Damn Tangents

 

Going on tangents can be a big-time enemy of being productive.  This morning, I was sitting at my desk studying for tomorrow's International Relations test, when it entered my mind again that I don't know where my camera is and that it could be in a recycling bag that I brought with me to school yesterday.  So, I left my desk, picked up the bag and brought it over to my bed.  As I was emptying out to find no camera, the slight disappointment of it not being in there was curbed by my sudden compulsion to make the bed.  "Didn't I tell myself that I would make my bed and shower as soon as I got up in the morning for now on?" I thought.  So, I re-stuffed the bag (with stuff that needs to be taken out of the bag again and put into their proper places), quickly made the bed, and proceeded into the bathroom to take a shower.  

As I climbed in the shower after the water reached my desired temperature of as cold as I could stand (lukewarm), I started thinking about what I had to do that day.  "Let's see, I have to bring Radha to get her license today (Oh my God, what does this mean?  Is she going to be fighting to use my car? Is she going to fight to use Shyam's vehicle? How much is the insurance going to go up? She's a good driver but how much anxiety will I be feeling for her safety when she first starts driving on her own?)"  By the time I had rinsed off the slight lather I worked myself into I thought about the notion of my kids having kids and going through similar anxieties.  I then thought about the cycle of life.  How we are attached to our parents and want to do everything with them when we are really young, then later, we get annoyed by them a lot, eventually we want to get away from them and when we find the first love in our life it is more intense than what we felt for our parents.  Then, we are driven to make our way in the world and find a suitable mate, etc.  When we have children, the love we have for them is even more powerful, and then we watch them gradually go through all the stages we went through as we get older and less and less relevant in the eyes of younger generations.  

Relevancy in the eyes of younger generations?  "That's an interesting concept," I thought.  It is so rare to find someone that stays relevant and can still impart his or her experience and wisdom to others.  "That's how I would like to be."  Then, I started to try to find examples of people who did that all their lives.  As I got out of the bathroom I ran over to my desk to write all these ideas down (the ones I would be able to remember).  "Maybe this stuff will yield a blog or something." 

As I started writing it all down, I couldn't help but notice how cold it was in the room.  So, I went to turn the heat on and subsequently got dressed.  When I finally got on the first phase of my attire for the day (around the house shorts and tee-shirt), I remembered that I had bought some organic, not-from concentrate orange juice and could sure use some right now.  I only drink orange juice in the morning, and I often remember I bought it when it is too late in the day.  I love when I remember something at the right time, though.  It always seems like I remember something time-sensitive at the wrong time and days go by before I can utilize it.  

Anyway, I jogged into the other apartment to get the juice and Glani was just getting up.  "What are your plans for today?" she asked.  "Well, I have to bring Radha to get her license at noon, I have to make plans for the weekend (hotel reservations etc. for my trip to Atlanta), I want to go to the gym and I'm aching to write a blog. Why?" I asked.  "I need some help with my International Relations class."  "Oh my God," I thought.  "I have a big-time test tomorrow and even though I started studying about a half-hour or so ago, I completely forgot about it.  I was just contently studying that crap a little while ago.  Damn tangents."

So, the question that naturally arises in my mind, is how can I become more focused and diligent in getting things done in a more linear fashion?  Well, the first thing, I would think, would be to prioritize the night before by writing down the list of things that must be done the next day.  Perhaps, I could even give myself a head start by organizing the things that need to be worked on the night before so I can hit the ground running in the morning.  It wouldn't hurt to lay my clothes out or make my japa beads prominent so I could even take a little jaunt before I get started in the so-called "important matters of the day."

Another thing would be to delegate a certain amount of time for my various tasks.  You know, make a little schedule.  Not that it has to be so rigid and inflexible that I feel like I'm in the military but I have to manage my time or it will manage me even more than it already is (like growing old and eventually dying).  

As I enter into each task, I should also know my objective and proposed outcome so I am better able to focus on what I am doing.  To get bounced around the house like a pinball may give some frenetic excitement, but that generally comes of its own accord anyway by unforeseen circumstances and I should try to quell it as much as possible.  People who don't quell it are the kind of people who end up burning their lunch regularly and end up spending half their time looking for things that they never should have lost track of in the first place.  Like their friggin' keys. Speaking of which, this lost camera situation is still really annoying me in the back of my mind.