I haven't finished a book for quite some time now. I tend to start reading a new book even though I am still in middle of another one. I buy e-books and paperbacks. I tend to forget the other books I have as soon as I get a hold of a new one. In the end, I get to finish nothing.
So here's what I am planning to do. In line with the book that I am currently reading, entitled 'Singletasking', I will focus on just one book at a time. Nothing else. I will not read other books even if I am tempted to start one. I will finish reading a book from cover to cover before I proceed to the next book. In this way, I will be motivated to finish my current reading task because that is the only way for me to go and grab a new one. This applies to all my paperbacks, e-books and magazines. Well maybe I can have a separate reading stream with my magazines.
The key here is to focus on the book-on-hand. I should have 100% laser beam focus and interest on the book that I am reading. With this, I won't have the urge to look for something else to read.
6/30/15
4/15/15
Setting Time Blocks for My Life Goals
I was inspired by this article that I have read from Daring to Live Fully: See article here.
So I am making another move that will change my life. Setting time blocks...
In order for us to achieve our goals in life, we need to consistently work on them. We need to allocate enough time for us to make progress towards our goals. One thing that I am planning to do moving forward is to set time blocks for certain goals that I want to achieve.
So for example, one of my goals is to grow my health blog to the point that it is capable of generating income. What I will be doing is to allocate a time block for blogging every day. It can be an hour, 30 minutes, or even as short as 15 minutes. The key is consistency. Every single day, I must work on my health blog for the time block that I have allocated. Let's say, 30 minutes. It doesn't matter what specific activity I am doing as long as I am doing something for my health blog that will lead me to my goal.
Another goal would be physical fitness. So for that one, I may set a 30-minute time block per day running on the treadmill or doing whatever physical exercise that I feel like doing. No limits, no other rules, just stick to the time blocks.
Other time blocks that I am planning to set:
If I were to set multiple time blocks for several goals, an hour of time block would perhaps be the recommended maximum. Consistently following the specified time blocks will eventlually lead to tangible results. Imagine yourself inching closer to your goals on a daily basis. In just a matter of time, you'll realize that you've had so much progress to the point that your goal is almost within your reach.
I will not dive into this completely for now though since I am still on a workation trip. But this is certainly what I am going to do as I continue to aim at my goals in life!
So I am making another move that will change my life. Setting time blocks...
In order for us to achieve our goals in life, we need to consistently work on them. We need to allocate enough time for us to make progress towards our goals. One thing that I am planning to do moving forward is to set time blocks for certain goals that I want to achieve.
So for example, one of my goals is to grow my health blog to the point that it is capable of generating income. What I will be doing is to allocate a time block for blogging every day. It can be an hour, 30 minutes, or even as short as 15 minutes. The key is consistency. Every single day, I must work on my health blog for the time block that I have allocated. Let's say, 30 minutes. It doesn't matter what specific activity I am doing as long as I am doing something for my health blog that will lead me to my goal.
Another goal would be physical fitness. So for that one, I may set a 30-minute time block per day running on the treadmill or doing whatever physical exercise that I feel like doing. No limits, no other rules, just stick to the time blocks.
Other time blocks that I am planning to set:
- Read a book.
- Work on a software development project.
- Study mobile application programming.
- Learn a household skill.
If I were to set multiple time blocks for several goals, an hour of time block would perhaps be the recommended maximum. Consistently following the specified time blocks will eventlually lead to tangible results. Imagine yourself inching closer to your goals on a daily basis. In just a matter of time, you'll realize that you've had so much progress to the point that your goal is almost within your reach.
I will not dive into this completely for now though since I am still on a workation trip. But this is certainly what I am going to do as I continue to aim at my goals in life!
4/13/15
Focusing on One Task at a Time
If you want to generate quality ouput or results in whatever you are doing, you should put your 100% attention to every detail of your work. We cannot deny that multi-tasking is helpful. It gets the job don. But most of the time, the results are of sub par quality. I belong in the IT industry. And from what I have experienced so far, I have learned that the quality of your output will always out-weigh its quantity. A software application is better off with few and essential features with optimal performance than being packed with a bunch of half baked features that will eventually lead to a slow perfomance and dirty code implementation.
Going back to life in general, if we put our 100% focus on a specific task, we tend to do well with it. As I write this article, I am putting off other tasks in front of me and I am bringing my full attention to this article. I am not a professional writer but as I chip down the words of this blog post, I know that I am effectively delivering the message that I want to share to the readers. I use my 100% attention and intense focus to build an informative and enlightening article that will somehow make an influence to my readers. If I am writing this article while doing something else, my message may not be conveyed properly. I may miss out on some significant details that should have made an impact to the readers.
It is in every person's nature to seek self development. And in order to feel that we are indeed improving our lives, we should be able to see quality results in everything we do. Everyone has something on his or her plate.
We'd love to generate excellent results on each of those things placed on our plates. If we juggle our time managing one task to another, we might lose our heads in the process. It will cause a tremendous amount of stress. Or worse, we'll accomplish nothing. Results will be rushed, half-baked and of poor quality.
Yes, we want to achieve more. We want to learn more, do more. But we can only do this by focusing on things one at a time.
Going back to life in general, if we put our 100% focus on a specific task, we tend to do well with it. As I write this article, I am putting off other tasks in front of me and I am bringing my full attention to this article. I am not a professional writer but as I chip down the words of this blog post, I know that I am effectively delivering the message that I want to share to the readers. I use my 100% attention and intense focus to build an informative and enlightening article that will somehow make an influence to my readers. If I am writing this article while doing something else, my message may not be conveyed properly. I may miss out on some significant details that should have made an impact to the readers.
It is in every person's nature to seek self development. And in order to feel that we are indeed improving our lives, we should be able to see quality results in everything we do. Everyone has something on his or her plate.
- A singer's plate may contain: writing songs, creating an album, performing at gigs, looking for sponsors, inspiring people with music.
- A doctor's plate may contain: continuous research in the medical field, serving patients, helping interns, performing medical operations, saving lives.
- A software developer's plate may contain: creating software applications, optimizing application features, researching on new technologies and designs.
We'd love to generate excellent results on each of those things placed on our plates. If we juggle our time managing one task to another, we might lose our heads in the process. It will cause a tremendous amount of stress. Or worse, we'll accomplish nothing. Results will be rushed, half-baked and of poor quality.
Yes, we want to achieve more. We want to learn more, do more. But we can only do this by focusing on things one at a time.
4/10/15
Be Slow, Mindful and Focused
To excel in every thing you do, learn these three traits. Be slow, mindful and focused. Why slow? It is in slowness where we get to have a calm and relaxed state of mind. When our minds are calm, we tend to be more focused on what we are doing.
Be mindful. Be aware of your surroundings. Be mindful about what you are presently doing. When typing, listen to the click of the keys. Focus on the movement and rythm of your hand and fingers. Remember to breathe always. Don't hold your breath when trying to focus on something or when preoccupied about a specific task. Just let go of your breaths. Let everything flow. Be slow, mindful and focused. Be loose and be relaxed. Avoid being stiff. It takes practice. But it will pay off. The quality of your work will improved.
Be mindful. Be aware of your surroundings. Be mindful about what you are presently doing. When typing, listen to the click of the keys. Focus on the movement and rythm of your hand and fingers. Remember to breathe always. Don't hold your breath when trying to focus on something or when preoccupied about a specific task. Just let go of your breaths. Let everything flow. Be slow, mindful and focused. Be loose and be relaxed. Avoid being stiff. It takes practice. But it will pay off. The quality of your work will improved.
3/19/15
Choosing My Path of Excellence or Means to Income Generation?
Where do I want to excel? That is the question that is quite bugging me these days. This question seems to be linked with how I would want to generate income for myself and my family. Do I want to focus on my programming skills, take multiple certifications, put so much effort on my career and become the best employee that I can be? Or do I want to have a balanced and competent programming skills and put my efforts on becoming a professional blogger?
Money plays a major role. It definitely is and will forever be the main motivating factor for someone to put his time and energy onto something. Is it worth my time and energy? What will I get from it?
Becoming an excellent programmer is a very good achievement in life. But do I want to spend my entire time and energy on something like this? Is it worth it? Again we are dealing with rewards versus effort. It is going to be hard. But definitely fulfilling. This was my original goal. I am not yet dropping this mindset though.
But what if while I am trying to do "fairly well" at work, I am also putting in the much needed effort in building my blogging empire? What if I keep my programming career intact, meeting and sometimes exceeding expectations but at the same time slowly building my blogs and gearing it towards income generation?
Others may say, we all need to have a business. We can't forever rely on our day jobs. Blogging is my thing. That is the one I consider as my business. And I will make it a goal to build my blogging empire. I will make it happen.
Money plays a major role. It definitely is and will forever be the main motivating factor for someone to put his time and energy onto something. Is it worth my time and energy? What will I get from it?
Becoming an excellent programmer is a very good achievement in life. But do I want to spend my entire time and energy on something like this? Is it worth it? Again we are dealing with rewards versus effort. It is going to be hard. But definitely fulfilling. This was my original goal. I am not yet dropping this mindset though.
But what if while I am trying to do "fairly well" at work, I am also putting in the much needed effort in building my blogging empire? What if I keep my programming career intact, meeting and sometimes exceeding expectations but at the same time slowly building my blogs and gearing it towards income generation?
Others may say, we all need to have a business. We can't forever rely on our day jobs. Blogging is my thing. That is the one I consider as my business. And I will make it a goal to build my blogging empire. I will make it happen.
3/8/15
We Are In Control of Our Lives
Each of us was given the privilege to live on this planet. Every person has one life to cherish. One life to enjoy and develop. You have yours, I have mine. Let's not waste our time envying and digging on the lives of others. We have just the same thing in our hands. So let's focus on our lives and aim for personal development.
We are in control of our lives. You get to choose your habits, your goals, your personal interests, hobbies, career and skills. You have your own gift of time as well. Make the most out of your time by developing yourself. Enjoy the process and you'll definitely achieve more.
We are in control of our lives. You get to choose your habits, your goals, your personal interests, hobbies, career and skills. You have your own gift of time as well. Make the most out of your time by developing yourself. Enjoy the process and you'll definitely achieve more.
2/7/15
Time for Self Reflection
I am currently on a three-month onshore assignment in Vancouver, Canada. It's far, far away from my home country. Far away from my friends, family and my wife. I miss them a lot. It sucks to be alone somewhere, away from everyone you love. I have already been here for one week. So that leaves 11 more weeks to endure.
I usually spend my time in the office as I go to work from 9am to 5pm on weekdays. Then I spend a couple of hours preparing my dinner, connecting to my loved ones and entertaining myself. I usually go to sleep at around 10 to 11pm.
Then something came to my mind. How can I make the most out of my stay here? Or better put, how can make the most out of my time away from home? One simple answer would be to continue to strive for personal development. Alone time is the time to reflect on one's self. I will use this time for self assessment. Where have I been in life? What have I done? What have I improved on?
Those are some pretty tough questions. If you know what I mean. But hey, I have tons of time with me. I have time right in my palm. And I can focus on my self improvement while I am away. Perhaps I can post some of my thoughts about my self assessment next time.
I usually spend my time in the office as I go to work from 9am to 5pm on weekdays. Then I spend a couple of hours preparing my dinner, connecting to my loved ones and entertaining myself. I usually go to sleep at around 10 to 11pm.
Then something came to my mind. How can I make the most out of my stay here? Or better put, how can make the most out of my time away from home? One simple answer would be to continue to strive for personal development. Alone time is the time to reflect on one's self. I will use this time for self assessment. Where have I been in life? What have I done? What have I improved on?
Those are some pretty tough questions. If you know what I mean. But hey, I have tons of time with me. I have time right in my palm. And I can focus on my self improvement while I am away. Perhaps I can post some of my thoughts about my self assessment next time.
1/22/15
So Much Time Wasted Lurking Around
I can be easily distracted. That's all I have to say. I am very much disappointed with myself because of the fact that I cannot maintain focus when I am doing something that is important. I kept "Lurking Around". (I just clicked on a new tab and checked out Facebook)
Okay I'm back. I will try to focus on writing this article. I have wasted so much time just lurking around the web sphere. Some of the websites that continually provide distractions are: Facebook, YouTube and Yahoo! Sports (NBA). Sometimes, Wikipedia hopping as well. These things are not evil. They don't intent to ruin productivity and destroy someone's life. They are there for a reason and it is up to us, internet users, on how deal with it in such a way that it won't cause negative effects to our lives.
Okay I'm back. I will try to focus on writing this article. I have wasted so much time just lurking around the web sphere. Some of the websites that continually provide distractions are: Facebook, YouTube and Yahoo! Sports (NBA). Sometimes, Wikipedia hopping as well. These things are not evil. They don't intent to ruin productivity and destroy someone's life. They are there for a reason and it is up to us, internet users, on how deal with it in such a way that it won't cause negative effects to our lives.
1/20/15
Investing in My Career Skills
I've been wanting to focus on this goal. I want to hone the skills that I use in my profession. I am a software developer. What do I do? I develop applications. Web applications to be specific. But I am open to developing other systems. But right now, my goal is to continuously develop my web development skills.
My goal for this year is to finally become an Oracle Certified Java Programmer/Professional. In order to achieve that, I will need to dedicate my time to studying and refreshing my knowledge in Java programming. And when I am confident enough about my knowledge, I will take the OCJP exam. Many programmers have done this. It's a long road ahead. It won't be easy. But I know and I believe that I can do it. I've been using Java for almost seven years. This shouldn't be very hard for me. Or not. Of course it is just a matter of self discipline and the desire to achieve this goal.
My goal for this year is to finally become an Oracle Certified Java Programmer/Professional. In order to achieve that, I will need to dedicate my time to studying and refreshing my knowledge in Java programming. And when I am confident enough about my knowledge, I will take the OCJP exam. Many programmers have done this. It's a long road ahead. It won't be easy. But I know and I believe that I can do it. I've been using Java for almost seven years. This shouldn't be very hard for me. Or not. Of course it is just a matter of self discipline and the desire to achieve this goal.
1/18/15
I am Not Mindful Enough
I have been struggling to master the art of mindfulness. The concept and the idea has been ingrained in my head for a long time but I lack in actually applying it into my daily activities. Yes it's hard. It takes a lot of practice. But one good thing about this is that I am aware that I am failing. And I am aware that I have a long way to go towards fulfilling my goal of mastering mindfulness.
I just kept saying to myself, "Don't worry, everything will be fine. You'll learn from your mistakes and failures today and become a better person tomorrow."
I just kept saying to myself, "Don't worry, everything will be fine. You'll learn from your mistakes and failures today and become a better person tomorrow."
1/16/15
Becoming A Better Version of Myself
Everyone wants to improve in all aspects of life and simply life in general. I, myself, am very keen to developing my own way of living. I read a lot of self help books and blog articles hoping that I can use whatever I have read to improve my way of living. But within all the self improvement formulas and life upgrade tips, I have learned two key principles that I need to incorporate into my life. That is mindfulness and minimalism.
Why mindfulness? Because if we are aware of the present moment, we get to evaluate and reflect about everything that is currently in front of us. Any situation. Any emotional state. Being mindful means we are fully aware of what is happening in the present moment. Our movements, what we see, what we hear, what we smell, what we think of and what we feel. All of those things are within our graps and we have the free will to act on them. Being mindful helps us to reflect on our day-to-day decisions. Once we are in a specific situation, being mindful gives us the capability to assess the scenario and how we are going to react to it.
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