Productivity

How to attain a mind-like-water status - Weekly Review

2021-01-20

I sat at the shore of a lake in the Himalayas, in a place called Rewalsar in Himachal Pradesh. Crystal clear water. No ripples. Birds chirped. Lush green trees dotted the lake. Buddhist monasteries, a Gurudwara ¹ and Hindu shrines adorned the small town. Burning lamps and incense gave out a distinct smell that you can associate with places of worship.

A stone plopped on the surface. Then another one, then another one. There were a lot of ripples, with those waves dashing against each other. Then, the stones stopped.

Weekly review is that phase of the lake when the waves reach the shore and the waves slowly die out, leaving the lake waiting for the stones to return. The lake doesn’t hate the stone, but it seems to be enjoying the show.

I first heard, David Allen, the productivity guru, talk about mind-like-water. I remember reading somewhere

A week without review is weak.

We will see how to review your week, so that on Monday, your mind becomes the lake which enjoys the show of stones (tasks) hitting the lake.

Micro-progress on Habits and Tasks - Solpa Adjust Maadi

in Teaching

2020-09-23

Rome wasn’t built in a day is one of the adages you might have heard. Many projects and tasks that I have had in the past and those that are in my inbox are deadline driven. So, the deadlines bring in the drive to complete them. However, there are some tasks which are nice to do, and they do not have any deadlines. They get postponed all the time, particularly because there is no deadline attached. How does one tackle this situation? Micro-progress. Mark the task on your calendar, do a little (barely minimum) work and write that down in the description. Now, postpone the task to some other date. That’s it! The next time, the task shows up, do the exact same thing.

Books and Stuff Podcast - Episode 1 - Deep Work How to Focus in a Distracted World

in Learning

2018-03-28

Welcome to the Books and Stuff Podcast Series.

Krishna likes to read books, but Bala doesn’t.

Bala likes to write, but Krishna doesn’t.

They both love to talk!

So, Bala and Krishna decided to talk about what Krishna reads.

And thus the idea of recording their chatter was born.

The two friends will discuss books they love.

This series of podcasts is for busy people. People who’d love to learn about a book without having to read one. And maybe the podcast will inspire them to get their hands on a book that interests them.

Feel free to leave your recommendations via social media or in the comments section below.

Enjoy the Books and Stuff Podcast!

Action Reaction Goals

in Org

2018-01-24

Isaac Newton postulated the 3 laws of motion. One of them, the second one, introduced the concept of action-reaction. Action equals reaction is what he postulated. But, my thought is that we need to add goals to this to make a meaningful triad to let us live a meaningful life. Here, let me elaborate.

How to add an extra day to your week

in Org

2017-10-04

We moved into our current home about a year ago. A nice cozy apartment in a bustling neighborhood. The first challenge we faced at the new place was a stuck entrance door that wouldn’t open. When we had first seen the house, the person who had shown us around hadn’t faced any such problem (as far as my limited working memory could recollect).

A bit frustrated at not being able to enter the apartment, I called up the landlord. He replied that the door was swollen because of the rains. He went on to mention that the door was actually unlocked and all I had to do was to push hard.

How did I plan my year to achieve my set goals?

in Org

2017-02-14

Climb all you can

Miniature view of Shanghai City - My metaphor for planning your goal

Flat tyre and Goals

My simple goal was to get back home from my vacation at Tarkarli on the Western Coast of India. I filled up my old faithful steed and meandered through the Western Ghats successfully. Although, I love the mountains, I am not very fond of driving on the serpentine, undivided roads. Another 20 kms for my Mooshika (my steed mentioned earlier has a name, that of a mouse) and me to hit the divided 6-lane motorway.

Ths r fw f my fvrt smthngs!

in Learning

2011-11-06

I came across this wonderful personal productivity software called smthngs. What struck me as something very exotic is the minimalist design. Black and white and as promised, no manual needed to work with the software.

This software is based on getting things done (GTD) principles. Smthngs has most of the features that other websites like remember the milk (rmilk.com).