Summarizing Tidbits from James Clear Articles

#180

Before reading Atomic Habits, I used to subscribe to James Clear's blog. Here is a gist of tidbits from those addictive articles I simply couldn't stop reading!

Replace Deadline with Specific Action

Instead of saying 'I'll get 500 YouTube subscribers in 100 days', change it to 'I'll record and publish 1 video every Tuesday and Friday for 2 months.' Do the action sincerely and the results will follow. Don't worry about the outcome, focus on getting your content out.

Avoid Edge Cases

If you’re considering following a new eating regime but you’re worried that you won't adhere to it when you go out with your friends on Friday nights, that becomes an edge case. Friday night isn’t going to make or break you. It’s the work you put in during the other meals of the week that matters.

Execute Identity-Based Habits

To become a better writer, write 100 words each day. Over time, if that's what you really want to do and writer is who you really want to become, the goal will increase to 200 words, 300 words, and so on, until you find a sweet spot that works for you in terms of producing good content as well as gets things done.

Engage in First Principles Thinking

Elon Musk says this is the best approach to learn to think for yourself. A first principle is an assumption that cannot be broken down any further. It'll help you think like a scientist and paves the way for innovation. For instance, carrying bags to the airport in a vehicle will still require you to carry it in your hand within the airport. Solution - combine the bag with the wheels! Bam, enter trolley suitcase.

Let's look at first principles in action. Imagine you have a motorboat, military tank and a bicycle. Breaking these down into their constituent parts, you get:

• Motorboat: motor, the hull of a boat, and a pair of skis
• Tank: metal treads, steel armour plates, and a gun
• Bicycle: handlebars, wheels, gears, and a seat

One way to recombine these is by combining the handlebars and seat from the bike, the metal treads from the tank, and the motor and skis from the boat. There you have it - a snowmobile.

Beliefs on Beliefs

#179

Most people I see who are devoted to their faith seem to be hypocrites. What I mean is that they frown upon others who do things they don't claim to believe in but they themselves do as they please. Also, such people don't tend to be caring, generous human beings. In fact, they come across as selfish. It reminds of an anecdote in the Prayer of the Frog wherein a lady would go to a particular temple every single day. She'd pass by several poor children on her way who’d keep begging for food or money. She’d choose to ignore them claiming to be a devout believer in God. One fine morning, the temple was locked. The lady arrived, seeing the temple locked, frantically looked around to see if she could find a reason as to why the temple was unusually closed that day. Near the lock, she found a small note containing 4 words - ‘I am out there!’

How much do theists really give away as charity? How much do they act in accordance with goodwill? They seem to be pouring loads of cash into 'Hundiyals' and buying flowers, garlands, milk, honey, wicks and matches, while instead they could’ve bought a poor soul food and more with that same amount. Another thing I notice is that atheists and agnostics don’t take offence as easily as faith-followers. Even the little things can set them off. Hypocrisy may be seen in this aspect too.

Would you rather have a devotee who is rude to others or an atheist who is kind, generous, charitable, and a good human being? I’m choosing the latter every day of the week and twice on Sunday! Understand the meaning behind things, behind your faith. Why do you do what you do? Do you truly believe in it or do you follow what your parents and elders around you taught you when you were a child? Another common occurrence I see in temples, especially in the South is when people hold each ear with the opposite hand and half-squat as a sign of asking for forgiveness. Isn’t it better to not commit the crime or mistake at all in the first place rather than begging for forgiveness later on? Also, how many people do you see coming to temples to only thank God and wish well for others, without asking anything for themselves? Most people there seem to be praying only to wish for something for themselves, selfishly. Faith in God isn't a barter transaction but it has been made so. Same is shown in the movie 3 Idiots. 

It'd be interesting to explore the deeper meaning behind all of this someday. The most baffling question yet to be answered is perhaps the one of 'Why do people belonging to different religions not celebrate the commonalities but fight over petty differences?' In the end, we're all just bones and can't be differentiated.

Fun-day in Coaching Class

#178

Back in 11th and 12th grades, I used to attend classes for IIT coaching. One fine day, one of my professors was in a 'gyaan' mood rather than a subject-teaching mood. So he told us the following tidbits which I've summarized, useful even to this day:

1. Assume the following graph with 'Performance' on the y-axis and 'Hours of study' on the x-axis
1. It'll form Maxwell's curve or what we call 'bell curve' because of its shape
2. You can only productively study for 20 minutes at a stretch
3. After that, when taking a break, do creative stuff rather than cognitive activities
4. You'll be better rejuvenated when you come back
2. Assume time to be a jug of water and the time spent on each sub-topic as a cup 
1. E.g. Physics:
1. Mechanics
2. Optics
3. Electromagnetism
4. Fluid mechanics
2. 4 glasses, one of each of the above
3. Don't fill them one by one
4. Instead, fill 1/4th of all - cover basics of each topic
5. Then, fill 1/2 of all - dive one level deeper into each topic
6. And so on
3. Brain oxygen levels compared to activity chosen:
1. Study - mind drained of oxygen - 😕
2. TV - increases oxygen drain - 😞
3. Creative stuff - increases oxygen supply - 🙂
4. Physical activity - booster for oxygen - 😄
4. Mode of test taking at home
1. Looking at answers is a waste since it won't help you think
2. Create exam atmosphere at home
3. Solve within the set time frame
4. Analyze every test:
1. Create a table with: 
1. Question number
2. Whether you got it right or wrong
3. Reason: lack of time, silly mistake, did not understand question, lack of confidence
2. Compare results with next test
3. Try to reduce silly mistakes
5. In any test, spend the first 10 minutes on what you will attempt at all. This will help save time.

The Great Indian Kitchen

#177

I just finished watching that movie and my immediate feelings are those of frustration, irritation and anger. The direction is so amazing that I felt as though I'm standing right next to her watching her go through all this or in some situations that I am her. It's sad to know that such orthodox practices still prevail in the country despite so much else having progressed. The movie makes it seem like the husband and father-in-law are sweet but they're really not. Insisting on manual processes like hand-washing clothes when there is a washing machine and having the women make hand-ground chutney when there is a mixie.

The ending, however, is something one may think of doing but not actually do it - felt that was a little over the top. With the millennial generation today, it feels like times are changing and so are generations of people coming around to the new ways of operating, at least in some cases. Even in-laws nowadays are evolving to become more accommodating, with the new fad being #ChillMil aka laid back mother-in-law. Their attitude is thankfully that of "You shouldn't go through what I have endured." E.g. the woman sitting away from the family during her period is no longer taboo. Moreover, both the husband and wife are working and earn equally hence the expectations too, are more lenient such as "If you can't cook, it's okay to order in!" Both husband and wife share the household work and the husband cooks too.

Anyway, coming back to the movie, if it isn't enough that the lady has to endure so much from the men, it's worse when the community of women itself encourage such behaviour. In one scene, in her own house, when her brother asks for water, her mother tells her younger sister to bring it for him. On seeing this, the protagonist yells and asks why he can't get it by himself when he has two hands, two legs, and a fully functional body. There is a tiny scene similar to this also shown in the Malayalam movie Joji, where Fahadh Faasil is eating and asks his sister-in-law to get him water. She points to the fridge right next to him, points to the water bottle in it, and says "It's right here. Take it by yourself!" Kudos to the directors for showing such things more often in different, subtle ways, in the hope that it changes mindsets of those that desperately need one.

When comparing practices followed in olden days versus now, it's not practical to simply continue them without understanding the meaning behind them. For instance, women not working during their period was beneficial for them because otherwise they would have to walk several long hours to fetch water and carry back the heavy pot. Who is still encouraging such practices and why? How hard is it to take your own plate, throw the waste, or even get your own toothbrush, help out with the little things! Ironically, the husband character in the movie is shown teaching kids about family and the meaning of how prosperous it is to have a woman in the house.

Overall, this movie is a great watch. It'll help you understand the sad state of affairs in some places and if you belong to such a clan, hopefully tune your outlook toward such things and put things into perspective. Beware though, you might just feel your blood boil if you see a teacup near your sink for the next few days!

Laugh It Up

#176

Sharing a few random office jokes I find chuckle-worthy:

"In this job, we need someone who is responsible."

"I'm the one you want - on my last job, every time anything went wrong they said I was responsible."

"I'm a time traveller from the future. I came back to tell you how happy you'll be that you decided to hire me today."

"Remember, every question is a test so when they say 'how are you?' reply 'goal oriented, thank you'".

A young executive is leaving office late and sees her boss standing in front a shredder with a piece of paper labelled "important document". Eager to please, she presses start.

Just then, the boss says: "Great! I just need one copy."

"I'm applying for the information security position. Here is a copy of my resume - it's encoded, encrypted, and shredded."

(This has happened to me)
"I scheduled this meeting to discuss the scheduling of unnecessary meetings"

"How do I change the font in my pen?"

Work Wisdom

#175

I joined a new team at work. It's a greenfield opportunity where we get to build things from scratch. It's super exciting because most of my day goes in brainstorming, meeting with people across roles and teams, and trying to collate my thoughts in a narrative document.

Last weekend, as part of the systematic decluttering routine, I was going through some old papers when I came across a sheet with 5 proverbs. As I read them all, each one reminded me of my team. Funny coincidence that I could relate all five to my work.

We cannot solve problems at the same level of thinking at which we created them

-Albert Einstein

The uncreative mind can spot wrong answers, but it takes a very creative mind to spot wrong questions

-Anthony Jay

Serious play is not an oxymoron; it is the essence of innovation

-Michael Schrage

You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete

-Buckminster Fuller

He who asks is a fool for five minutes; he who doesn't ask remains a fool forever

-Chinese proverb

I'm now on a quest to find motivating phrases and sayings to inspire my team to work hard and deliver results to the best of their ability.

How Much Zzz Do You Need?

#174

Regarding the number of hours of sleep one needs, various factors come into play - your age, your gender, your body type, your genetics, and the amount of cognitive load you're taking on daily.

The actual number of hours needed also depends on how well you want your brain to function, since your performance suffers significantly even with one night of staying up. In an experiment conducted with participants around sleep deprivation, the following results were seen: 

• The group that received 8 hours of sleep saw no change to their cognitive performance throughout the 2-week study
• After 10 days, the participants who had slept 6 hours each night were as cognitively impaired as those suffering from 1 night of total sleep deprivation
• The group that got 4 hours of sleep took 3 days before they reached that same level of impairment. After 10 days, they were as cognitively impaired as if they had gone 2 days with no sleep
• The group that slept 7 hours a night were dozing off at a rate 3 times more than the group sleeping 8 hours a night just 5 days into the experiment!

This is interesting, because a) you don’t know you are sleep deprived when you are sleep deprived and b) you cannot effectively train yourself to need less sleep. All you may get used to is feeling tired all the time. Bottom line, you won't be able to get away with suppressing your tiredness to perform as well on cognitive tests as you would if you had received the full 8 hours.

It's ironic when someone tells you the reason they can only get five hours of sleep is that they simply have too much to do because the entire reason they're probably slower at doing those things is due to lack of adequate sleep!

Fun fact about 'placebo sleep': If you tell people they slept better than they did, they are likely to perform better on math and word association tests.

Make your donations impactful

#173

I recently read an article on better mechanisms to channel your philanthropic enthusiasm. Here are some strategies you can adopt to ensure you donate in a structured manner:

For many of us, charitable giving is mostly ad hoc or reactionary — something done after a natural disaster or around the holidays—and that’s definitely better than not giving at all. But the donations you make comes from your hard-earned money most of the time, which means that each one deserves the same level of planning and care that you’d give to your other investments.

And that’s exactly what a donation is: an investment in an issue that’s important to you. Build a philanthropic portfolio over time to track your donation habits.

It’s easy to follow the herd and blindly support issues everyone else is supporting, but to create a philanthropic portfolio that you find exciting and inspiring, it’s important to reflect on the causes that matter most to you. Write down the causes that come to mind. Order them in a way you prefer and review the list every few months.

Next, find organizations or causes that align with your values and donation intention. Research on the reach and impact of the organization. Then decide your budget. Once you divvy up your allocated amount, start giving, while also deciding between a one-time donation versus a recurring one. Recurring donations also help you better plan your expenses and drive overall financial discipline for you and your family.

When re-evaluating your portfolio over time, don’t hesitate to swap the causes you support as your interests, intentions, and priorities change. The important thing is that you’re putting your money to work in a way that you find meaningful.

Vent Better

#172

Navigate the fine line between blowing off steam and causing anxiety to those around you.

The fine line between ‘I just want to talk about it’ and ‘I have this problem, help me solve it.’”

Ask for Permission

'Hi there. Can I complain about my day for five minutes?' Allow your recipient to opt in or out of the conversation before you unleash your tirade. This shows you respect their mental stamina you want them to give you at that moment.

Be Clear About Your Goal

Sometimes when you want the other person to just listen but they start giving advice that you weren't looking for, you'll only end up getting angrier and more frustrated. Instead, before starting to vent, convey that you just want them to lend an ear and that you're not looking to get any responses other than maybe a nod or a 'hmm'.

Pay Attention to Tone

No one wants to be shouted at, even if they’re not the reason for the anger. Sometimes, when you’re letting off steam, it can feel like you’re speaking in all caps, which can make the person listening uncomfortable or cause them to tune out altogether. Blow off your initial steam by writing or punching a pillow and then talk to people once you've calmed down a tad.

Have a Time Limit

Sometimes, people are left with a problem that may seem even worse after talking about it for so long. Set aside a 5-minute timer for this. Time out and go do something else.

Aim for Balance

See if your venting is sucking the air out of your relationships. Be thoughtful and respectful of the other person when you complain. Allow others to unload their frustrations on you. Be there for them. 

Which is the best solution I like from all the above?

None.

My solution: no need to vent at all. Introspect and reflect as to why you're feeling angry and that awareness itself will lead you to calm down.

Nowadays my brain automatically starts playing 'You need to calm down' anytime I get angry - works every time!