Fluffy Nonsense and Thought Capacity
If you read my most recent posts, you’ll notice I keep bringing up this notion that I need to save the world. The amount of space this value has taken on my posts is not only disproportionate to my desire, but is also poorly thought out.
Lately, my mind has been broken. I’ve been reviewing some of the posts that I wrote when I first started this blog, and realize how clearly I was thinking then. What factors affected my ability to think clearly and how can I replicate that state? At the time I was spending evenings alone, I was eating well, getting regular exercise and sleeping about 9 hours a night. I never skipped a meal. I felt refreshed and awake when I woke up every morning. I was living in a beautiful place with moderate weather, right on the pacific ocean. Now that I think about it, my mind was never clearer.
Since I’ve been back at school, my mind has slowly been reduced to mush. I started strong, but the stress, responsibilities and time constraints have been slowly wearing me down. I get an average of 7 hours sleep and I regularly miss meals. I certainly do not eat a regular healthy meal. I still play sports, but my focus is much more competitive. In a metaphorical sense, I am always on.
This discussion is leading to several well known problems that are characteristic of our western society. These are the issues of time management and work-life balance. I see these both as being the same problem, since work-life balance is how you manage the time that you are given.
As I am nearing the end of my academic career, I realize that my style of time management is not well organized. I know that I have a short attention span, and I have a tendancy to divert my attention quickly, often too quickly. It is difficult for me sit and focus on the same task for extended periods of time. I think of my mind as having a thought capacity. My thought capacity changes from time to time, but my mind is always running at capacity. Should I begin to lose thought on the task at hand, my thoughts begin to wander. In this way, my mind as always able to maintain thought capacity. Like nearly every other describable human character trait, my wandering attention is both a blessing and a curse.
Can I be productive while changing focus regularly? I can, but I need to get a feeling for the best time to switch between tasks. I need to set goals, especially smaller goals, and conquer them one goal at a time. I need to follow my own advice on squashing procrastination.
I need to recognize when my thought capacity is reduced, when I am not thinking clearly. I need to learn to adapt according and find a way to return to my best self.
