Found Wanting

We see aliases (of bloggers) like ‘Bored Techie’, ‘Lazy Geek’ etc… What kind of a mental image does that present to you? Anyways, my problem is the opposite. There are so many interesting and exciting things that I feel am not doing a good job at any of that.

I have been trying various techniques to boost the efficiency. And if you know me personally, it must be obvious to you that I am still in the process of ‘trying’.

After consuming ‘Getting Things Done’, ‘How To Do What You Want To Do’, ‘7 Habits …’, ‘One Minute Manager’, ‘One Minute Manager Meets The Monkey’ and loads of other books that supposedly will improve my time management skills and efficiency, I am still not where I want to be.

I can honestly say that I am not a lazy guy. I’ve tried my best to hack the circadian rhythm. Sometimes I think that insomia would be cool. But then, I lie down and the light just goes off like someone pulled the plug.

I once got a comment that I don’t prioritize well. May be to some extent. But I am fixing that ‘flaw’ and I am seeing lot of improvement in that area already. I have been accused of short attention span. It is not as simple as that. The problem is, there are so many interesting things in this world.

I understand that if I have to make a significant difference in anything, I need to focus intensely on that. When I was a kid, I found a book that my dad used in which he had written “Even weak sunlight can burn when focussed with a lens”. And ofcourse we know the difference between the light beam from a flashlight and a laser. Coherent photons are powerful. Incoherent photons just get scattered.

I think it is a continuous struggle. Entropy tends to increase. We have to continuously fight against it.

Sometimes I think this “get focused and stay focused” approach is just conventional wisdom and can really hinder in achieving your maximum potential. I remember reading on a T-Shirt in Anna University : ‘Specialization Is For Insects’. Hmmm…

Ayn Rand crystallized and, of course, greatly enhanced my feelings on professionalism in her ‘Fountainhead’. I will always be indebted to Divya for introducing me to Ayn Rand.

Please share your thoughts… Feel free to pour criticism on me. Suggestions are even better :)

Got Hold Of These Books Today: “Mapping Hacks” (O’Reilly) - Planning to read the whole ‘hacks’ series “The Intelligent Investor” (Benjamin Graham) - A classic on investing “One Up On Wall Street” (Peter Lynch) - Another must-read on investing

Movies: “All The President’s Men” “Antz” “Sabrina” (to be seen in the next fews days)