Technology is Advancing, Humans are Too
It’s already 2021 and the technology has advanced exponentially from the first world wide browser introduced in the 90s. Now we are seeing precision robots, AI and machine learning creeping its way into almost every industry, amazon prime and endlessly more. But, it’s not just human invention and innovation that’s on the rise, the human itself is looking for ways to improve their internal selves - more than just making our lives easier with tech, but with real self-reflection and organic growth. We’re reading self-help and productivity books more than ever. These books, lectures, retreats and more, guide us on how to obtain new skills, habits and how to change our cognitive thinking to help us reach our best selves. Like this series of blogs, I offer my point of views on easy ways to be more productive. I do my research and use graphs, surveys and statistics to confirm human behavior patterns. Based on those, I and others, advise on the path and steps to take to achieve a better self-version. Almost a rule book to being a better human, but if it is a rule book, then as the saying goes, rules are meant to be broken.
Every person is different, and although we have similar tendencies, behavior and our genetic makeup is 99.9% identical to the person beside us, there is still that uniqueness we all hold. And because of that, while we are on our journey to self-improvement, we should sometimes trust our gut first, and go outside the lines, and break a rule.
It is Not Worth Your Time
There are many steps we can take to become more productive, like reading, taking up a hobby, networking and all the other initiatives I have written about thus far. But, if something isn’t for you, you don’t need to do it. I find reading pretty difficult. I used to be a much better reader but as I grew in my career I spent most of my time sitting over articles and papers that when I had spare time, I just didn't want to read. It bummed me a bit as I felt that I am not practicing the skill, but I also felt that I won't succeed and it won't be worth my time. Exercising my mind over a nine hour work day, made me want to do something else. I did. I joined a gym and a basketball league and focused on exercising my body which was something I had neglected. I chose to use my energy towards gaining other skills than reading. Even though there are many set ways, or rules, to how to use your time, choose the ones that won’t waste it.
Break the Continuity
Trying to attain a new skill requires a timeline of interval actions and practice. It takes time and continuity is key. But even when we are focused and ready there are always chances of unpredictable obstacles that we’ll need to face. When this happens and you need personal time, step outside your routine and give yourself that time. For many, COVID-19 pandemic caused havoc on their personal and professional lives. Even when there was still time for learning a new skill, people had to adjust and needed to focus on those adjustments. I felt this way during the pandemic. My attitude was low. Granted I had more time to focus on myself, pick up reading again since I wasn’t engaging in much leisure. But the pandemic had ignited some personal issues I had to deal with and I couldn’t focus on reading, or continuing any of my productive habits. I had to do some other personal growth, so I stepped away from my current commitment and focused on meditation and relaxation. I didn’t realize that changing my routine could be useful in the end. Even though I felt that I was choosing those activities to shut down my productivity, they helped me even more. I gained more confidence in being by myself and it made me be more productive when working from home due to another dreadful country wide closure. Sometimes you need to step out of your routine and break the continuity.
Listen to Yourself First
Following a self-improvement book, learning the habits of the most productive humans or challenging yourself to obtain a new skill are useful tools to help us create and achieve our goals and they are growing in popularity because they work. People owe their success to these effective habits they learned. We know ourselves the best, especially while we are on our self improvement journeys. So, we know when to step outside the line and try a different line. It can be worth it.