A few years ago I found the website that housed the Woodlands underground newspaper "Here Title Place". In going through my "favourites" folder I came across an article that I book marked some time ago from that site. It is entitled "The Art of Inaction". I love this article.. I'd like to pass it on to all of you and suggest that you stop, take a step back, and really evaluate your life.. You may begin to think that the "big rocks" aren't really all that big, and the little ones are probably bigger than you think... (keep reading, you'll understand.
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The Art of Inaction
This article is for everyone out there who says they have trouble paying attention to their teachers, who lecture for an eternity. It could be Quantum Physics, or Vector Algebra, or Ancient History, or any other sleep-inducing course (you don't have a clue because you're too busy dreaming to listen). At least not intently enough to discern which subject you're in. All is not lost! While you may consider this to be a huge concentration defect, it is actually a blessing to you. Consider: you can tune out almost anything, no matter how important it might be, and still act like it doesn't affect your life. That's pretty damn admirable, and you can accomplish that task without even trying! You see, many people take things too seriously to enjoy life's pleasures. If you can manage to convince yourself that certain things just aren't worth bothering with, then you already have a head-start over those idiots who are wasting their time with mere trivialities. There was a recent chain email going around: "A Jar of Rocks." It was about a big jar and bunch of different-sized rocks. You put in the large ones first, then progressively smaller ones to fill in the gaps, and finally, you pour water in to fill the jar completely. The point is to first fit the important things into your life, then later fill it up with less crucial luxuries. While it may take you a tad longer to figure out how to stuff a rock inside a jar, other people will be too busy shoving the smaller stones in that they forget about the big-ass rocks. In the end, you'll come out ahead, and with less effort! Sort of makes me regret not having picked up on this strategy earlier in my high school career. An important skill to learn is how to maximize your time and effort. Study quality, not quantity. Let's examine your courses mathematically: A typical OAC course has 30% for tests throughout the year and 10% for the ISU. Yet, I find that far too many students, myself included, work disproportionately compared to the marking scheme. You study 3 hours for a unit test worth 5%, but work 30+ hours on a simple ISU worth only 10%? Are we stupid or something? . . . This is simple mathematics! Less marks means less important, so you can procrastinate like crazy and copy the answers from your friends. More marks means more important, so you should instead copy your answers from someone who's actually smart. Next time your teacher starts lecturing, take the opportunity to get some shuteye. Instead of sitting there, expending energy to pay attention to your incoherent teacher, conserve your energy by resting, and use it to accomplish something more worthwhile. Whenever a problem arises that gives you any bit of stress, take the time to think: Is this worth my effort? If the answer is 'yes' then you'd better get cracking. But most likely, the answer is 'no' (even if the answer initially seems to be 'yes', experience has shown me that you can usually convince yourself that the real answer is 'no'). So, you can choose to not act on that issue, and it will never bother you again. The key to life is inaction. Don't be bothered by the little things because they probably don't mean squat. Learn to recognize which issues are truly important, and which ones just appear important. People who live the hard way care too damn much about everything. The slightest little disruption and they're ready to jump off a cliff. Other folks, even the roughest situations don't even elicit a flinch. That kind of ignorance is very rare . . . and should be respected. Unfortunately, the public hates that sort of attitude, even though it works (or maybe BECAUSE it works)! And in this cruel money-oriented society, it doesn't really matter how much of a slacker you are, only that you get the job done. So next time you find yourself dozing off, don't think of it as dozing off; think of it as "practising the art of inaction." Your teacher's not going to buy that explanation for one second. But what do you care about what your teacher thinks? Like I said, you can often convince yourself that some things are simply not worth your attention . . . Now that's efficient time management.
Friday, July 30, 2004 ::
10:21:00 PM
