Taking breaks in the midst of deep work helps function our brain better and we can accomplish things much faster, better, and with more energy.
Continuous work makes us dull and dreary.
So take breaks, relax, take a nap or watch your favorite show before you go back to your deep work again.
Do you know that our brain works in a similar way whether we are doing office work, watching TV, or reading a book.
But then why do we crave more for watching tv or playing games? The reason is that other tasks, for example, “office work” soon becomes monotonous, whereas TV shows or movies keep up the excitement. Sometimes even while watching TV it becomes monotonous and we switch it off or change the channel.
This implies we can trick our brain to focus and keep working on a productive activity for a longer duration by making the task exciting instead of monotonous.
For example, if we want to write a blog or work on an assignment figure out how to make it more fun so that our brain can keep working on it for long hours.
Monotony also leads to a lot of cravings and addiction, because the addict does not get that level of excitement in other things. That is why interacting with other people helps in getting rid of any addictions as the interactions are exciting.
Lets first start with the definitions:
Hard disk (Storage) – A hard disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage. A hard disk is for long-term memory.
RAM (Memory) – Random-access memory is a form of computer memory that can be read and changed in any order, typically used to store working data. RAM is for short-term memory.
If you look at Happiness as a memory, whether it’s in the past, present, or in the future, the memory allows us to be happy.
If you want to be happy for the long term, retain it for the long term, and build the happiness in your hard disk, hardwire yourself to be happy, to be smiling, to be contented. Gear yourself mentally as well as physically to be happy!
Whereas if you want to be short-term happy, and get yourself bogged down with life events forgetting about happiness, it goes in RAM. Only for a very short period and then replaced by other memories.
We should all aspire to build happiness into our Hard disk rather than in our RAM.
With more tasks being automated today with advent of AI (GPT3), the value of quality is enhanced much more now.
AI or bot can do only limited quality work but can easily beat humans in quantity. Hence as an expert in your field you will be valued more because you bring quality. Your uniqueness, your experience will have more value, since no one can copy or generate it.
At the same time quantity will be culled out more and more because of its abundance. And for those who go after quantity, beware of it, as it will hit roadblocks sooner or later and leave you stranded.
Best case will be, to have right mix of quality and quantity as you go along.
Every week jot down all the tasks you have completed over the week. And categorize them as:
1. Tasks that you hate doing and can hire others to do for you.
2. Tasks that you hate doing but cannot delegate to others.
3. Tasks that you like and want to do yourself.
Consolidate these over a period of 2-3 weeks for these task buckets:
There are a lot of ways to connect with yourself.
You can connect using meditation.
You can connect using music.
You can connect using religion.
You can connect using sports.
Anything with a lot of dedication and hard work helps us connect with ourselves.
But one of the best ways to connect with ourselves is by connecting with others; specifically with the people who need us the mosts, knowing them, knowing their pain, helping in their distress, and being with them in thick and thin.
The value of time is much more critical than the value of money.
Money cannot buy time but time can always outrun money.
Imagine what we can accomplish today with our knowledge, if we can do that 5 years ago, where we would be today?
Instead of playing a catching game with time if we can value it now and envisage things in the future, that’s the real wisdom and value of time.
We always regret our past decisions; one of the main reasons for making the wrong decisions is at that moment we don’t value time, don’t value knowledge, and don’t value the effort to put into our decisions. Later we regret the same not even understanding that it is all on us since we couldn’t value the right time and see thru the future to make the right decisions.
So instead of racing against time, let’s value time, let’s value our current diligence to ensure we make the right decisions for our future.
Ego takes a lot of time and energy, do we really have time for it?
It riles us up on smaller things.
It gives us blood pressure even with the smallest nudge.
It doesn’t allow us to apply our brain at right time.
It makes us weak in determination, allowing us to give up easily – I am too big to do this.
It is not our friend but a foe.
So let’s not give time to our ego.
Don’t underestimate the value of a loser.
A loser is a loser until one gives up. And tomorrow will come up as a winner if he/she doesn’t give up.
A loser gives value to a winner, otherwise, the winner has no value.
A loser is a contextual loser i.e he/she may lose in one area but a winner in another area, in general, we judge winners or losers mostly thru a commercial or materialistic lens.
Losers are in general in the majority so if you are a leader it’s to your benefit to make them winners.
So don’t underestimate a loser and its value. And don’t worry if you are a loser, either change the field and play where u can be a winner, or keep it up because one day you will become a winner.
What will happen if we race a Wind-Up Toy with an Artificial Intelligence Toy?
Well it depends on the race, if it’s a straightforward race from point A to point B without any obstacles Wind up toy will be better.
Whereas if the race is a complex maze with a lot of turns the AI toy will do better.
In the race of life neither will win, because sometimes it’s straight and sometimes it’s curvy, but if it’s about being happy and running the race, Wind up toy will be happier because of being a simpleton, it will just follow a path not worrying about reaching the end.