daily posts to maximise productivity
• Pomodoro timer. I have read nothing but good things about Pomodoro timers but have never bought one. I could use my phone but I'd prefer to have my phone in a different room while I study to minimise distractions.
• Meditation. I need to start taking this seriously. I need my "loading screen for life". I have talked about my meditation methods and styles with a friend at work and his comment was "mate, that's not meditating at all". I think I try to force myself to think too much in those windows, whereas it should be time to slow down.

[giblets]

So I haven't started looking at my study yet but I had a super productive day yesterday so I am very pleased with myself. I did do some research on the 5 minute journal after yesterday's entry. All of the website returns kept pointing towards Intelligent Change or a variant of it. The journal had a price tag of US $25 plus postage (I didn't go far enough in the process to find out how much postage was) so I looked at apps as an alternative. They also make an app for $7, so I bought that instead (saved $25 at least! winning!). It seems like a really well designed app, so I will keep using that for a little while and see how it works out before I recommend it to anyone else.

Alright today's podcast that I found value in is:

School of Greatness: Train Your Brain

I really enjoy long podcasts as it feels very personal, being involved in a conversation, but the short podcasts are great too, because they are clear, concise and get straight to the point - all things I value. This one with Lewis Howes was a 5 minute Friday (it's actually 7 minutes if you include the intro and wrap up at the end).

Key takeaways:

• Attention units. This is a big problem I have with preoccupation, especially with games; I would spend all my attention units thinking about games or preparing for them. The end result at the end of the day is when I want to focus on something else such as study or work or family, all my attention units were used up already. Social media is another sink for attention units, and I see that everywhere around me that people are wasting their time on social media.
• Focus your mind. The 5 minute journal will help shape my mindset towards being more productive and achieving more during the day. When I say being more productive and achieving more - while it would be great to cram absolutely everything in my day, what I mean is being more productive towards my goals, and achieving more that I value, more than productive and achieving more in general/generically.
• Neuroscience - this term peaked my interest and is something I would like to look into later.

[giblets]

So, I attempted to conduct an update of my phone this week, and as a result completely nuked my device. It was really my own fault, as I did not understand all of the instructions and my tech knowledge is slipping in the last few years. So I have spent a great chunk of time getting my phone back to a working state. There is some things to be grateful for in this situation though - I managed to remove a lot of Google stuff again which I was looking at a new phone for, and I am now running 8.0. So it's essentially like having a brand new phone for $0! Thats a bargain. It's also hilarious that this was the last podcast added to my favourites list before I wiped my phone:

Productivity Show - Overcoming Digital Clutter: Strategies for Reducing Stress and Regaining Focus

Key takeaways:

• I am quite aggressive with my e-mail filters, and only open my inbox at set times during the day. They talk a lot about software-generated/automatic filters, so I am already on the right path.
• Training your brain. I find this really relatable/comparable to the 90 day detox, as they talk about doing small steps towards doing something and you will get better and better at it over time as your brain becomes re-wired.
• Social Media. They "ripped the bandaid off" with social media, even with the fear of losing contact with a lot of people like we tend to do, and what has stopped me from deleting my facebook account. Turns out it probably is not an issue! Very true points here.

 

Now if I can only find my 5 minute journal app...

[giblets]

Absolutely crushed yesterday. I was super productive and I really want to capture how I achieved this. I woke up at 5am, an hour before everyone else as usual. I immediately did my daily entry, then started getting ready for work. I left for work at around 06.30, and arrived well before anyone else. I did not open my e-mail and started working through my to do list. I put my messenger on do not disturb and put my headphones in. Five hours later I got back on top of my to do list, and another two to three hours later I started to run out of things to do. If I can replicate this most days, then I should be able to create capacity to study by the end of today, which I am really excited about. It's almost the end of the first week and I haven't opened the content yet, and I think because I am avoiding it because I am a little anxious about the topic. I will "sit with it" by dedicating all day Saturday to it, rip the bandaid off.

Podcast of Value:

Deep Dive with Adam Roa: Insights from my Vision Quest

Key takeaways:

• There is plenty of stuff to do in our days, but we need to focus on things we are compassionate about. To achieve this we need to create space (which I interpret as creating the right environment, which I am big on).
• Meditation. I still need to get serious about meditation. Adam talks about using meditation to force you to listen, and this is probably why my friends at work were saying my meditation sessions are not real meditation sessions, as they were all active. I need to focus on listening. Listening to myself or the environment.
• Action. I relate this directly to meditation and my study. Sure my first couple of attempts are not going to be super valuable, and the first delving into this study content will be challenging, but I will get a lot out of trying anyway, through action. This should be a reason to take action in these two areas rather than avoiding it. Intention.

Now to get the 5 minute journal app!

[giblets]

Had a few challenging days since the last post. The Friday was not productive at all and I ended up clashing with a lot of people, which caused me to sit and reflect about why it felt that I had taken a big step back with my personal development. In the end after a great talk with Cam I don't think I have taken a step back, more I think I lost focus a little bit for a number of reasons. It was good to hear that Cam and my boss kind of said the same thing that I need to work on but with different applications, so I can focus my energy in that area for now. I feel like I relapsed into the mindset of being frustrated at everyone around me also not being so focused on personal development and productivity rather than utilising my experience and mindset to build a better experience for them. I think I relapsed into this mindset because I was feeling quite anxious about work and study. I used that as a cue to finally get into my study rather than avoiding it and I reprioritised some tasks at work, including some work on my inbox, which leads me into today's podcast takeaways -

The Productivity Show: 5 of the Most Powerful E-mail Tools We've Used to Help You Reclaim Your Email Inbox

Key takeaways:

• I'm not alone thinking that email is such a time sink and slowing productivity rather than improving it! I use the quote "your inbox is a to do list that anyone can write on" when talking to my team at work when they feel overwhelmed with their job list, but yet never close their inbox. We have become slaves to our inbox, receiving on average 120 odd emails a day, yet only 49 of them are something we need to act on. That's a lot of wasted time.
• E-mail filters. I use these quite aggressively already and yes they do take a bit of effort to set up initially, but I have been taking it slowly. I made it part of my morning routine to make 1 new filter a day. As a result after a year (it has almost been a year since I joined GQ - I noticed that today), I have worked my e-mails from 7500 down to 980. I added a new one yesterday though thanks to this podcast - moving all e-mails I am only cc'd (carbon copied) on to a separate folder that I will review once a week.
• Text expansion. This sounds like it could be very useful, I have seen it a lot while typing word documents etc, but I have never used them because I type so fast and found that it slowed me down to select the word it was suggesting etc. The podcast gave me confidence that this has either advanced to a point that this will be useful or that by using it differently it will not slow me down. I am looking forward to tweaking this area.