I have no memory of how and when I fell into this thought trap, but fall I did for sure, so here are the results of being in the trap for several hours:
(These are not only for sweethearts, but also for friends, parents... Yeah basically, loved ones. Here's a bonus: most of them are easy on the pocket. :D)
10. Meet up, in a "Zero Technology Space-time"
The fancy term is grossly inaccurate, but it conveys the idea well, I think. This one is especially for people who don't get to share a lot of quality time with their loved ones. Make the time to meet, in a quiet place, and keep cell phones, laptops, televisions etc. totally away. (Mentally away is more important than physically.)
9. Work for a Cause Together
This can work extremely well if you both feel strongly about a certain issue. Help spread AIDS/cancer awareness, participate in an anti-corruption rally, or help spread the "Go Green" message.
8. Create Something Together—And it Doesn't Have to be a Baby :P
This can give you a very wide range of choices--paint your house, assemble a computer or do an art/craft project together. Create something tangible that will be a lasting symbol of your collective hard work. A baby actually fits into this pretty well, if that's applicable in your case. ;)
7. Give Them a Nickname
A friend of mine used to call me "Blossom" and it's one of the sweetest names I've ever had. Think of a name that's cute and sounds nice--but don't use it all of the time. “Sunshine” and “Cupcake” are my personal favourites, although I hate that they’re so hackneyed.
6. Take (Long) Walks Together
The utopian idea about this would be a long, slow walk after dinner, when it's not totally dark yet, with a scenic view around. Perfect for interesting and warm conversations, and exercise too. Long drives work too, but they're not really the same.
5. Make a Slideshow/Scrapbook of Your Shared Memories
Don't worry too much about putting the pictures together; just pick out your mutual favourites. Once you're done and satisfied, make sure you can have some uninterrupted and quiet time together to look at the slideshow/scrapbook. By the way, Windows Movie Maker, Animoto, Stupeflix, Picnik, Slide, etc. can be helpful apps.
4. Allow Them to Relax and Leave Things to You
Particularly if you live together: This is perfect for an evening during a busy week. Also a great background to a special dinner or some lazying together. I'll leave rest of the imagining to you. ;)
3. Surprise Them
Meet them where and when you're least expected; of course having double-checked that the plan won't backfire! Give some minutes to each other, tell them how special they are, and leave them with a flower or a small gift as a cute memory of the moment. Or just leave “Boo!” or “Gotcha!” or of course “Love You!” notes where they’d be least expected.
2. Gift Them an Experience
It could be a movie and dinner date, or a dance/cooking class together, but doesn't have to be that fancy. For me, coffee and breakfast in bed on a cold weekend morning is great too. (Aha!)
And finally, point # 1. (Thank you for the drum-roll!)
1. Keep It Real
Nothing expresses your love for a person better than truly, deeply loving them. Listen to them, genuinely care for them, and most of all, accept them for who they are. You wouldn't need much more if you can just do this well.
So those were my top ten. Let me know what yours are, and which ones of these you like best, and worst.
Selflessness--an illusion?
This is going to be a short post, because the idea, I believe, is strong enough to speak volumes for itself. I heard this on a Robin Sharma podcast, and it stayed with me:
It sure is a beautiful metaphor, but just made me think of how people say that no act is truly selfless--even when you donate to charities it's because you want the satisfaction that it brings.
I guess perception is a bigger deal than most of us think...
The sun gives away everything it has, without being selfish, and in return flowers grow directly towards it.
It sure is a beautiful metaphor, but just made me think of how people say that no act is truly selfless--even when you donate to charities it's because you want the satisfaction that it brings.
I guess perception is a bigger deal than most of us think...
The Big Secret to Success
Okay... So the title's probably really got your attention. Good. So let's head off to the big secret, shall we?
But before that:
"There's some good news and some bad news...
The bad news is that there is no good news."
(From the Beau Peep comic strip in The Times of India many months back)
Disappointing for sure, and here's another one:
"The big secret of success is that there's no secret."
(From my crazy mind that's no good at comic strips)
I haven't done anything exceptional or achieved anything wondrous in my life yet. So I am nobody to be giving out success gyaan. But I do have some thoughts on success that I'd like to share. And I hope that one day I will have moved from Dream to Action and be moving from bigger dreams to better action.
That said, let's get back to the big secret, or rather the absence of it.
In whatever little success I have achieved so far, I've realized that it really was a direct result of focus, commitment, and hard work. So, my point in this post is that success isn't really that complicated. We tend to have the expectation of a shortcut, and waste a lot of time trying to find it, whereas the real need is to spend our time doing what we instinctually know. Really, my belief is that the actual basics reside deep within us--again, focus, commitment, hard work, and sometimes practice. And a big one--being consistent around your goals. Along with these, embracing failure as just a step towards success is also crucial. This might go against what we think, but is still a major part of nearly every success story. Unless we look at failure as something that has been sent our way to inflame us even more, we cannot succeed. I hate to use the cliché, but "Failure is the stepping stone to success."
Back to the instincts then: For students nothing is as important as sticking to the right path, and incessantly contributing towards achieving their (academic and other) goals. For a salesperson, I guess the biggest thing is to show empathy for the customer's needs and think from their perspective. And in case of entrepreneurs/managers, probably the biggest tip would be to treat the employees well and try to create a balance between concern for productivity and concern for people.
Nothing new, right? See! That exactly is my point. So, the bottom-line really is that success--personal, organizational, at virtually any level--mostly comes as a direct result of the things we know are its ingredients. And if possible, we need to garnish the dish with smart work (versus hard work), productivity tips, and life hacks. These are supposed to help; they can hardly do much just by themselves.
I hope you find this post inspirational. Hit back with comments sharing your thoughts on this, and your own little formulas for success.
But before that:
"There's some good news and some bad news...
The bad news is that there is no good news."
(From the Beau Peep comic strip in The Times of India many months back)
Disappointing for sure, and here's another one:
"The big secret of success is that there's no secret."
(From my crazy mind that's no good at comic strips)
I haven't done anything exceptional or achieved anything wondrous in my life yet. So I am nobody to be giving out success gyaan. But I do have some thoughts on success that I'd like to share. And I hope that one day I will have moved from Dream to Action and be moving from bigger dreams to better action.
That said, let's get back to the big secret, or rather the absence of it.
In whatever little success I have achieved so far, I've realized that it really was a direct result of focus, commitment, and hard work. So, my point in this post is that success isn't really that complicated. We tend to have the expectation of a shortcut, and waste a lot of time trying to find it, whereas the real need is to spend our time doing what we instinctually know. Really, my belief is that the actual basics reside deep within us--again, focus, commitment, hard work, and sometimes practice. And a big one--being consistent around your goals. Along with these, embracing failure as just a step towards success is also crucial. This might go against what we think, but is still a major part of nearly every success story. Unless we look at failure as something that has been sent our way to inflame us even more, we cannot succeed. I hate to use the cliché, but "Failure is the stepping stone to success."
Back to the instincts then: For students nothing is as important as sticking to the right path, and incessantly contributing towards achieving their (academic and other) goals. For a salesperson, I guess the biggest thing is to show empathy for the customer's needs and think from their perspective. And in case of entrepreneurs/managers, probably the biggest tip would be to treat the employees well and try to create a balance between concern for productivity and concern for people.
Nothing new, right? See! That exactly is my point. So, the bottom-line really is that success--personal, organizational, at virtually any level--mostly comes as a direct result of the things we know are its ingredients. And if possible, we need to garnish the dish with smart work (versus hard work), productivity tips, and life hacks. These are supposed to help; they can hardly do much just by themselves.
I hope you find this post inspirational. Hit back with comments sharing your thoughts on this, and your own little formulas for success.
My Favourite Blogs
I've been spending lots of time these days with highly intellectual and creative people, and well, the downside is that I'm being made fun of how infrequent my posts here are. And the upside of that is this post--not quite like the earlier ones, but really something I feel an urge to share.
The idea is simple enough--these are my favourite blogs, all regularly followed. (Thanks, Google Reader!) I don't read every post, but definitely glance through them all and slow down when I find something that really interests me. And that does happen often enough. ;)
The number of great blogs around is limitless, but my time and typing ability are not, so I thought I’d keep myself to the ones I'm really addicted to.
(The list is really random about order and categorization; that's just me. :D)
Seth's Blog
Stepcase Lifehack
Health Nut Wannabee Mom
Wise Bread
ReadWriteWeb
Digital Photography School
43 Folders
Ultimate Geek Girl
Lifehacker
Mashable!
Make Use Of
Digital Inspiration
Mintywhite (Windows Tools, Help & Guides)
TechCrunch
Ask The Admin
The idea is simple enough--these are my favourite blogs, all regularly followed. (Thanks, Google Reader!) I don't read every post, but definitely glance through them all and slow down when I find something that really interests me. And that does happen often enough. ;)
The number of great blogs around is limitless, but my time and typing ability are not, so I thought I’d keep myself to the ones I'm really addicted to.
(The list is really random about order and categorization; that's just me. :D)
Seth's Blog
Stepcase Lifehack
Health Nut Wannabee Mom
Wise Bread
ReadWriteWeb
Digital Photography School
43 Folders
Ultimate Geek Girl
Lifehacker
Mashable!
Make Use Of
Digital Inspiration
Mintywhite (Windows Tools, Help & Guides)
TechCrunch
Ask The Admin
Zen Habits, Write to Done
Newsman--Rajdeep Sardesai's Blog
A big big thank you to all those wonderful bloggers. You're a huge help and inspiration. And hey, intellectual, creative people, thanks for the inspiration here too! You guys finally made me type what I've been meaning to for weeks. :)
Newsman--Rajdeep Sardesai's Blog
A big big thank you to all those wonderful bloggers. You're a huge help and inspiration. And hey, intellectual, creative people, thanks for the inspiration here too! You guys finally made me type what I've been meaning to for weeks. :)
My "Productivity System"
During the last many months I've been reading about productivity like crazy. Some of the great people around are coming up with highly effective systems for efficient time management and happiness. I'm lagging in the race and hardly know beyond the ABCs of Getting Things Done, Zen To Done, or Stephen Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Successful people. Recently I read an article on Stepcase Lifehack (one of my favourite blogs) on why you should learn a productivity system. The basic idea is that people who make these great productivity systems have loads of experience and knowledge to be sure their ideas are practically successful. This is what they do best, and we should leave this job to them.
The information overload on productivity was making me guilty somewhat, because I seem to be the only one not managing all my tasks according to a world-famous system. I'm still not perfectly convinced that this is a job best left to the experts. If something works for you, use it. If you can't decide what's best for you, the experts are always there to help. Makes sense to me! So yesterday I got thinking, and realized that, no matter how simple, I do have a productivity system after all. My very own! And here it is:
1. If you want it done, schedule it.
Every task that needs serious time and attention from me has to be planned. I don't have a fancy notebook or software that keeps track of these things. My to-do lists are usually in the form of a note to self on my cell phone, or as a new sticky, or penned down on a small scrap of paper that stays in my wallet. The idea is simply this: if something needs my time, it has to be scheduled. Maybe for "some time within this week" if I can't focus on the timing too well, but usually my to-do's are on a daily basis.
2. Acknowledge the importance of voids. (An idea originally Umberto Eco's.)
Even when I plan each hour or so of my day, there are always voids I keep in between. Rather than keeping time aside for relaxation, I use the voids. An example of this would be:
4-5.30 pm: Math
6-8 pm: Physics
9 pm: Revision
So after I'm done with math I know I have some time for a tea break. This also takes care of things that unexpectedly pop up, and there's some room for stretching in case math takes longer. Similarly, after physics I know I have enough time for dinner and walk and if I have time to spare it can be used for something unplanned.
3. Plan more than you know you will do.
My usual daily plan has about 110% of what I really want to achieve within the day. Goes with the idea of "Shoot for the moon, and you'll at least land among the stars." I make sure the more important tasks get higher priority, and at least those get done for sure. And sometimes I actually end up doing the extra tasks as well.
So this is how I (try to) stay organized. My system is far from perfect and I keep borrowing ideas from the experts to make it better. So far I'm managing just fine this way. If ever I think I'm overwhelmed, I know there's David Allen or Leo Babuata (among others) to help me out!
The information overload on productivity was making me guilty somewhat, because I seem to be the only one not managing all my tasks according to a world-famous system. I'm still not perfectly convinced that this is a job best left to the experts. If something works for you, use it. If you can't decide what's best for you, the experts are always there to help. Makes sense to me! So yesterday I got thinking, and realized that, no matter how simple, I do have a productivity system after all. My very own! And here it is:
1. If you want it done, schedule it.
Every task that needs serious time and attention from me has to be planned. I don't have a fancy notebook or software that keeps track of these things. My to-do lists are usually in the form of a note to self on my cell phone, or as a new sticky, or penned down on a small scrap of paper that stays in my wallet. The idea is simply this: if something needs my time, it has to be scheduled. Maybe for "some time within this week" if I can't focus on the timing too well, but usually my to-do's are on a daily basis.
2. Acknowledge the importance of voids. (An idea originally Umberto Eco's.)
Even when I plan each hour or so of my day, there are always voids I keep in between. Rather than keeping time aside for relaxation, I use the voids. An example of this would be:
4-5.30 pm: Math
6-8 pm: Physics
9 pm: Revision
So after I'm done with math I know I have some time for a tea break. This also takes care of things that unexpectedly pop up, and there's some room for stretching in case math takes longer. Similarly, after physics I know I have enough time for dinner and walk and if I have time to spare it can be used for something unplanned.
3. Plan more than you know you will do.
My usual daily plan has about 110% of what I really want to achieve within the day. Goes with the idea of "Shoot for the moon, and you'll at least land among the stars." I make sure the more important tasks get higher priority, and at least those get done for sure. And sometimes I actually end up doing the extra tasks as well.
So this is how I (try to) stay organized. My system is far from perfect and I keep borrowing ideas from the experts to make it better. So far I'm managing just fine this way. If ever I think I'm overwhelmed, I know there's David Allen or Leo Babuata (among others) to help me out!
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