Wish I Had A Butler!

Dear readers, I am in no mood to write today. And because I am not in the mood to write, I am going to produce perhaps the most useful Simplified Life Lesson for you today. Today’s post is about doing what you DON’T want to do. Yes, there is so much in our lives that we’d rather avoid or let someone else handle. And those are the jobs that are almost always most mandatory. Most of us can’t bring ourselves to get out of bed every morning. In my case, I hate doing my laundry and cleaning my room. It’s not really a good trait, but it is a universal one. That is why we must learn to tackle it.

It doesn’t matter how simple or brief the task is – if you don’t like it you don’t like it. Why is it that most of us make our practical files on the date of submission? Why is it that our forms are filled on the very last day? Why is it that our studies are neglected until the night before the exam?

The problem is not just with you, it is the curse that runs in Indian blood. You don’t believe me? Take the example of Commonwealth Games. The construction of the Games Village and the stadiums had been so slow that the army was deployed in the last hour to finish up the work. They did it in six days flat, and produced a splendid result. But they would’ve had no need to step-in had our folks been a little more disciplined.

That’s our basic downfall. We lack discipline at a molecular level. And that results in troubles of all variety. What needs to be done is simple – we need to get more active. And we need to set an example for everyone else to follow. But it is the how that always poses problems.

So here are a few ideas on how to make yourself, and your team, more disciplined.

1.      Clear The Tables First – The first thing to do before you set out to solve a problem is to solve all the previous problems. Lack of discipline has only one possible result – truckloads of piled up work. And until you clear that first, you can’t set a proper routine. Now it’s up to you how you manage that. Take that big heap of stinky clothes and give them for dry-cleaning. Take all your dishes that haven’t been cleaned in ages and wash them with nitric acid if you have to (just kidding, don’t even think about trying that). Clean every nook and cranny of your room, pluck out all those spider-webs with your hands if you must, and wash it all over. The only way to change life is to begin from ground-zero. Do it today!

2.      Mix Work With Fun – A lot of people listen to music while they study. Or they leave the TV on. It’s not very uncommon to engage yourself with entertainment while you do the dull and dreary of everyday life. Find some innovative methods of your own while you toil away at the unpleasant chores. Music works well, or the TV, or the radio. Many housewives chat on the phone while doing their households. If you can afford the telephone bill, I don’t see that as a bad idea too. For college students who love to watch various TV series and seasons, a good technique would be to watch one episode after going through one chapter or unit. That would give you proper relaxation and freshen up your mind for another bout. Just make sure you don’t give too much time to the distractions, however. Mix your medicine in honey and it won’t taste that bitter. But it is the medicine that you really need, not the honey. Remember that.

3.      Reward Yourself – Deprivation works well most times, but we are more easily motivated by the positive inflictions. So reward yourself every time you achieve a set goal. A bar of chocolate every time you clean the room, an extra helping of dessert for doing the dishes, a day out to pamper yourself every time you score well. We tend to work harder when there are rewards attached to the job. The same goes with team issues as well. Another person won’t listen to you unless you can show them how they can benefit from you if they play along. Rewarding is a better motivator than punishment, I believe.

4.      Value Time – A minute spent is a minute lost, no matter how you see it. Now you can’t necessarily be a great and efficient person who utilizes every second of his/her time flawlessly, but you can sure as hell try. Just follow the simple rule – better be an hour early than a minute late. Make every meeting, every appointment, every date, every plan an examination hall where you suffer a big disadvantage if you don’t appear on time. Just being on time will affect things in your life to a great extent, the difference is breath-taking.

5.      Give Room To Your Indulgences – Many of us who try to get disciplined fail miserably and the only thing they blame is their utter laziness. That is, however, not true. Many times we fail not because we are flawed, we do because our plans are. When we try to fall into a routine, we always count out the most basic occurrences of human nature – discrepancies. You can’t wake up at 7 am flat, you’ll always spend some extra time in bed. You can’t study for 2 hours at a stretch, you’ll waste time procrastinating. You can’t go out for a half-an-hour walk, you’ll overshoot or undershoot your time-limit depending on who you meet in the park. The truth is, following a strict time-table with military efficiency is not for everyone. Your time-table, you plans, your calendar, should be flexible like your personality is. It should change with the circumstances and accommodate the changes in your surroundings. How can you think of adapting to all the challenges in your life if your time-table can’t adapt to a chance encounter or an unplanned event? No plans can work without contingencies.

Yeah, things would be so much easier if somebody could do our boring jobs for us and leave us to focus on the interesting things in life. But maybe the interesting things only appear interesting because they sit next to the boring ones. Life is all about contrast, after all. So enjoy your life as much as you can, but that enjoyment will only last if you shoulder your responsibilities and do the buzzkill stuff at time. Have fun!