Break that Monotony !!!

In the busyness of daily life we have perfected the art of Monotony right from when we wake up until we sink back to bed almost unconscious (I mean due to tiredness !) . At some point , Monotony catches up…you could have been incredibly efficient that day …but a sense of “emptiness” fills in…I have not still figured out completely how to break the shackles of daily routine…but I guess I am close to hitting on a solution…”10 Minute Projects”

If I ask you , if you have an hour to do an activity to break the routine, I know what you would tell me…a “BIG NO” ….If I ask you if you have 30 minutes, the answer may be a mix of “Yes” and “No”. However , If I am going to ask you if you have 10 minutes, I am sure no one would say a no…So here is my proposal for doing the “10 Minute Projects” arranged in chronological order of a typical day…I hope would help you break the monotony as well as help you form Habits for your lifetime.

Here is a sample of “10 Minute Projects”….Not a minute more…Not a minute less

Waking up:

Set up your alarm 10 minutes ahead of your normal waking time…Right here you got 10 minutes added to the day…..(Buy an alarm without “Snooze” option)

Reading in the Morning:

Sharpen your brain cells by reading a page inspirational book….(Strictly No Internet & certainly no Facebooking)

Physical Exercise:

Try Jogging for 10 minutes….(If you are middle-aged as me, 10-minutes will feel like eternity…try to jog as slow as you can to the extent that others may think you are walking)

Reading the Newspaper:

Just plunge right into the center page of the Newspaper and read the Editorial…(Reading gossip columns with photos of “who the heck are these folks?” holding glasses, does never count as Newspaper reading)

Reading about your Industry:

Just “Google” about the Industry / Business you are involved with and gain some interesting information…This can be a great activity to begin your day at the office ..I would say the best way (IMHO, Beginning the day at Office with e-mails as the first activity is the worst way to start !!!)

Learning:

Pick a software,Technical book and spend 10 minutes reading/practice …Make sure to take notes(By this way, No body can call you a slow learner !!!)

I just threw in some of my ideas …The list is actually endless…The key is to Start Small…(Leo Babauta). Start with just one 10-minute project until it becomes an Habit and then you can add one more into your life. No more Monotony…only Habits!!!

Think Velocity

On the other day while I was narrating the story of the popular Aesop fable “The Hare and the Tortoise” to my daughter, something sparked in my mind…We all should stop thinking about the speed (Pace)…rather we should think Velocity…What is the difference?

Hmmm…You should know the difference if you had passed the 7^th class physics…anyway…here is the refresher, Speed is just the number …like 50 miles/kilometer per hour.  It does not tell in which direction. Velocity is both the number and the direction…50 miles/kilometer per hour towards North.

As you can see now, it does not add an iota of value to your life if you travel so fast  in the wrong direction. Many of us do that…we put our money in the wrong investment…we choose to pursue the education in the wrong field ….We chose the wrong job….and the list is endless. It is high time that we think velocity and not Speed alone..because

Speed is efficiency, Velocity is effectiveness

Speed is Doing the Things right ,Velocity is Doing the right things

You may ask how to get into the mode of velocity…the answer lies in the “ Thinking Time” . When was the last time you had undisturbed thinking time of 10 minutes about your life? You got to form the habit of thinking time ….It could be about your day,about your finance, about your career, about your personal life…whatever that is important to you. Japanese have a culture of “Reflection” (Hansei) built-in their life. This culture is attributed as one of the key reasons for their penchant of continuous improvement  

I have in the recent past trying to form this habit of “focused thinking”. I wake up around 5:45 am (I wish it is 4:00 am) just before the dust for the starts kicking in and just reflect on the happenings the day before and what lies ahead in the day ahead. I record the new stuff on the todoist & form a To Do list based on the priorities. As a self-appraisal, while I am operating only at 10-15% effectiveness, this gives a refreshing feeling at the end of the day when I complete my To Dos…

The highest level of effectiveness is  when all your actions for the day are congruent with the purpose of your life. If you strive for this, Speed does not matter..as long as it is one step after the next