First point to be made, any tool has to be used. Second point to be made, your strengths are yours alone.
Coming to the corollary, your weaknesses are yours too. So, in that spirit, I have accepted that I can remember shit to save my life (apart from driving a car or swimming). So,
To Track Time
I use my Pouletdoro© (the French cousin of the beloved Italian pomodoro) to track time between waffles.
NICE.
Wait, what?
Waffles?
Yes, they be my new favorite food. One new wonderful thing to look forward to in life. And you can make waffles out of ANY batter. And since I use lentils, it takes quite a while to make one, 15-20 minutes.
Unlike a digital timer which only rings when the timer is done, my Pouletdoro keeps ticking, ticking, ticking until the time is done. And the slowing down of the sound before the chaotic ring keeps me present in anticipation of the heart-cowering TRIIIIIING.
So, what does waffles and Pouletdoro have to do anything with my weaknesses?
1. It keeps me full and hence I don’t have to worry about cooking WHEN hungry
2. They taste good (duh) and I’m happy.
3. I have been regularly using Pouletdoro to keep track of the waffles, and hence now, I use it regularly while working too.
4. Keeping track of time really helps with planning, which I am *looks into my notes* verrrry baaad at.
To Track Friction
I’ve been using my journal for everything recently.
As a diary, check.
As a journal, check.
As a notebook, check.
As a doodle-book, check.
As a decoration-book, check.
So, I’ve now got to think on how to take notes and what notes to take. That’ll be another lesson to talk about.
For today, I’ve got to say, when something doesn’t make sense in your head, better write through it. When I write, the thought cloud in my head is woven into legible thought threads. And it’s been real easy to go through a problem and writing it step by step. First, you notice, you don’t have those many problems. Then, you realize, the problem isn’t that big as you think it is. The last thing is that most of the time, the problem itself contains the solution. The point to remember is to ask questions, not rant.
Another way of doing things is to find a duck. Sometimes, when you don’t want to write, just explaining it to someone else honestly helps you find the answer. Even though all they say is “uh huh”. If they have their own opinions and ideas, – even if they differ from yours – it’ll give you more directions to think on, which can help you move forward on a topic when stuck. You can do that with yourself too (writing or talking aloud) by asking the right questions.
Things I’ve been struggling with forever, tried it on, and it worked fabulously:
1. I don’t like waking up early.
-> Turn on the space heater and keep it near the desk, not the bed.
2. I don’t drink enough water in the morning. My entire day’s rating will directly or indirectly depend on how hydrated I am.
-> Have a bottle of water right next to my toothbrush stand. Finish it first thing in the morning.
3. Having a routine.
-> This whole article is a result of that *hahahaa*.
The list goes on and on and on and on…
To Track Tasks:
The book of the week (actually last week) is “The Organized Mind” by Daniel J. Levitin. I’ve also been going through a lot of courses on EdX, Coursera and Udemy. And to top it off, I’m also listening to random lectures on YouTube. This, surprisingly, helps me focus on boring tasks better (listening to music while working helps too). And with boring tasks like replying to emails, blogging (yk now why I procrastinate on this so much haha) and archery, this addition has not only helped me work better, but also helped me learn a lot of new things. P.S. Please don’t do this for things you’re excited about or once you’re focused enough. It would just be counterproductive.
If there’s one thing I could take away from that book, it would be to use physical index cards for everything. I have been – unsuccessfully using To Do lists all my life. The closest thing that worked was to put the tasks on my calendar. However, that only works for official work, where the deadlines are real. But cleaning your room doesn’t have an actual deadline. And thus procrastinating ensues. Using a cute chit for every, teeny tiny bite sized task I need to complete, soon, I have a stack of cards piling up on each other on the desk. The laundry list of things is now a visually tangible laundry heap. And to clear out, the only way is to complete them.
This is like the Urgency – Importance spectrum, where you either Do, Delay, Delegate or Dump.
a. Whenever I need to use a separate card for each task, I am more conscious of the necessity of the task (I don’t want to waste a piece of paper *I* cut beautifully).
b. And then, I think if it’s a recurring or a one time task. Recurring tasks have my calendar where I have regular reminders. Again, I need to check them and do them for them to work – more on that later.
c. If it’s a one-time task, I break it down into sub-tasks which I can finish in one go.
d. Once I’m done, I tear the card into hundreds of teeny tiny bits of paper and put it in the trash. If I could only complete it partially before moving on to something else, I write the remaining task on another card, before proceeding to the Ripping Routine™.
e. Finally, I give myself a sticker for completing it.
HUH??
Yes, Moving on…
To Track Life
Apart from the bliss of tearing a task down (literally and figuratively), I reward myself with a sticker in journal for every completed task. Big stickers for big tasks. Small stickers for small tasks, or undone but acknowledged tasks (when you don’t have the time). Important stickers for important tasks. I can’t comprehend my brain, but it works. My brain gets a dopamine spike from sticking a stikki… And do you know, once you are out of stikkies, you also have to force yourself out of your home to buy some? And then your journal looks fabulously pretty? Now, that’s the triple threat we all aim to be in life.
It all started with me lecturing my uncle that the best reward isn’t food or things but just an acknowledgement of the work. Which made me go “Why can’t I do that for myself?” and then I thought “I am an adult who can spend as much as they want on stickers” and then screamed “I GET A STIKKI, YOU GET A STIKKI, WE ALL GET A STIKKI”. It unfortunately works, and if it’s stupid and it works, it’s not stupid. Coming to previous point of how to finish recurring tasks, it’s damn simple.
You get a Stikki for finishing it.