I woke up at 5.30 in the morning, without an alarm clock. Since I’m awake, I might as well do something productive. So I listed down what I wanted to do, booted up my computer and started arranging my work place. Then I found a bill which I needed to pay. So I went online and pay the bill, and saw that the Worldwide Developer’s Conference (WWDC) is on, and they’re talking about the new iPhone! So i started following the blog on engadget. Before I know it, it’s 6.30 in the morning, and I haven’t done what I’ve set out to do…
Limits are definitely important. It forces us to focus. It even helps us to do better if we have artificially created a limit on ourselves (see article “Imagine hitting the wall“). Without limits, we are faced with endless choices. On the face of it, it sounds like a good thing to be given so many choices. On closer scrutiny, the many choices actually fill us with more confusion. Here lies the paradox of choice – more is less.
Going back to my morning of non-productivity, I ended up setting myself a few 30-minutes block. Each block of 30 minutes, I set to do something on my to-do list. On that morning, it’s to clear my desk, to write something (I’ve got some half finish drafts), to read something (plenty of newspapers, magazines and books to catch up on) and to have breakfast. I manage to write more and read more in each of those 30 minutes block of time, with ample time to clear the desk completely. I even had time to have a slow unhurried breakfast with my wife.
So, when you thought you have a lot of time in hand, you actually don’t, unless you know what you’re going to do with that time, and for how long. Otherwise, it’ll be going from one task to another without actually accomplishing any task. Like clearing the desk, and seeing there’s a bill to pay, letters to file, books to read, food to eat, water to boil, and the desk remained cluttered…
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