DweezelJazz Art Blog » success

Managing Tasks, Time and Balance

DweezelJazz — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 07:00:00 +0000

What do you do when you have more to do than you have time? Today many people live pressured lives at home and at work. If a person also has hobbies or some endeavor they wish to accomplish independent of their work, life can become very full and high-paced.New technology was expected to reduce the amount of time people worked. Instead it has made many more things possible, and so we often spend more time on something than we would have in the past. The product of our efforts is usually more polished than its previous equivalent.The general public is more sophisticated these days and more and more is required of businesses and employees. As the competition for jobs increases, completing work tasks often spills into what would otherwise be a person’s leisure time.A recent article in The Independent: “High-stress jobs ‘double chances of depression’” illustrates the importance of managing our time and expectations of ourselves. The article reports that a “survey of young people in their early thirties has found those in high-stress jobs run twice the risk of suffering serious depression or anxiety as those in lower-stress occupations”. Researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London say that time pressure is the single most important cause of stress and of the illness it leads to.When we have more to do than we feel we have time for, and this continues for long periods without being addressed, it definitely creates pressure. A person is induced to work harder and harder, becoming more and more tired, until eventually they’re also less and less efficient. Things can spiral out of control in a cycle for which there seems to be no solution.It can lead to a struggle in which the person doesn’t ever seem to win: the accomplishments become less meaningful in light of the many things still remaining to be done.In our high speed modern life, it’s very important that we maximize our productivity. In addition, it’s vital to know what our priorities are: in our daily tasks and also in our lives. Having a list of short and long term goals sets our sights on what’s important to us. Once we actively pursue our goals, we need to regularly assess whether we’ve set ourselves reasonable aims and timescales.Some things that can be done to manage our time and tasks:maintain a healthy balance between work, or serious pursuits, and relaxed leisure timeget plenty of sleepexercise regularlyfigure out more efficient ways of accomplishing repetitive menial tasksprioritize goals lists and move some goals to a later timeask others for helpif within means, hire help to do the tasks that don’t need to be performed by youdecide what aspects of life are most important and make changes to avoid blatant and ongoing conflicts of interestOccasionally there are high pressure times, and these can be very beneficial for motivation. But if we find we’re constantly pressured for time with no end in sight, and perhaps crotchety in the process, it’s most likely that we need to figure out how to change our expectations.Striving to accomplish our dreams can make for a fulfilling and happy life, but the joy of it needs to be in the everyday working towards it, otherwise it’s not much use. For best results all round, life is best if it includes some fun most days. This largely depends on our choices in thought and action.

Managing Goals

DweezelJazz — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 07:00:00 +0000

We’re moving house. Well, there aren’t any boxes packed yet. But we’ve been working hard this week to set up the new place before we move in. I’ve spent the day scrubbing in the kitchen and then peeling plastic wallpaper off the walls. There’s lovely white painted wall underneath that’s just perfect. I’ve worn out a scrubbing brush this week, which I consider to be quite an accomplishment!For weeks it has rained most days, and has been unseasonably cold. Today, however, was a glorious clear sunny day, and this afternoon I was working with the sun coming through the open window, pleasant breeze wafting over my head. It was a great feeling.There’s something very satisfying about hard physical labor – yes, that was it, when you stop for the day!When we expect certain things from ourselves this can create a noticeable pressure. It can even turn into stress. When a set of expectations becomes impractical it makes good sense to look at the situation and figure out whether those expectations are reasonable. If it’s possible to be flexible with them, then it’s worth accepting new criteria and to allow ourselves to define a new goal.This week we have family visiting. We’re going to have lots of fun out and about, and in between I’ll be working on more setting up of the new place. I had hoped to be able to post articles regularly as usual on DweezelJazz during this time, but I may need to adjust my expectations for the next two or so weeks. So, we’ll see what happens and ride with the flow.

Do What You Like To Achieve Success

DweezelJazz — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:00:00 +0000

If you really want to be successful: do what you like. It’s that simple. If we really enjoy something and do it often, we become better and better at it. It’s a very nice thing to say, but can this approach really make us successful?The real question to answer here is: What is success? Success is relative; it very much depends on the context. If we’re talking about a hobby, success can be completing a project. If we’re talking about work, it can mean bringing in enough money to sustain a family. To one person it may mean becoming rich. For another it may just be the satisfaction of accomplishment regardless of monetary return.At whatever level we choose our success, doing what we like is a much better strategy than doing what someone else likes. It’s extremely difficult to know what will please other people. And what pleases one person may displease another. If what we like to do is please other people, then this approach is perfectly suited. But, otherwise, measuring our success in relation to doing anything just to please others doesn’t make much sense. It’s difficult to be fully motivated when the going gets tough if we don’t like what we’re doing in the first place.There are always things we’re obliged to do that we may not like so much. There’s a time for doing what we like. We may have obligations that require us to dedicate much of our time doing something we don’t enjoy. But if we find ways to pursue whatever it is we do like, as much as possible in our spare time, we may find that an opportunity opens up in time. In the future it may become possible to more fully integrate what we like doing with our own goal of success.I have some t-shirts that are super comfortable (which is something I like) and that I love to wear because of what they say. I discovered these a few years ago and have several different colors and designs. They’re from a company called Life Is Good.There’s a story about the two brothers who started this company. At first they tried to sell, door-to-door in college dormitories, t-shirts they had designed. It didn’t go so well in the first years: they lived on peanut butter and jelly and slept in their van. It wasn’t until they included a little character they had created with a super grin, that their t-shirts started to really sell. Jake expressed everything they believed in with his message of optimism. And this idea and passion for what they held dear struck a chord in many others. Now they have hats and shorts, shoes and all sorts of things for sale with Jake and the Life Is Good motto. Following their dream eventually made them successful, even if at first it seemed it wouldn’t be so.On the front at the bottom of the t-shirt is a small patch sewn on which says: “Do what you like. Like what you do.” This cheers me on every time I see it. I also have a yellow Life Is Good baseball cap.You may remember from the Jasmine posts on DweezelJazz blog, that Jazzy chooses a lot of things she does. In fact she expresses her opinion about everything she does or is asked to do. Whenever it isn’t imperative that she do something – which is most of the time – she’s allowed to say no. Quite a while ago, I asked her if she wanted to do something and she clearly didn’t want to. I said to her then, “Ok, Jazzy, do what you like.” I didn’t consciously make the connection with the t-shirts or anything else, but was just allowing her the respect she deserves.I hadn’t said it often, but it seems it meant quite a bit to the little girl, because she worked on it, practicing it herself, long before I knew what she was trying to say. Now it’s her motto; it’s one of the things she says most often (apart from ‘shower’ and the fact that she’s a ‘good girl’). She says it at least once a day, usually in the morning: “Jasmine, do what you like.” And she says it in context and clearly knows what it means.In my book, Jazzy’s a successful character: she’s happy. She gives those around her a tremendous amount by doing what she likes and being who she is.

Setting Goals to Achieve Our Dreams

DweezelJazz — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 07:00:00 +0000

Do you ever lose sight of where you’re going in life?… …what it is you’d like to accomplish? An excellent way of focusing your efforts is to write down your goals.If things are a little hazy, creating short-term and long-term goals can be amazingly helpful. For example: 3-month, 6-month, 1-year, 2-year, 5-year and life goals. Making a list of perhaps ten things you want to accomplish in each of those time frames can generate an enthusiasm and focus that doesn’t seem to occur when we haven’t concretely defined our goals.Keeping these lists conveniently available for viewing is tremendously important. There are so many things happening on a daily basis that it can be difficult to keep in mind what we really want to accomplish. It’s so easy to get carried away in the flow of daily tasks and whims. This is great too, but if we have goals that we really want to reach, we need a way to regularly remind ourselves of them. Putting the lists out where they can be seen on passing, or, keeping them in a notebook ready to hand, or maybe on your computer desktop.The energy created by doing this propels us forward much more quickly. This is most likely because our minds are that much more organized as a result. We become more aware of what’s important to us, and are able to choose our activities more appropriately.It’s very likely that some of the items on those lists get done sooner than their estimated time slot. Crossing them off, after the accomplishment, is extremely satisfying and this becomes an additional source of encouragement. Every time we see that we’re actually making progress, it boosts our confidence and we become even more energized.The lists don’t become stagnant because they change just as we do. As we achieve the tasks we set, new ones emerge; and as a result of our experiences and evolving ideas, the goals might need adjusting from time to time. They become an integral part of our conscious awareness, a map to help us forward.What we achieve can have such a deep effect on how we feel about ourselves. The ramifications this can have in terms of the satisfaction we derive from our lives can be more than we might at first think. Creating these lists of goals is inexpensive and easy to do and it’s a fantastic tool for moving us toward the accomplishment of whatever it is we want most.

Looking On The Bright Side

DweezelJazz — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 07:00:00 +0000

There are many things in the world that could do with improving: in our individual behaviors, our personal lives, and also in the larger society and world that humankind has created.Sometimes the thought of this can be overwhelming if we concentrate for too long on what’s wrong. It’s important to think deeply about these issues and to address them, but it’s counterproductive to dwell on the negative aspects of ourselves or situations.The majority of our attention is better spent admiring and enjoying the good things, which in turn gives us more energy to work towards making improvements where we feel they are needed.In our society, technological advancements and way of life allows us, and perhaps even encourages us, to spend much of our time indoors. It’s possible to go from one concrete structure to another without really being aware of all the life there is outside. Birds, bees, insects, small animals, trees… They become abstract objects, without a personal meaning or relationship to us. It’s easy to live isolated from the wonder and magic of being alive.Even taking the time to look at non-sentient and inanimate objects can give us a boost. Colors give us energy. Observing shapes and patterns can be relaxing and calming.One simple way to enhance our awareness of the beauty around us is to look at the sky.Watching changes take place in front of our eyes allows us to experience it intimately.By engaging our powers of awareness on the beautiful things around us we create a positive environment for ourselves. We connect with our feelings and this generates a dynamo of enthusiasm. As a result, we have more energy and zest to make other things even better than they are.

How To Discover Our Passions

DweezelJazz — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 07:00:00 +0000

If you want to know more about someone and what they think about different things, a good way to find out is to ask them. This can also work extremely well for ourselves!That might sound like a funny idea, but there are times when we don’t know what we’re thinking or feeling about a situation, a person, or even our life. There may be some niggling sensation that tells us we do have thoughts and feelings about something, but we may not have the time, or take the time, to stop and listen to what they are. They can become buried, difficult to isolate. A good approach to find out what’s really going on is to ask ourselves.A particularly important facet of our lives that can be very fulfilling is doing something we really enjoy. Becoming completely engrossed in an activity can lead to a sense of satisfaction, contentment and accomplishment.Some people know what they like to do and they do it. They can become so involved in their passion for it that they become experts and they naturally develop strengths that cause them to excel in it. They eagerly put hours into cultivating their interest, and while it might be hard work some of the time, they have the motivation required to persevere until they achieve what they want. It can frequently follow as a simple progression that a person like this ends up pursuing their genuine interest in some form of career or employment.For others it may not be so easy. Some of us may not even have fully figured out what exactly it is we like to do. There can be many reasons for this, but it happens all too frequently that we don’t have time to investigate what we like simply for the pleasure of it. Or maybe we have the notion that it wouldn’t be an acceptable way to spend time, perhaps it doesn’t seem useful enough.It is amazing though, the variety of extreme and bizarre activities people have managed to turn into a hobby and then, eventually, a means of income.Whether it’s to find a new career that is more directly related to things we love to do, or whether it’s to find out more definitively how we would most enjoy spending our spare time: there’s a simple set of questions we can answer for ourselves in order to begin to discover more concretely what it is that we like especially.List three, four or more of your most favorite:magazinesbooksknown hobbies or fun things you like to dotopics of study or readinghistorical periods or eventspeoplelegends or interesting topicsfilmsGive as many short (one or two-word phrases) of explanation that you can think of for liking each of your choices. For sure there are more questions that can be added to that list to reveal us to ourselves; answer as many questions as you can think of to get your answers.Patterns begin to emerge in the answers and this enables us to see more clearly what is most important and appealing to us. The answers can be a real surprise and it’s lots of fun to find out what we may not consciously know about ourselves. This secret life can hold some gems that might dramatically change our outlook.Do you have unknown passions waiting for you to discover? Try it and see!