A little progress everyday

I was reading this interesting article on overcoming procrastination. Though I don't procrastinate everything that comes my way, I do procrastinate tasks that are not urgent but important. Time plays a critical role in determining what I decide to do next. As a result, my urgent tasks get processed fine while the important ones get piled up. This article talks about a few important points to overcome procrastination such as
1) Break the project into smaller concrete tasks
2) Treat deadlines as windows of opportunity
3) Create accountability and be committed

But the aha moment occurred to me while reading the final point - "Work on the project a little bit each day". The linked article talks about subconscious information processing.

"once your brain starts working on a problem, it doesn't stop. If you get your mind wrapped around a problem with a fair bit of time left to solve it, the brain will solve the problem subconsciously over time"

How true this statement is! In many of my projects, the steps are not very clear that I can blindly list out them as 1, 2 and 3. There is a fair bit of abstract thought processing and information gathering needed. I do tend to notice that some remarkable ideas to proceed with such projects flash at unknown times - while I'm cooking in the kitchen, taking a shower or random channel surfing on TV.  Because I've been chewing my brain on such  projects, it seems to respond with amazing solutions. I quickly jot down such responses on my whiteboard so they don't get lost.

Though I have noticed such insights from unexpected situations, I didn't try to make much sense of how it happens. But reading this article has helped me become aware of this powerful concept.

One of my traits is that I'm a good finisher and not a good starter. If I start working on a new project or an idea for a few weeks, then I ensure I take it through to completion. But the hard part was to get started. No wonder, I don't have many in the list - "books started but not yet finished"

The practical take-away for me would be this passage in the linked article:

"He explained that I should start working on a project as soon as it was assigned. An hour or so would do fine, he told me. He told me to come back to the project every day for at least a little bit and make progress on it slowly over time."

South Indies - for southern foodie

A huge craving for aapams on a Saturday evening took me and hubby to South Indies in Indiranagar. We used to like the aapams in Coconut Grove but the Koramangala branch has moved to a new location and we were in no mood to go searching for it.

South Indies has an interesting culmination of cuisines from the four Southern States of India. We perused through the menu and couldn't really decide what to order along with the aapams. The waiter came over and asked us if we preferred a light or heavy dinner. We were hungry and told him that we would prefer a medium dinner. He suggested us to go for a "set meal" which was a fixed four course menu. It was a good option since we got to try many dishes. First, our appetite was teased by a plate full of fryums (vathals in Tamil) with three different chutneys - coconut, mint and tomato. It's a herculean task to stop eating them and wait for the actual meal. The soup was green apple pepper soup which was just too spicy for our tastes. The starter plate had four different varieties, out of which the keerai vadais were the best.

Then came the aapams - soft in the center and crispy in the outer that just melted in our mouths. Out of the four different side-dishes, the cashew tamarind sauce based one matched perfectly with the bland taste of aapams. The Kerala veg stew was average, though and so was the vatha kuzhambu. After the two aapams (you can also go for parottas instead of aapams), we had a few spoons of the veg brinji rice and curd rice. No meal is ever complete without curd rice. Both of these were cooked to perfection.

It was 10:30 PM by the time we wrapped up the main course. Then came the desserts - kasi halwa and a jaggery based Kerala payasam (similar to the one offered as prasadam at Sabarimala temple). The floating ghee and the sweetish taste lingered in our taste buds long after we reached home.

Overall, it was a very sumptuous and heavy dinner. The service was very good and prompt. If you are a fan of South Indian cuisine, then give South Indies a try.

Personal space

The last few weeks have been a huge change from my usual routine. There were periods of complete relaxation, exciting new experiences, anxious moments, emotional ups and downs. Thankfully, the World Cup cricket provided the much needed distraction. Now that the world cup is over, the mixed bag of emotions were back. I thought to myself "What should I do to come out of this shell?". I decided to take it step by step. Cleaning always gives me a sense of direction to begin with in such situations (no wonder, I can easily relate to Monica of FRIENDS).

My desk was cluttered with so much junk with just enough space for my tiny netbook. For over a month, this cluttered space was a hindrance to my productivity. I didn't have the energy or the inclination to set it straight. I knew deep down that this was only a temporary phase. The jinx was broken a few days back. I decided to clear out the working space and throw away the non-writing pens, highlighters and papers. I cleared out the desk and the tiny knick-knacks that were coated with a layer of dust. The feeling of a clear and empty space gave that fresh feeling to my day.

After the space was neatly setup, the goals came to my mind almost at an instant.  "Short daily improvements lead to bigger and better results", I came across this meaningful line in Robin Sharma's "The leader who had no title". I started working towards one such goal for about 5 hours at a stretch. The feeling of doing something for 5 hours together after nearly a month came as a big relief to me. I am clearly "back to form". I sincerely believe that a positive feeling and a sense of purpose at the beginning of the day is very important.

The "real" leader

The title of this book piqued my interest - "The leader who had no title". Having liked Robin Sharma's "The monk who sold his Ferrari", I picked up this book sometime last year. After reading around 30 odd pages, I wasn't eager to continue simply because of the similar plotline to begin with - A guy who is down and out meets someone who has really made a difference to his career and life. A different start would have made this book much more gripping.

I have this reputation of being a good finisher. I can't leave unfinished books behind. I don't know if it's a good attribute to have or not. But I decided to give this book one more try. After crossing the initial hurdle, I should say that this book is one of the simplest books on leadership.

The protagonist Blake meets Tommy who in turn takes him to four unique leaders - a housekeeper of a hotel, a skier, a gardener and a massage therapist. Leadership can be exhibited by anyone, not just by people with fancy titles. In reality, the titles make the natural leadership instincts marred by ego. During his interaction with these four leaders, Blake learns the four leadership principles along with rules to apply these principles.

Out of these four meetings, I liked the interaction with Jackson, the gardener the most. The third principle also strikes a chord from my experiences - "the deeper your relationships, the stronger your leadership". Many simple truths interspersed throughout the book makes you want to take a pause and reflect on how you had dealt with in a given situation. Every principle comes along with a few rules framed as nice acronyms. The initial rules of a principle are explained clearly whereas the latter rules don't get much attention. If you would like to read a simple tale on leadership, pick up this book.

எதிரொளி

உருவ கண்ணாடியை விட்டு விட்டு 

உன் உள்ள கண்ணாடியை உற்று  நோக்கு

உலகக் கண்ணாடியில் உன் முகம் 

தெளிவாகத்தெரிய உழைத்திடு