Stop organizing your life. Live it.

(May be this should have been a prequel to my previous post)

Cluttered-desktop

In the past few days, I have gone through some drastic changes in my work routine. I have come to realize that work gets done not because we are having a check-list of to-do things to follow but rather an urge to get those things done. When I say "urge", I mean a sheer love to do that thing which is on the list.That was the very reason some things on my list would get done and some just wouldn't.

For over six years in my professional life, I have made several to-do lists, organized my calendar, thoughts, ideas in notebooks and of course made dozens of business plans (had that bound too ;-) . In that span, one of the biggest take aways for me during my "ups" in life were when I learnt that these organizers, binders, e-mails, calendars, excelsheets and documents were simply a support system to help me succeed in what I "love" doing. The problem is that when we start compartmentalizing and organizing our life, we somewhere lose the very purpose of our tasks and activities. This is the same reason why we are able to work better after a vacation or a refreshing weekend out of the workplace. This keeps us sane and helps us reconnect with our "purpose" to have born on this planet! (No, really!). This is the real reason that urges us to do well in our life. 

The problem is that as humans, we need a lot of objectivity in life. We need to know what exactly needs to be done. It is like when we need the answer to the universe, one answer to everything. This search for objectivity leads us to use these support tools - be it our phonebook, our awesomely cool business card holder or probably our most up-to-date excelsheet. Unfortunately, with some of us (at least me!), we are caught up in organizing and re-organizing this list every now and then.

I was spending more time doing things that I needed to do to do things that I love to do, instead of simply doing things that I love to do. 

Finally, the question that I asked myself a few weeks back was this: is my life going to revolve around organizing my organizer or living a life where I do things that I love. The answer to this question required me to get rid of my to-do list and goals and objectives in work and personal life. I did that and asked myself some questions:

  1. What do I love doing?
  2. Has my love to do those things in the past resulted in success?
  3. Was I having an itch to do things for which I never found time?

For all these questions my answers were YES!

I took complete control of my "objectives". I made my mailbox and my calendar my to-do list. Reason: I loved to get things done on that than on my list. (it could be some other tool for you - may be your cellphone or your diary or simply a sheet of paper - that's all you need for your nuances). I stopped organizing my organizers. While on the other hand, I made a list of things I loved doing (my "subjectives" - the stuff that you can not put a price tag on, the stuff that you will love doing now or probably even 10 years down the line") . This was a list that I started caring about more. If this wouldn't get done, I would be unhappy. It did not matter what else needed to get done as that was just a way to happiness and not happiness itself.

My "To-Do list" is now a "List of Things I love doing"

It's been awhile since I blogged but I am glad that I am writing again! :) Anywho, in my constant search to work better and more efficiently, I probably rethink my to-do list every 3 months or so - which I think is healthy. What is not is the fact that there is always a long list of things on it which is only being thrown from one list to another and the thing just does not get done. I noticed that my list had things which had a very peculiar nature which led to them never getting done:

a) my list contained things that I really hated doing

b) my list contained things that I actually love doing

c) my list contained things that I just did not see value in - I thought the ROI was not just worth it.

and of course my favorite

Higher-self-mountain-top

d) my list contained things that I thought were easy to get done and I loved doing - (well, who cares to change that, right?)

Last week, I came close to my search for the ultimate to-do list. One that would contain a list of things that I need not strike off. It was in fact not a to-do list where I would strike off each item. It was more of a reminder list of things that I love doing. Yes, that's right. I made a list of things that I love doing rather than a list of things that I have to get done. This askew perception changed the way I started looking at my work and personal life. Now my list contains:

a) a list of things that I love doing - that's it

which will help me achieve my personal and professional goals. So how do I use it? It's quite simple. My daily nitty grittys are either marked on my calendar or are in my mailbox. What I love doing is keeping my Calendar and my Mails up-to-date!  So that solved one problem of not having to add ad-hoc items to my to-do list - they are either instantly acted upon or marked on my calendar.

My "To-Do list" is now a "List of Things I love doing". Here's one checked off the list for me today:

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Focus: Disconnect from the Distraction

I have to admit that I'm myself pretty unfocused as I read this book but I did get the gist of it i.e. the benefits of disconnecting and the beauty of focus in your daily life. I highly recommend anyone who feels that they get less work done during the day because of distractions. I remember simpler times when we just had e-mail. Yes, those were simpler times for me until Social Networks invaded my life :D - lurking, updating, commenting, liking and the works!. It is interesting how the author in this book points out the reasons for distraction - 2 chapters worth a read are: The age of Distraction and The beauty of Disconnection.

Anna, Bribes, Lokpal Bill, Corruption and India's progress

Ob-pf059_anna_e_20110818031504

I think the biggest misconception right now in the minds of the people of India is due to the mix-up of all these topics or concerns i.e.

  1. Anna Hazare - an individual who is leading a people to stand for a bill to be passed in the Parliament which does not change anything in the country until its tried and tested
  2. The habit of giving/taking bribes in India which citizens of India are so used to
  3. Lokpal Bill that essentially empowers an independent team to prosecute corrupt government officials
  4. Grass-root level corruption in government offices
Obscurity in our minds:
  1. Anna Hazare is Jesus Christ against Corruption
  2. The habit of giving and taking bribes directly is a bad thing and if you do take or give bribes, you have no right to support Lokpal because you are responsible for the corruption as a part of this "system" (Oh yeah, some people love saying this!)
  3. Lokpal Bill when passed, government officials will stop taking bribes
  4. Grass-root level corruption in government offices is responsible for everything that goes wrong in this "system"(I love using this word too!)
Let's get real:
  1. Anna is not Jesus Christ; he is simply Anna for God's sake. He is most certainly a gentleman who has a point but it is just a means to the end and not the end itself and that is something all of us need to realize.

  2. Just because you take a bribe or have given a bribe (I admit I have) does not mean you can't stand for an anti-corruption protest. Corruption is beyond taking or giving bribes. I read somewhere recently that our parents and grandparents were born in an age where bribing was the way to get things done. This is still the way in a lot of places and you can not deny that. Forget urban areas, in villages bribing is often the means of survival (ration). It is sad to see how some people compare these small acts of bribing with the thousands of crores of money laundering scams of politicians and corporates in our country! Come on, give me a break. In that context, yesterday's Mumbai Mirror's take on this was a cheap shot. "If you have never paid a bribe then write to us and you get to meet Anna" (Again, he is not Jesus Christ that I would really want to meet him). 

    Bribing has less to do with corruption and more to do with incentives and compensation policies set for government officials at the grass-root level. No protest and Lokpal bill can bring an end to these bureaucratic issues. If we are talking about "corruption", we should be worried about the black money stashed by politicians in Swiss Banks which never return to our economy!(I'm not endorsing grass-root level corruption. It is not a good idea and I would love to see that change as well but let's not mix that up with >  Lokpal, Anna, 3G Scams, Politicians getting away with things, etc.)

  3. As explained above, Lokpal has less to with grass-root level government officials but more to do with politicians who get away with scams that cause a deficit in our economy. Unfortunately, it is being propagated as a common man's fight against day-to-day bribing. BS. Even if that were to happen, I'm pretty sure, the judiciary will need to recruit a million more judges to see every case. Quite frankly, it does not make any economic sense.

  4. If corruption alone were the problem, we would not have the wrong people in the Parliament and we would not have a weak judiciary. There are other things we need to start thinking about:

  1. A rusty old Constitution
  2. Compensation policies in government offices 
  3. Examine more closely why there is corruption in the first place: Was there something wrong with the way we set policies to give out 3G licenses in the first place? Have we given too much power to the politicians? Do we need a new way to govern this country? 
  4. and a lot more I'm sure
Until then, God bless Anna. And yes, I support his cause but not the way a lot of people do with candles, torches, silence or Facebook profile badges! :-D

The Cove - mainly criticism

I just saw the movie and I have mixed feelings about the cause. Then I did a quick Google Search to find a blog post which will express my feelings and emotions about this and this article does exactly that - must read if you are someone who loved the movie or support the cause : http://alllooksame.com/?p=330

One thing that I do admire is Ric o'Barry's persistency to take on the cause. I like the fact that he is not a weirdo who just loves dolphins because they kiss and surf beside you. His career depended on dolphins and he admits he was ignorant. I admire his love for the animal - however, I do not agree with his cause.

On a separate note (or not?), I'm glad I'm a vegetarian... :-)