Thursday, August 31, 2006

Time Management

How we see it?







Women

Men

Time as the enemy Time as a resource
Not enough time to work and the responsibility of the family Not very concerned with balancing the responsibility
Overwhelmed, stressed and guilty Stressed
Guilty when you say "no" Don’t have time to do everything
Need to do most things perfectly Don’t have time to do everything



Perfectionist: Work, home, car, closets, children, garage

5 biggest time wasters: Telephone, Email, Communication, Meetings, Organization

Embrace vs. Tackle





Comprehend Football Play
Hug Attack
Adopt Aggress
Inclusion Lineman


Take a break


· Break away physically for give minutes
· Break away emotionally for five minutes
· Positive action statements
· Write down priorities
· Use month-at-a-glance calendar

Find your peak time!

Circadian Rhythm

Physical cycle
takes 23 days to complete and controls energy, coordination and resistance to change, and other physical points.
Emotional cycle is 28 days and tied to creativity, mental health and temperament.
Intellectual cycle takes 33 days to complete and regulates memory, alertness and other intellectual pursuits.

Goals/Intentions:

· Subconscious mind believes whatever you think to be true
· Change internal perception/talk
· Positive attracts positive
· Negative attracts negative

Creating more energy

· Understand the need for control
o Fear: will lose job, professional standing, family, home
o Guilt: unreasonable demands of not being perfect, not being able to do everything
· Ask for help
o Fear of seeming incompetent
o The dislike of infringing on other’s time
o Fear of neglect
o The belief that a job requires specific knowledge and experience
o Ego involvement with the task
· Delegate
o No man is an island and no woman can do it all herself
o Critical for growth, success and sanity
· Procrastination => stress
· Stress => Burn-out
· Burn-out => Depression

Nurturing you

· Treat yourself to a Saturday salon day
· Cuddle up with a good book & herbal tea
· Go out with a fun friend for the evening
· Take a relaxing bath with candles
· Spend an entire weekend having fun
· Save $10/week for six months and take a trip

Monday, August 28, 2006

Panchaat

I think the word came from original word "Panchaayat".

A little history of panchaayat: in the old times in villages a group of five so-called smartest and wisest people of the village would be appointed to settle disputes when problems arose between two parties. Two parties would disclose all the relevant information to this group of individuals and finally the panchayat would make a righteous decision.

Today, the word has taken a completely different meaning. The actual concept of panchaayat has been gone long. Everyday use of the word gradually changed it to panchaat. Panchaat means vain and needless discussion. It is when people try to find out things about you that don't matter to them at all or may be very little. Asking these questions would not make any difference in their lives; and despite of that they ask you questions. I guess it is a fun activity... more like it has become like a hobby for some.

Have you ever noticed someone asking you, "so what else is new?" like 15 times in a 15 minute-conversation? That's what I am talking about... we come across many people like these in our day to day lives - people who don't have anything better to do but to find out what you have been up to. They ask you questions that make you feel uncomfortable sometimes, and mostly otherwise these are questions that are as simple as what is your hair color today? How does someone else's hair color make a difference in their lives? I understand if it is their significant other, or spouse, that's a different story because there could be someone out there having crush on a person because of their hair color. So in that case it becomes a matter of concern. Or may be they're doing a survey on how many blondes, brunettes or black/brown haired people did they interact with in one day? But to be doing this regularly, it makes one think whether those people have anything better to do in their lives or not.

I seriously think that these people should find something worth while to do, something that would enrich their minds. There are thousands of books, magazines, newspapers out there, they could read them. Engage themselves in some meaningful discussions instead of doing endless chatting with people just for their entertainment. Browse the internet to acquire more knowledge about science or other subject.

Why do people engage in “panchaat” in the first place? May be their lives are so lonely, may be their lives seriously lack entertainment, thus making them search for amusement in wrong places. I am still searching for potential reasons.
Genuinely caring about someone is different thing altogether. There are these people out there also... so it is important to differentiate between the two kinds. Not to be judging these kind folks who are there for us when we need them. You will find that the conversation with “panchaatiyaa” (people doing panchaat) becomes annoying at some point of time during the conversation. This is a best way to determine whether to spend more time talking to them. So did you talk to anyone today who did panchaat? I know I did. :-)

Monday, August 21, 2006

Expectations

I have been pondering...
What is it that makes us expect? Expect from ourselves, from others around us। Is it an internal force or external? Why do we expect things when we know our expectations are not going to meet? If expectation is not met, there might be disappointment associated with it. Practice and practical approach to situations and circumstances might help with reducing the expectations. It is a settlement between the reality and what our mind/heart wishes. Do we expect more from those who do too much? I'd think so, at least personal experience makes me say so. It is not logical to give up on expectations entirely since they help us make progress in life also - specially expectations from ourselves. Where to draw the line and tell ourselves - that's enough! Or when to tell ourselves - it's okay that's life we can't continue to expect from others. When we consider others' situation from their point of view is when we realize what constraints others might have in their lives. It is very difficult to think about others when we are only thinking about ourselves. The key is to get out of our mindset and think from their point of view. Think of how their priorities might be different than ours. Personal experiences conclude it takes great deal of practice to learn to not expect too much from others, for our own happiness and satisfaction.