The truth about procrastination___Wednesday, February 03, 2010
To all my friends at EPRZ, I am back!
I have been intending to write this article for months, ever since I published my first in June 09. But why didn’t I write it? Because I have to practise what I preach. I have to do the things that I advise my readers to do. Today’s article discusses the benefits of good procrastination and there is no better way to validate its credibility than to use myself as the test subject. Here are the facts of my research.
As children, we were told by our parents to stop procrastinating and start working on our household chores. As students, we were told by our teachers to stop procrastinating and start working on our school assignments. And they would always use this popular saying, “the early bird catches the worm”, to support their argument. Fair enough. But what happens to the early worm? Doesn’t it get eaten? The truth of the matter is that procrastination can be good or bad depending on how you use it. So the important issue is not how you should avoid procrastination but how you should use procrastination to your advantage.
There are many activities that you could be doing now. All these activities are competing for your time and attention. How do you decide which activity to begin and which to postpone? Through objective evaluation, you will have to rate each activity in importance. After that, you will have to practice the principles of good procrastination- to learn when to do the right things and to postpone the wrong things. It means choosing to avoid lesser activities in favour of greater goals. If you have just been struck by a brilliant inspiration, for example, then you should work on that new idea and postpone the thought of running an errand for your parents. Learning to prioritise is, thus, the key to good procrastination.
During my absence from ERPZ, I have completed my National Service, organised several grassroots events, and earned my driving license among many other completed tasks. I have been using procrastination to my advantage by avoiding the less important activities to do the real work. And even though I have sacrificed the cleanliness of my room, the well-being of my stomach, and of course the welfare of the readers at ERPZ, I have accomplished much by practising good procrastination.
Most people will tell you that procrastination is bad and that you should avoid it or cure it. Their ill advice is predicated on the false belief that procrastination means doing absolutely nothing. Author Paul Graham writes that “there are three types of procrastination, depending on what you do instead of working on something: you could work on a) nothing, b) something less important, c) something more important.” The last type, good procrastination, is what you should strive for.
Tale of the Valiant Knight___Monday, February 01, 2010
Your eyes are fixated on the digital clock located at the front section of the school hall. The time inches towards judgement day. You are five minutes away from taking the most important examination in your life; the obstacle that separates you from your goals. Your stomach churns and groans in trepidation. Your hand shakes to its own rhythm. Fear chokes you as you struggle to recall the labyrinth of theories that you desperately studied the night before the examination.
You are afraid of the questions that lie ahead. How will I respond if I encounter unfamiliar questions? What happens if I run out of time to complete the paper? What will I do if I can't achieve my desired grade? These insecurities and uncertainties gradually worm its way into your mind, poisoning it with a cloak of pessimism. Any self-belief that you had prior to the examination would be drained away in a fashion similar to the Dementor's kiss.
For those of you who have accounts of such harrowing experience, I have a lot of sympathy for you because I know exactly how it feels to be that student. During my early schooling days, I was allergic to examination! The allergy manifest itself in many unpleasant ways. It was such a horrible experience! After being immeasurably frustrated by the same problem time and again, I decided it was time to control my mind and protect it from doubts and fears.
I had a taste for fairytale so I imagined myself as a valiant knight who was clothed in sturdy armour and equipped with the most menacing-looking lance. I was to ride to the land of Mathematica and to slay its heinous King using my newly acquired knowledge. In another scenario, I was an intrepid knight confronting the infamous nine-headed beast in the notorious wasteland of Scientia. I know it sounds like an absurd story to you but it did the trick! Through the power of imagination, I was no longer the kid sitting for the most important examination but I was the valiant knight, a noble man full of confidence and self-belief.
My new mindset yielded very positive results. The surge in confidence and my belief in my abilities influenced the way I studied subjects and how I answered questions. As Henry Ford, the automobile industrialist, once said, "If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." Many students cannot achieve their full potential because they are weighed down by their doubts and fears. They don't believe they have what it takes to score distinctions. Are you one of them? If you fit the bill, it is time for you to change your mindset and protect yourself from the adverse influence of pessimism. You can start doing so by transforming into the valiant knight!
A volley of bullets pierced through the air. Three of the deadly shells lodged in the skull of a burly soldier, who fell to the ground instantaneously. One second later, a charged explosion shook the scorched earth, claiming the life of another hapless victim.
Horror tightly gripped the heart of the World War I soldier as he saw his lifelong friend, Brian, fall under the hail of bullets. Caught in a trench with continuous gunfire whizzing over his head, the soldier anxiously asked his lieutenant if he may venture out to save his dying friend.
"You can go!" The lieutenant yelled with his broken voice in his struggle to make himself heard. The soldier was about to leap out and make the dash when he was suddenly yanked back.
"But I don't think it will be worth your effort. Your friend is probably dead and you may throw away your life needlessly," continued the lieutenant.
The soldier hesitated for a moment. His lieutenant's advice struck a chord but the soldier cared too much about his friend. With greater resolve, he made a dash for Brian. Miraculously, the soldier survived and managed to bring Brian back to the trench.
As the two of them tumbled in together to the bottom of the trench, the lieutenant checked the wounded soldier and then looked kindly at his friend.
"I told you it wouldn't be worth your effort," he said. "Your friend is dead and you are injured beyond duties."
"IT WAS WORTH IT SIR!"
"What do you mean? Your friend is dead."
"YES SIR," replied the soldier. "BUT IT WAS WORTH IT BECAUSE WHEN I GOT TO HIM, HE WAS STILL ALIVE."
"What did he say? His death wishes?"
"NO." The soldier shook his head. I had the satisfaction of hearing him say, "JIM...I KNEW YOU WILL COME."
........................................................ ........................................................ ........................................................ ........................................................ ........................................................ A true friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.
Family and friends___Monday, April 20, 2009
Who are the people that are important to you?
If you can't answer the question, go for a scary surgery and see what flashes across your mind. There is no way you can lie to yourself in that situation.
I am not frustrated (but not emo)___Sunday, April 19, 2009
Skills and techniques can be taught in lessons, but passion can't. If I were able to bend my desire and determination into coherent arguments, I would.
I walked out feeling pathetic but I know I am much better than what they thought of me. I can and I will prove that.
If I were to give an analogy for what I do.Saturday, January 17, 2009
The sky is grey with angry clouds looming over the horizon. These big cumulonimbus clouds threaten to unleash a torrential downpour. Lightning streaks run across the sky, illuminating everything in its path. The intimidating weather is sending chills down my spine.
In the middle of the ocean, I am struggling to cling on to a rotten piece of wood. The choppy waters and the churning waves are making me sick in the stomach. I am also extremely exhausted after barely staying afloat for nearly 1 year. I try to call for help but there are none available. Despite the grim outlook, I repeatedly tell myself to stay alive and survive this ordeal.
There are several ships that pass by me. Some of the ships are gigantic tank cruisers while others are small fishing boats. I hate big ships because they create a lot of disturbance in the sea. This causes sweeping tidal waves. There is no way to avoid these waves, which often leave me drowning in its misery. Somehow, I still manage to survive and I owe that to my lucky stars. Sometimes, I wonder whether the sailors of the ships will notice and rescue me from this undesirable situation. As time passes by, I have become more mature and given up such naive thoughts.
Even though I see no end in sight, I am quietly confident of my chances of survival. Perhaps, it may be too early to comment on this. So why not check again on 13 Jan 2010?
WORDPLAY___Friday, September 05, 2008
"Ha La La La La Listen closer to the words I lay Ha La La La La It's all about the wordplay Ha La La La love The wonderful thing it does Because, because I am the wizard of ooh's and ah's and fa-la-la's Yeah The Mr. A to Z They say I'm all about the wordplay"
That was the chorus of a song from Jason Mraz, titled Wordplay. Here are some interesting wordplay that might catch your eye:
404 - Not found ~The soldiers were reported to be 404, and presumed dead. [inspired from http 404 error message]
Beepilepsy - The brief seizure people sometimes have when their handphone beeps off. Characterized by physical spasms, goofy facial expressions and interruption of speech in mid-sentence. ~When the global financial market crashed, many private investors suffered from beepilepsy, which was caused by their concerned clients. [inspired from epilepsy]
Blamestorming - The act of meeting with a group of people in order to try to ascertain the people responsible for the failure. ~The executive board held an emergency blamestorming session to find out the person responsible for the failed project. [inspired from brainstorming]
Chequemate - Facing financial defeat after writing too many cheques. ~Peter was so seduced by the gorgeous woman, that he ended up buying her everything he could until he eventually got chequemated. [inspired from checkmate]
Crapplet - A badly written or profoundly useless Java applet. ~ I just wasted 30 minutes downloading this Crapplet, which is causing my computer to crash repeatedly. [inspired from Java Applet]
Decruit - To get people to leave the company or organisation. ~We are having difficulties decruiting our staff in order to maintain a more competitive workforce. [inspired from recruit]
E-diot - Someone who is very stupid, specifically in the knowledge of electronic gadgets. ~You are wasting your time by advocating the advantages of e-mail to an e-diot like him. [inspired from idiot]
Irritainment - Entertainment and media spectacles that are annoying, but you find yourself unable to stop watching them. ~Ugly Betty is a prime example of irritainment; the downright ugly protagonist is an eyesore, but her touching life stories make great entertainment. [inspired from entertainment]
Looser - A person suffering from diarrhoea and spends his time in the toilet emptying his bowels. ~James, that looser, stupidly ate that rotten banana, meant for a biological experiment. [inspired from loser]
Square-headed Girlfriend - Another word for a computer. ~I'm currently in love with my square-headed girlfriend, who connects me with the outside world.
