Tuesday 19 June 2012

Wednesday, the paper fold.

Take a piece of paper and fold it in two exact parts. You see the line that is formed in the middle of the page? In my mind this line is Wednesday. Monday and Tuesday constitute the first part of the paper and Thursday and Friday make up the last part. Wednesday is just a milestone in the week. It helps you figure out where you stand and what remains to be done. 

I've never been an adept of "time management". When I was in high school and, subsequently at college, I've never been ahead of time on anything. I was always among the last ones to hand in my assignments and along with my group, we've spent a lot of sleepless night on the eve of a deadline just because we did absolutely nothing when we were supposed to work on the project in the first place.

I've never tried to read self-help books on time management and I never heed people's advice on how to better manage my time. I find the latter too personal and circumstance-based and the former too boring. 

The thing is, however, when I started working, something changed. I am responsible for my own work and for that of other people. This is the real thing, it is not a theoretical paper on the policy for a random company that will never be put into practice. The implications are real as well. And I am not in the least bit ashamed to say that the change was brought about my an important motivational factor: extrinsic motivation. Well, if you still haven't got it yet, I meant money! Nothing motivates you more (at least while you are still young) than the idea of being paid for doing your job effectively.

And so, some sort of adult and responsible biological clock started ticking, making me start planning my weeks in order to get things done on time. That paper fold on Wednesdays helps me to set things right until we reach Fridays. And you know what? Things are sometimes hectic but the stress is not there. It's not that I don't miss the rush of adrenaline that college days used to give me, but sometimes you gotta grow into a better version of yourself.

Sunday 17 June 2012

Vacations...

I've never been a "vacation-person". Every time I was on holidays the only place where I longed to be is the place where I get to spend less time: home. My idea of vacations has always been loose clothes, movies, TV shows, the net and anything else that makes you a good couch-potato. I never got the idea of a weekend "getaway". Why get away, when you can stay at home and be very happy about it.

However, I now stand corrected. I know why people go on vacations and I know why "getting away" can be something great sometimes.

Spending your holidays in an exotic place, especially with someone with whom you intend to spend the rest of your life, is a way to foresee what lies ahead. Quite a nutshell view, but I find it terribly useful.

Planned vacations teach you valuable life lessons such as:

1. Never overestimate certain things: You won`t actually eat or drink as much as you think you would. You might not have enough time to do all the activities you intended to do.

2. Unexpected things happen: The weather might not be ideal for swimming and it might just be too cold outside to do any outdoor activity.

3. Life is full of pleasant surprises: The food might surprise you or you might end up doing a walk that brings you to discover new things.

All in all I am happy we did it. And it might sound terribly cliché but home is really where the heart is.