Do It Now by Steve Pavlina
A few weeks ago, I read an interesting article called Do It Now by Steve Pavlina:
When watching TV, read a computer magazine during commercials. If you’re a male, read while shaving. I use an electric shaver and read during the 2-3 minutes it takes me to shave each day. This allows me to get through about two extra articles a week — that’s 100 extra articles a year, enough to keep up on a few monthly subscriptions.
When I read the passage above, I was slightly horrified. I don’t mean any disrespect to the author; he is obviously a highly-organised, highly-motivated person who gets an enormous amount accomplished, and I have nothing but respect and admiration for that. My horror stemmed from the fact that I don’t want this to happen to me. All of my organisational drives are towards one aim: to get the same amount of work done in less time and with less stress.
I don’t want to do more workâI want more time to watch films, go for walks, spend time with my husband and friends, and more time to just daydream. If that sounds lazy, well, it probably is. However, I know from experience that when I have more of this ‘pottering time’, I’m more effective at work and more creative. Ideas seem to sidle up behind me and tap me on the shoulder when I’m doing something completely unrelated. If I sit down and actually try to think of new ideas, they elude me.
