One of the constraints that is becoming rigid with each day in this modern world is the tick of the Clock. Literally, speed is becoming everything from Corporates to the layman. The cost of speed is such that Folks have lost patience for the time it takes the laptop to boot-up! While speed is essential, it is also essential to stop & stare where we are at frequent intervals. This is to make sure we are not speeding in a reverse direction at break-neck pace. You may ask “You are stating the obvious, but what about the solution?” …The solution lies in Relaxation.
For most of us, Relaxation
is something that we associate with vacation at an exotic location. On the
other hand,Relaxation is an everyday act…Let us look at some of the aspects of
the relaxation in Daily life.
Waking up:
How do you
wake up everyday? If it is by alarm clock that blares in your ear, it is probably
not the best way. Sleeping is the act where the body is at rest & mind is
purging out the “cache” that are the spoils of the previous day. If you interrupt this
process, you are bound to wake-up already stressed up. It is like switching off
the Computer by hitting the power-off button rather than the normal shut-down.
As I read in
the book “Cool down : Getting Further by slowing down”, it is better to wake up by using an alarm
clock as mentioned below “The healthiest type of
wake-up device available is one that closes down the sleep process gradually
using subtle increases in light and sound. If your wake-up time is 6:00 a.m.,
then this clock would come to life at 5:30 a.m. with a
gentle low light and very low sound. Over the course of half an hour, these
stimuli increase gradually assisting the body’s natural sleep cycle, and
helping to bring it to a complete closure.”
Preparing
for the day:
It is essential to have some
form of physical & mental exercise as we enter the day. We blame it on the “no-time”
factor to skip the fitness routines. All I can say is this excuse is too lame.
Please refer to the following link on “Habit Formation” http://zenhabits.net/starting/
Working through the day:
Life is a multiple objective
& multi-constraint optimization problem. We cannot help our-self by trying
to boil the ocean by doing umpteen items.It is therefore important to “stand &
stare” to reduce the objectives to preferably as few as possible. The maximum number
should be five and everything else does not matter .As you work through the
day, you need to make sure your activities are aligned to these topmost in some
way. Otherwise you are speeding up in the wrong direction
Ending the day:
By all means,I would request
you not to end the day by watching the Television or in the Web. It only hampers your time to
go to bed and there by already spoiling the process of waking up. I would
instead recommend some of the following activities
·
Playing with your kid on the floor
·
Writing a Journal compiling the events of the
day
·
Reading a good book (surely not the fiction
stuff!) …If you are a bookworm you are sure to get great ideas, and if you are
not, at least great sleep!!!
Leisure by (W.H Davies)
WHAT is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?—
We have no time to stand and stare?—
No time
to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep and cows:
And stare as long as sheep and cows:
No time
to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass:
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass:
No time
to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night:
Streams full of stars, like skies at night:
No time
to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance:
And watch her feet, how they can dance:
No time
to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began?
Enrich that smile her eyes began?
A poor
life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
We have no time to stand and stare.