I was relaxing in a hot bath yesterday afternoon. I find it helps to clear my head like nothing else. I stop thinking about a million things at once, and just think about one thing in particular, or nothing at all. This particular time I realised that soaking in a bath is the most distraction free place out there. There is nobody to distract you, if the phone rings you wont get it, there is no TV to tempt you, no awaiting chores to mock you and no possibility to check emails or any other computer related distraction. It is the Nirvana, and it is there I feel that I see so much more. It is like a relaxing version of ‘the zone’. I began to think that the gulf between my state of mind in the bath, and out of it was greater than it should be. But what does this mean?

I think it means that I am way too stressed at the moment and I am finding it difficult to relax. I could definitely manage my workload better. I have never had so much to do, and I think I need to put more effort into planning my work. I shouldn’t have my entire to-do list floating around my head 24/7. I also let myself get distracted way too much. There is no proper line between work and play. Thinking about it now, I think this is probably the number one area I could improve on. If I could partition work and play better, then I think that the stress of work would not so easily seep into my relaxing time. I would probably also get more work done, and leave more time for creative and fun stuff. I think the key is to stop procrastinating so much. I will work on it and give it it some more thought. 

Until then, I guess I should just have more baths…

Note-to-self-1 : The next time I get stuck with a boring or complex task, take a break and spend some hours researching procrastination and methods to counter.

Note-to-self-2 : Look up the definition of ‘Irony’ on dictionary.com

Journal | No Comments »

Burnt me head. And me neck.

I seem to have no idea when it comes to being out in the sun. Maybe its a Northern thing, or a geek thing. I have no concern about getting a tan, so when I go out in the sun to read I don’t have a tan seating strategy. Am I un-evolved? Consequently after reading in the sun yesterday for a few hours, I now have a burnt neck and face down one side.

Inspite of not caring about a tan, I am slightly sensitive about appearing to have a disease that makes my face bright red down one side. In the interests of this lite-vanity, I am today sitting at a slightly different angle to read to make sure my redness roughly events out. I hope this doesn’t lead me down the slippery slopes of extreme-vanity - buying fake tan and HEAT type magazines. I think I will spend all day tomorrow on my computer just to make sure I am safe.

Journal | No Comments »

I am outside in the garden, it is the most gorgeous day. There is hardly a cloud in the sky, it is warm without being hot, and there is the occasional cooling breeze - perfect. I have a ton of work I need to do, but have decided to make the most of the weather. My pasty white skin probably doesn’t know whats hit it. You would think going to the bottom of the garden for a read in the sun would be simple. It’s never really as easy as that. Not for me anyway. The first problem I have when going outside is what do I read? My to-read-next list of books is almost as big as my have-already-read shelf. Do I want to read a novel, or a non-fiction book? A writing book, or a diary book? If I truly had to decide on one book before leaving the house, I would probably end up not going out at all. Or, even worse, I would just find the perfect book…on Amazon, and have to order it online and wait for it to be delivered…before going out.

A hasty compromise is usually the solution. It generally involves me transfering a large portion of my to-read pile of books to where ever I am going. This isn’t so unwieldy when, like today, I am going to the backgarden, but it can be quite a bind when going away on holiday.

Journal | No Comments »

The common theme this week seems to be what side effects occur when lack-of-sleep is countered by large amounts of coffee. It has not been pretty.

The current side effect most apparent is grouchiness - my tolerance levels have hit the ground. Little things are starting to get under my skin, and I am getting pissed off quite easily.

Example ‘Little Thing’:-

I recently purchased an Alphasmart Neo to use as a general writing device in place of my laptop.

You can read more about it from the Alphasmart website (I will post a review shortly), it is a primitive device that does pretty much nothing else but word processing. This week, whilst at work I have kept my Neo on my desk, and used it for writing diary entries and capturing ideas. Anyway, now and again it has caught the eye of somebody nearby, and it has led to some quite bizarre reactions.

The latest two reactions have been almost identical. I don’t really know how to describe it…Here is a rough transcript of how it goes. For the sake of anonymity lets say that the person making the observations is called ‘A.Loser’.

Well, A.Loser, comes over to my desk and notices the Neo. I must admit, at first the look on his face is just pure curiousity.

“What is that?” A.Loser asks, nodding towards the Neo.

“Its a word processor” I reply “I use it for writing and stuff.”

A.Loser, looks a little confused. The look of curiosity quickly fades from his face, and is replaced by a look of complete disdain.

“I thought you had a laptop!” A.Loser spits out.

I explain I have a laptop but I find it a bit cumbersome. Its heavy to take around, takes a long time to load up, has a rubbish battery life and is packed with lots of things I don’t need or that distract me etc. I stop mid sentence, A.Loser seems to have ignored everything I had just said, and is now looking at the Neo in disgust - clearly wondering how I could have the audacity to bring it into the building let alone expose his eyes to its deformity.

A.Loser continues to look dumbfounded; almost in some sort of trance. I cannot bear the silence any longer, I try once more to explain why I use the Neo instead of my laptop. That its a better tool for the sort of writing I want to do, it comes on instaneously, the batteries last for 700 hours, and its good for first drafts and so on. Basically defending my decision (whilst wondering why I had to)…. Finally it seems A.Loser has grasped my point, and now understands the situations I would prefer to use my Neo over my laptop. I think.

“In that case, I would just use my Blackberry to do my writing” A.Loser retorts “or write it down on paper!”.

I hadn’t asked for an opinion, or a review of my purchase. At no stage had I preached about the virtues of the Neo, at no stage had I declared it superior to laptops or blackberry’s, neither did I encourage him to get one, yet I was attracted scorn and snobbery from the Blackberry boy. I imagine it must be a geek thing, but it is quite a bizarre reaction to have. I am not burning down rain forests, or wearing a mink coat, I just have a rather low tech device, that I use for writing, sitting on my desk. If the Neo gets this sort of reaction on a regular basis, I may have to sellotape a message on the bottom explaining its existence.

Failing that I could just hit them with it - I imagine its a bit more robust than a laptop, and in a straight out fight with a Blackberry I would win hands down!

Journal | No Comments »

If the moon wanes this night it will be the sign. Times change, fortunes reverse, and hope cannot persist for always. I have prepared for this coming period, it has been a slow approaching shadow. I felt its menace well before I could see or name its evil. I thought I could outrun it, and when all thoughts of flight had left, I prayed to nature that a fortuitous wind would sweep it away from my path. Now hope has left, and I wait. I do not flinch, as I don’t expect a blow, or tangible strike; it will be crueler than that. The prophecy I feel has no words, but whispers a promise of a long darkness before there is light.

Freewriting, Writing Scraps | No Comments »

Well here I am. I got the early train into London this morning, and had to get up just after six. The plan is to change my daily routine to get into the city early, so I can head home earlier and enjoy some daylight in the evening. I am also going to trial stopping off at Starbucks on my way to work. It is the ideal time to do some freewriting or a diary entry. That is the theory anyway.

I read in article a month or two ago, a cool idea for fooling the brain into getting excited over a new project.     It was a very simple solution, and involved going to a coffee shop, and beginning the project whilst treating yourself to a coffee. The caffeine buzz from the coffee is supposed to stimulate you, and fool your brain into thinking that the project is stimulating you. Then whenever you think of working on the project, your brain does a little jig in memory of its caffeine roller coaster ride. I am not so sure how clever this almost Pavlovian conditioning is, but it is worth a try.

Thinking about it, it doesn’t have to be a trip to the coffee shop. Maybe it is not always practical to nip out of work midday, to start a project. How many employers are going to buy this new strategy? There must be a whole host of alternatives using the same concept. How about internet shopping just as the project starts? Maybe buying a book off Amazon at the time a project starts? Imagine, the more projects you start, the more books you get. After a really busy day, swamped at work, you get home to find a mountain of brown Amazon parcels – It is almost like compensation.

I think I should patent this idea?

Or not. You see this is a problem with stopping off and grabbing a coffee first thing in the morning. My mind becomes slightly hyper active whilst my good idea filter hasn’t really woken up yet.

Oh no, I have also just had a terrible thought. What happens if you have a super-caffeine- sugared- up coffee whilst starting the most hopeless excuse of a project. One you really should cancel before it gets any further? Only your brain has now been conditioned into thinking its best thing since sliced bread?

Hmmm, could be a problem.

…perhaps a Camomile tea could cancel out the effects?

Journal, Freewriting | 2 Comments »

I feel pretty exhausted after my first day back at work. It has been a pretty busy day and having to contribute to a presentation at short notice really had the adrenaline going. I feel drained from all the work I have been doing lately. It is as if I have had to lock a part of myself away whilst I do all my work - entering some sort of survival mode. To be honest with the sheer amount of work, I haven’t even had the time to stop and reflect.

Now, I have afforded myself some time to think, it is unsettling to know that I have been stubbornly soldiering on - all work and no life balance. My work over the next 2, maybe 3 months, does not look like relenting, so I am not sure what to do really. I cannot go on like this indefinitely. I am so off balance, I could not possibly hope to stay on track. But what compromise can I make?

I have in the last few months made some time to relax, time away from all the projects I am working on. I have even kept to some of them, but it is hard. It is not a wholly relaxing time. The sheer weight of work left outside, hammers rudely at the door and screams through the letter box; demanding attention. It is an effort just to ignore it and ‘concentrate’ on relaxing. Then perhaps finally I will start relaxing, when my work-hardened-subconscious will let float some sort of bubble of panic that ruins any sense of peace. I have had short bursts of this busyness in my life before, but never quite this intense, and never for such a sustained period.

So far I have a few ideas in terms of easing the stress. One is to write more frequntly in my journal. To try keep perspective, to make sure I have some sort of self peeking through. The second idea is to become a little better organised, so my workload doesnt seem like a mountain of chaos, with an avalanche suspected at any time. The third idea is just to make sure I fit in time to relax, even if I cannot keep thoughts of work at bay.

Come June, my workload should have significantly reduced, hopefully along with some of my debt, and I can look forward to such luxuries as free weekends, and possibly even a holiday!

Journal | 1 Comment »

A picture tells a thousand words.

Journal | 1 Comment »

In my New Years Resolutions post one of my resolutions was:-

• Make time to be more creative

I have a lot of creative ideas, some of them are good, but most of them rubbish… I very rarely do anything about them (apart from perhaps boring friends with the potential brilliance of my latest innovation)

Not anymore though. 2007 is the year for doing… That means some of my good ideas, and probably more of my rubbish ideas are going to be transformed from brainwave into something more substantial…

I think Danny Wallace’s girlfriend had the best phrase for this sort of creative outlet - she labeled his ideas “Stupid boy projects”.

Anyway, we shot a video about Hipster PDA and how a Hipster upgrade changed my life :).

creative adj 1 having or showing the ability to create. 2 inventive or
imaginative.+

jerk it out adj 1 to just let out some steam, freak out, let yourself go, get crazy.

=

Sorry.

Watch it on youtube

Technorati Tags: gtd hipsterpda hpda youtube

Journal | No Comments »

I often find myself scouring books or the internet, to find the best way of doing something. With all the information and knowledge out there, my inclination is to research thoroughly before I do most things. It an eagerness not to repeat mistakes or take errant paths, making sure I am aware and learn who have been before.

‘Don’t reinvent the wheel.’

The internet has been a massive influence in this area. No matter the topic, it is relatively easy to find information quite quickly. However I do think that having so much knowledge at our finger tips is dangerous. Too much of anything is generally not healthy, and I think too much information can be dangerous too. It is easy to binge browse the internet, to drown yourself in whatever information you are trying to find.

I definitely research too much. If I start any new topic, hobby, phase or work on an idea; my first inclination is to go to amazon and buy the best books on the subject and then to scourer the internet for information, tutorials, blogs etc. It’s like I am walking down the beach with my head down; desperately trying to find The Right Path, the footsteps of previous successful explorers. I become oblivious of all that is around me - such becomes my tunnel vision. I lose out on experiencing the journey properly. I don’t want to get to the destination and turn around to find not my footsteps, but footsteps of all the others, in which I have simply been hopping in and out of. It is almost robotic. I think I need to make my own path and approach things with a bit more freedom.

I want my own virgin footsteps to mark the sand. Even if occasionally I will find myself completely astray and have to start again. At least it will be my journey, my life.
I will have to make sure I spend a fair share of my time without the support services; unplug the internet and put down the books.

I have known for a long time that I really only learn and enjoy things when I work things out for myself. Natalie Goldberg explained in Wild Mind, two different types of learning. The basic concept is as follows:-

Stalkers learn by instruction, whether it’s watching how something is done, by reading, or by verbal instruction. Like a hunter, they watch, they listen, and they are attentive to their external environment. Once stalkers learn something it confirms their understanding and gives them confidence but their lives aren’t fundamentally changed.

Dreamers learn by doing. They learn from the inside out, they have an inner vision and often have to figure it out themselves. They are driven, persistent, and passionate about any creative pursuits. This is not the easiest way to learn but it’s the best way for dreamers. Once dreamers have learned something they feel victorious and their lives are changed.

I definitely am a Dreamer in this instance, but ironically on reflection I always try to learn like the stalker. It explains a lot.

Journal, A215 - Writing Course | No Comments »