This is your lovefulsoul back again with yet another letter! In fact, this is the first one in a series of 100 letters I plan to write to you. Today I want to talk about a personal problem. A problem which has held me back for years and has not allowed me to reach where I had decided to. It makes most of us unproductive leaving us with a sense of loss and helplessness. Yes, you are guessing correctly, I am talking about the problem with the overwhelming technology and notifications. And when unchecked this almost becomes a habit. We need to do something for it before it\’s too late.
Grabbing back your attention
While there are many things vying for your attention at all time, it was never more important than today to focus on one thing at a time. The information overload and the overload of devices around is going to deteriorate your productivity. If you do not become a gatekeeper of your time now, these daredevils of the tech world will ransack your inner world. And it will become a distant dream to have an organized and productive life.
It is always easier said than done but there has to be some concrete way to track your progress. Below are some points I find useful:
- Write when you are writing
- Study when you sit for studying
- Focus on that very thing for a long time before you switch to another task which may be on your list.
Here comes another important aspect, the list. Without a list of prioritized tasks for the day, the mind always makes you feel free and that there will always be ample time for whatever that has to be done. But trust me, time is always less, much lesser than you can imagine. If you do not complete what you planned today, you may never start what you planned to do tomorrow.
Let\’s start being aware of our time
Do whatever it takes to make yourself aware of this most expensive commodity called TIME. You may buy anything, but not time. Although the corporate world has terminologies like, \”Buy some more time from customer\” etc, but all that means is to make the customer prepared for a delay from the scheduled timelines. You practically can never buy time. Unless you plan to go into another dimension as they show in the movie \”Dr. Strange\”. No matter how rich you become or how powerful you are you still can never buy time.
Create a sense of urgency to finish the task at hand. Look at it as the last attempt you have. For instance, when I had an office which was near my home and had flexible timings, I never reached the office on time. I knew I will reach there in 30 minutes irrespective of when I start. But now when my office is so far that I can\’t take my own conveyance and have to take an office bus which leaves early. Now, I have started to be on time always. Unless I got a deadline that I have to board the bus early in the morning, I was not able to reach on time.
The same logic may be applied to every deadline in life. A self-planned test may be the best example here, maybe a test like GMAT. You know you can take it anytime you want and you know you are doing ok even if you don\’t give it. The mind never accepts any deadline for the task and keeps delaying the process without letting you be serious enough for it. But unless you force a deadline for the prep and exam it is never going to happen. You are never going to feel the heat and will always be left with a sense of laziness and discontentment.
A key to Confidence
Discipline and Consistency give confidence, which can not be availed through any other way. It is a boon to be under timelines and deadlines and not a bane (as the mind thinks of it). It is a privilege to be in an environment where discipline is enforced in your routine. A school kid may always dream of the day when he is freed from the shackles of discipline but it is only when he becomes an adult and realizes the importance of Discipline that he understands the real truth.
Today I pledge to myself that I will create deadlines for myself and be as self-disciplined as possible to make life better and let each minute count. You are most welcome to join me.