I am in the process of reading a number of different books, as usual. One I have been on for a number of months, taking notes and really trying to get to the message it is delivering. It's Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, to date I've managed to read fully habit three and should soon be on habit four. It's a slog to tell the truth and I'm finding my notes are becoming more critical of it. I started of quite hopeful and one phrase came to mind, don't throw out the baby with the bath water. I was looking for the things which are good and positive. However, the philosophy I am beginning to think is flawed. A second book I have just bought and talks about being effective is by two psychologists, Roy Baumeister and John Tierney. Which is at the moment a lot easier to read, the title is Willpower Rediscovering our Greatest Strength. Covey lets slip a minor jibe at psychology theories although he is actually trying to expound a complete theory of changing and manipulating personality in order to be efficient. His efficiency, no matter the disclaimer about these habits being what he has observed. The psychologist in turn have dropped in a few moments of disrespect to Covey and cited research of how to be efficient by use of your own willpower. Unlike Covey they do not believe a full personality change is necessary. I've only just got into the Willpower book and have to read a few more pages. But it is easier to read and presently is drawing my attention more than Covey is. It could be I've maxed out on Covey and am now getting bored with him. He is just meandering his way to his habits. If efficiency means having willpower to slog through a thick text mine is definitely on the brink.
Looking to priorities and schedules I have now booked a ticket to see Sparkling again. It's about time and I instantly felt happier once I did it. Here's a quote from someone who knew a little bit about prioritizing and efficiency, although he's no longer here, the words are relevant:
Things that matter most, should never be at the mercy of things which matter least.
Goethe
To be truthful i am in a complete dilemma on how to being more efficient and prioritize life and work. I certainly think a lot more about it. I create lists of things which should be done and then I make a conscious choice whether I should do them. This this is commonly called the To Do List. It is ubiquitous, it is how the world revolves. Deciding what to do is the process of prioritizing. When given a choice it can be difficult in making a decision. At this point vacillation takes place, left right, or right, left, I just don't know what direction to go in and then can spend valuable minutes deciding what to do. I could preview all the outstanding jobs I do, but I'm not sure if this is a good thing either because how many previews can you do one day after the other. Further the previews are tedious, they can't make a decision. Decisions can be based on consequences. If the consequence is dire when something is not done then it should be high on the priority list, but it's not always the case. Other urgent things get in the way. Urgent attention seeking things then distract from priorities and they become Fire Fighting events just to get through the day. I should wear a yellow helmet, carry a hatchet, and have a high pressure hose under my arm. Therefore priorities, events, tasks, lists, fires, vacillations all get mixed up into a hodgepodge. I scream out and ask for silence, put ear plugs in then still get interrupted. The problem is people. Other people. Not me, just other people.
Maybe I should of been a lion tamer. There's one thing about lion tamers you can guarantee. When they are in a cage with their chair and whip, not many people want to interrupt them, discuss the finer points of a cup of tea or more importantly, put their head in the lions mouth. Better check out the vacancies page I've just found my next occupation.
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