Just Seven Things

Exploring why and how we do what we do, and how we can do it better

Trial Run to Overcome Your Procrastination

Back looking at Guy Claxton’s Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind and I’ve hit a brilliant point where our belief system is explored:

‘We possess a whole variety of beliefs, many of which are themselves unconscious or unarticulated, which specify, more or less rigidly, and in more or less detail, our character and our psychology. They define what kind of person we are, our personality or ‘self image’, and even how our minds are supposed to work.’

He goes on to query whether our beliefs about ability, and needs to protect self-esteem can also lead us to become more mentally clumsy when faced with a challenge that increases our vulnerability.

Back to the game playing psychology that I have explored many times here (see tags in sidebar to right), we can trick ourselves into activity.

By starting work on something as a ‘practice’ or trial run, we both overcome the procrastination build-up against starting actually do something ‘that we may not be good at/ may not be actually able to do’. But we also ‘open ourselves to the undermind’ and the creativity latent within us.

So the key is to just start. Have a bash. Act as if you can do it.

Is Technology Driving Us all to Distraction?

I was taking notes from a Sunday Times article I’d snipped a while back with the above title. It was by Dominic Rushe and explored a book by Edward Hallowell called ‘Crazybusy – Overstretched, Overbooked and about to Snap’

One sentence in particular struck me: ‘if you are driving and you are lost, the first thing you do is turn down the radio because you need to concentrate. Why do we think it’s different at work?’

And then: ‘the harder work is thinking, not the collecting of information’

It resonated a lot with things that have struck me about the way my mind works when I’m trying to focus. The siren call of ‘interesting’ distractions is vast. The peripheral noise of quick-hit, but ultimately lower return work is material compared to the clarity of, but endurance required to achieve, the longer term focused goal or objective.

I was even struck while running that because physically we’re more used to moving towards a destination, it may be hard work, but we cover a lot of ground. We don’t run round in small circles or from point to point, stopping and starting (unless we’re just starting running……..!)

It’s probably a questionable analogy, but it works for me. I want my work life to all be about the 90 minute runs to my pre-determined destination (with the radio turned down…)

The Experience Economy: Possessions vs. Experience Now

Not the usual subject matter, but a quick thought.

Ben Elliot of concierge company ‘Quintessentially’ is quoted as saying, ‘people realise experiences are remembered more than purchases. What you hold in your heart is more important than what you hold in your hand’

This was quoted in the FT in a piece on possessions. A book called the Experience Economy was also referred to. 

I wonder, in light of the events over the past weeks and months, what the impact on corporations and their products will be? Will our internal valuation of things vs. experience have shifted? Will experience increase in value?

Just a thought…..

 

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