Sunday 14 October 2007

Don't Outsource Your Brain. Not to media personalities, not to politicians, not to your smart neighbour... Make your own decisions, and mistakes.




/////////////Don't Outsource Your Brain. Not to media personalities, not to politicians, not to your smart neighbour... Make your own decisions, and mistakes. And learn from them. That way, you are training your brain, not your neighbour's








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D LESSING-NOBEL LITT 07




/////////////////////PROPN REPRESENTN IN SCOT/NI/EU PARLMENT




//////////////////////PROCASTN HACKERS



Form a Do It Now habit. Procrastination, like many things, is simply a bad habit. By replacing it with a positive habit — the Do It Now (DIFN) habit — you will kick procrastination’s butt. This will require concentrated effort for 30 days, but after that, it should be on autopilot. I put up a sign on my computer that says “DO IT NOW” and every time I feel like procrastinating, I look at the sign and get to work.
Do Your MIT first. I have a rule that before I check my email or read my feeds, I have to do my Most Important Task first. I do it first thing in the morning, and then no matter what happens after that, I’ve done something very productive today. If you’ve been procrastinating on a very important task for some time, I suggest you do that first. Don’t allow yourself to do anything else until it’s done!
10-minute rule. If a task seems overwhelming, tell yourself that you’re only going to do it for 10 minutes. There’s nothing intimidating about 10 minutes. And more often than not, you end up doing more than 10 minutes after that initial hurdle of getting started is overcome.
Break it down. Got an overwhelming task to handle? Break it up into much tinier tasks. I mean really tiny. Have a paper to write? Just write the headline. Or just do 10 minutes of the outline. Or just write the first sentence. That’s a task you can accomplish, and when you’re done, you feel great. Use that feeling of success to carry you to the next tiny task (”Write 2nd sentence”) and keep going from there.
Love your work. Why do we procrastinate. Sometimes it’s because we don’t like what we’re doing. If that’s the case for you, you might want to consider a different job or a different line of work. But in any case, as much as possible, seek to do things you love, even within your current job. Not feeling like doing that task right now? Find another that’s more fun (not video games).
30-10. This is one of my favorites. I set a timer for 30 minutes, and then work like mad until the timer goes off. Then I set the timer for 10 minutes, and do something that I really want to do (email and feeds for me, maybe Twitter or Digg for you). Repeat as often as necessary. The key is sticking to your timer — don’t stop while the 30 minutes is still going, and don’t go beyond your 10-minute break.
Set a deadline. Deadlines, for me and for many people, are one of the best tools for getting things done. If you set a deadline for a task, you are more likely to actually do it. For some, the pressure of a deadline isn’t felt until after the deadline has passed, but still. It has its uses.
Put public pressure on yourself. The power of the deadline is best when combined with public pressure. If your boss, or a group of people, want something in by a certain date or time, you are more likely to bust your butt getting it done. If there isn’t any public pressure on a task, create it — email someone and promise to have it done by a certain time, and ask him or her to check on it at that time just to make sure you do it.
Reward yourself. This has two benefits: 1) it makes you look forward to completing the task, so you can get your reward, and 2) it makes the process more enjoyable. It’s important to make the process pleasurable and fun, so you’re more likely to do it.
Consider not doing it. If it’s something you’re really dreading, perhaps it’s something you shouldn’t do. This is not always an option, but sometimes I get requests to do stuff that eventually it turns out the requester didn’t really want too badly in the first place. Sometimes when I put something off, it’s no longer necessary by the time I am really ready to do it.
Change to an “abundance mentality”. Instead of thinking about the problems and difficulty and obstacles, think about the possibilities and opportunities presented by this task or project. By thinking of it in this way, you are more likely to want to do something, knowing the reward and benefits that come from actually getting it done.
Clear away distractions. Procrastination is much easier with games and IM and email being right there, ready to access. Turn off email notifications, clear away all other web pages, turn off games and other distractions on your computer, and clear off your desk. In fact, if you can disconnect the Internet, that’s best.
(10+2)*5. Merlin Mann’s famous hack. Basically similar to the 30-10 hack, but shorter. 10 minutes of work, followed by a 2-minute break, and repeat. It works great.
Procrastination dash. This is just a short burst of focused work — as short as a minute. It’s designed to get you out of procrastination mode.
Track your time. Want to see just how much time you’re wasting? Track it. Just do a time log, even for one day. It will be enlightening, and it will make you much more aware of what you’re actually doing and what your time-wasters are. This is a sure way to get your procrastination under control.
Prepare yourself. Often tasks are much easier, and we’re much more likely to get started, if we prepare for them first. Get the research done, get the tools ready, clear away distractions, get your coffee ready, and get going.
Overcome your fears. What fears are blocking you from doing this task? Fear of failure? Fear of not being good enough? First imagine the worst thing that can happen. How bad is that? Often, if you give some thought to what can actually happen, you can get a handle on your fears, and you can find ways to overcome them.
Get a task-master. Having trouble getting yourself going? Get someone else to push you and make sure you stop procrastinating. Enlist the help of a co-worker or family member. Make sure your task-master isn’t as forgiving as my wife is.
Schedule it last-minute. Have an absolute deadline for a task that will take one hour? Schedule it so you don’t actually start on it until about an hour before deadline (well, give yourself a 30-minute cushion). Will a project take 2 days to complete? Schedule it 2 days before deadline. If you have absolutely no padded time in your schedule, you will have no choice but to get a move on.
Structured procrastination. This is a beautiful idea — put your most important task at the top of your list (but make it something where the deadline can actually be pushed back), and put other important tasks right under that task. Well, in order to procrastinate on the top item, you’ll do the ones underneath it. That way you’ll get a lot done while procrastinating. The good thing is, if other more important tasks come along, they get added to the top, so the task that was formerly at the top will eventually get done.




//////////////////http://www.betterlifeforum.com/Mind/20-Procrastination-Hacks.html




///////////////////Rule of thumb suggests it takes two years to assimilate the death of a parent, one year to go through all the anniversaries and birthdays, and one year to begin the personal healing process




////////////////////CHILDHOOD BREADWINNER LOSS ANXIETY




////////////////////RIGID MENTAL SETUP




//////////////////What we know as 'life' is the analytical realization in the seriality of time of our eternal reality. - Why Lazurus Laughed by Wei Wu Wei



THAT IS CDS



//////////////////////Facts are the enemy of truth. - Miguel de Cervantes
For the skeptic there remains only one consolation: if there should be such a thing as superhuman law it is administered with subhuman inefficiency. - Eric Ambler
And that's the world in a nutshell, an appropriate receptacle. - Stan Dunn




///////////////////AnonymousReality can be beaten with enough imagination.Happiness is a choice that requires effort at times.The trouble with being punctual is that no one is there to appreciate it.When all is said and done, a lot more is said than done.Bad habits are like a comfortable bed, easy to get into, but hard to get out of.A real leader faces the music, even when he doesn't like the tune.Life is like a beautiful melody, only the lyrics are messed up.Love is like a butterfly, hold it too tight, it'll crush, hold it too loose, it'll fly away.Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.The mystery of love is greater than the mystery of death. Enjoy life. There's plenty of time to be dead.No one is listening until you make a mistake.Opportunity may knock only once, but temptation leans on the doorbell.If the dogs are barking at your heels, you know you're leading the pack.He who laughs last thinks slowest.As long as you can laugh at yourself you will never cease to be amused.Many an opportunity is lost because a man is out looking for four-leaf clovers.The early bird gets the worms, but the second mouse always gets the cheese. A sense of humor is the lubricant of life's machinery. If you can look into the mirror without laughter, you have no sense of humor. To the world you might be one person, but to one person you might be the world.Take life with a grain of salt.....a slice of lime, and a shot of tequila. Philosophy is a study that lets us be unhappy more intelligently.A poet is someone who is astonished by everything.To succeed in politics, it is often necessary to rise above your principles.Optimization hinders evolution.The world is so fast that there are days when the person who says it can't be done is interrupted by the person who is doing it.Money talks...but all mine ever says is good-bye.Some people weave burlap into the fabric of our lives, and some weave gold thread. Both contribute to make the whole picture beautiful and unique.Life is a cup to be filled not drained.Luck is when opportunity knocks and you answer.Success always occurs in private, and failure in full view.Winners never quit and quitters never win. Great minds think alike.One thing you can't recycle is wasted time.The real measure of your wealth is how much you'd be worth if you lost all your money.Men show their character in nothing more clearly than by what they find laughable.Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.An expert is someone who knows more and more about less and less, until eventually he knows everything about nothing.Good, better, best; never let it rest till your good is better and your better is best.There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.Silence is one great art of conversation.A person who aims at nothing is sure to hit it.Don't worry if you're a kleptomaniac, you can always take something for it.I'm never wrong. I once thought I was wrong, turns out, I was mistaken. Sometimes my mind wanders; other times it leaves completely. The only reason time exists is to keep everything from happening all at once. The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right time, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment. Remember, people will judge you by your actions, not your intentions. You may have a heart of gold -- but so does a hard-boiled egg.We are told never to cross a bridge until we come to it, but this world is owned by men who have 'crossed bridges' in their imagination far ahead of the crowdThe time to stop talking is when the other person nods his head affirmatively but says nothing.Choose your friends by their character and your socks by their color. Choosing your socks by their character makes no sense, and choosing your friends by their color is unthinkable.People have the right to be stupid. Some people abuse that privilege.I am free of all prejudices. I hate everyone equally.A sense of humor is the lubricant of life's machinery.Age doesn't always bring wisdom. Sometimes age comes alone.Truth is not always popular, but it is always right.Discretion is being able to raise your eyebrow instead of your voice.The whole world steps aside for the man who knows where he is going.To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism, to steal ideas from many is research.If you can look into the mirror without laughter, you have no sense of humor.The best way to love is to love like you have never been hurt.The fact that no one understands you doesn't make you an artist.



http://www.stevenredhead.com/quotes/



////////////////////The following is inscribed on the tomb of an Anglican Bishop in Westminster Abby (1100 A.D.) …
When I was young and free and my imagination had no limits, I dreamed of changing the world. As I grew older and wiser, I discovered the world would not change, so I shortened my sights somewhat and decided to change only my country.
But it, too, seemed immovable.
As I grew into my twilight years, in one last desperate attempt, I settled for changing only my family, those closest to me, but alas, they would have none of it.
And now, as I lie on my deathbed, I suddenly realize: If I had only changed myself first, then by example I would have changed my family.
From their inspiration and encouragement, I would then have been able to better my country, and who knows, I may have even changed the world.

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