Time, time, time

            Have you ever shot up out of bed on Monday morning, knowing all too well that the sun is shining too brightly through the window and the silence has lost its peaceful appeal, and now it’s just plain ominous? You jerk your head to the side, and the clock reflects your fear- you’ve overslept, and you’ve missed a major deadline, meeting, exam, whatever? I have. Specifically this morning. Few times have I ever felt more exasperated.

            After doing my fair share of groveling and bending over backwards to complete the tasks that were necessary that day, I began the process of self-reflection. How had I slept through an exam? Well, I knew that. The night before, I had fallen asleep on a hardwood floor while studying at some ungodly hour of the morning. I was exhausted. After evaluating the events leading up to that horrendous evening, my final conclusion was that my time management abilities are severely lacking, and it has to change.

            So my first course of action was that of a typical college student- I google-ed it.

http://shar.es/FOysm

            Okay, I know it’s the first article that came up, but I found it to be extremely insightful. As I flipped through the slides, I found it becoming more and more applicable to my life. Some of them I already do. Like keeping my work with me. I’ve gotten really good at maximizing time for productivity. What I have a huge issue with is creating my time for productivity. I get ridiculously distracted. A text, a phone call, a Facebook status. That’s all it takes to de-rail my train of thought. And when I really have to get something done, that’s when I’m at my worst. I’ll create things to distract myself with. All social invitations become impossible to resist. That’s why I found myself on a hardwood floor at 3 a.m.

            So moving forward, here’s what I plan to do about it- I’m going to be more structured, and I’m going to be committed to it. No spontaneous social escapades, and no more waiting until the absolute last minute. All assignments need to be evaluated the night before the night before it’s due at the very least. Study times to have maximized productivity which are to occur in the library, and nowhere around people. That’s the starting point. I’m hoping that if I write it out and publish it, maybe I’ll stick to it. Further updates to come!

Back to the Future

I’m a sophomore in college, and I cannot tell you how many times I get asked what I’m going to do with my degree, what I want to do after college, where I want to live, etc. I swear, it’s like every person I’ve ever talked to made a pact with all the other people I interact with, and they all decided to ask me a question that I don’t know the answer to. Why can’t we just stick to questions like “What classes are you taking this semester?” or “How are you liking SMU?” Seriously, when did everyone become so obsessed with what’s next? I get more questions about what I’m going to do than what I’m actually doing.

            I think our obsession with the future stems from our never-ending lifestyles. Like that one time the Starbucks barista told me to calm down. When your life is scheduled down to the hour, how are you actually supposed to care about anything that is not immediately ahead of you? How are you even supposed to focus on the present, and what you’re doing right then?

            Here’s the simple answer: you don’t. You can’t focus in your last class of the day when you have a huge exam the next day. Heaven forbid you make the mistake of going to class hungry and then all you can think about is where your next meal is coming from and how glorious it’s going to be.

            So how do we change this? How do we reverse a cultural trend that is barreling out of control? It’s not going to be simple, and it’s going to take more than just one person, even more than just me, to figure out what’s happening. And then there is going to have to be a conscious effort made to change it, and do something about it.

            Personally, I’ve always recognized when my mind begins to wander to my to-do list, and when I start thinking about something totally irrelevant to what my professor’s lecturing about. The goal is to be present in the moment, and that’s tough to do when you’re constantly attached to your phone. Phones put us in contact with people who aren’t present, and they make us focus on the future. Who are you talking to? When are you going to see them next? You should grab lunch with them. Tuesday is no good, but you should ask them what have on Thursday.

            Why are you even thinking about that person? Because their name popped up on a bright little screen. That’s why. Here’s a very minor goal to help you stay focused and present in the present: Put down the phone. I know we hear that forty-seven times a day, but just try it for like a week. If your life doesn’t feel less hectic, then I recommend having a Starbucks barista tell you to calm down and see if that doesn’t have a profound impact on your attitude.

Leader? You Sure About That?

Everyone is a leader. That has been a trending idea in American culture since I was a kid. Everyone is special and has a unique talent and should be rewarded with a gold star for everything they do. That mentality is fine. When you’re twelve. Then you grow up and realize that everyone is different. Some people are truly naturally inclined to be leaders. They are well-liked, command respect and work hard. By that same token, some people were destined to be followers. And that’s fine too. There’s nothing wrong with being a follower. Followers adapt easily to their environments and they enjoy the order and structure that comes from being told what to do. This system coexists beautifully. It has done so for centuries.

            Where this method runs into trouble is when followers try to be leaders, or even when leaders act as followers. It becomes a whole mess of a situation. Leaders despise having orders for what to do, and it is particularly difficult when they have no say in what they’re being told. Leaders are visionaries. They see beyond what exists to what has the potential to exist. When a follower, who has difficulty seeing beyond the present, wants to direct a leader, that’s when difficulty arises. Followers can’t see where a leader wants to go, but it’s the leader’s role to make them believe in it anyways. Leaders see where followers are going and don’t like it. The only way this system is ever going to work is if each of these types of people discover which one they are and adheres to it. Simon Sinek explains it quite well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Vwbkz0DSkHU

            Please for the love of all that is good and green, find out what you are. Pick something you like to do and get involved. Do you like the direction in which the organization is headed? Great. Take direction from the executives and keep working to make it better. That makes you a follower. Want to change to direction, or even just focus on an aspect of the organization that you feel isn’t receiving an adequate amount of attention? Get even more involved and be the change you want to see. Be a leader, because that’s what will make you happy.

            One of the worst situations I’ve ever been in is watching a follower attempt to lead. It’s awful. Even the most loyal of followers will abandon ship. Leaders know that they have to excel, whereas a follower who leads will tend to stick to the rules. They won’t take risks, and as a result, they won’t do well. The sooner you figure out who you want to be and what you’re good at, the better it is for everyone involved. Do you what you love and love what you do.

A Little Something About Being from Texas

I love being from and living in Texas. I could spend hours educating you on my passion for my state, but I'm going to save you quite a bit of time and just highly recommend that you check out the Texas Humor Twitter page. Just trust me on that one. If nothing else, my pride will make more sense, but the goal of course is that you will come to share it.

Upon browsing that page, it won’t take you long to figure out how much Texans hate the cold weather. We flat-out despise it. I grew up in Houston, and it snowed a grand total of two times in my eighteen years there. The remnants are still in my mom’s freezer. It was pretty, sure. But it never stuck. It was always too warm. When I was 10, I wanted the snow to stay forever. It was fun to play in, and its sheer presence guaranteed no school. That’s the most important part of this. Snow never stuck, and I was never properly taught how to function in snow. And that had never been an issue. That is, until I came to college.

I go to school in Dallas, which has a climate that is similar to Houston. I gets really hot in the summer, but there’s less humidity. The major difference is in the winter months. I got one snow day all of high school. One. That was because all the roads were supposed to ice overnight. I’ve lived in Dallas for about a year and a half now and I’ve seen more ice and snow in that year and a half than I did in all my years in Houston. It’s pretty and all when it snows, but ice is terrible. I slide everywhere. I’m like a fish out of water. None of my shoes have enough traction to keep me from wiping out on sidewalks. Those are typically very public sidewalks, might I add. I fell getting out of the car at a Raising Cane’s. I fell crossing the street while changing classes on campus. I’m hopeless. Genuinely hopeless.

I have accepted that I will never be comfortable with snow, and that is 100% okay with me. I don’t want to drive in it. I don’t want to walk in it. My philosophy is basically that if snow’s out, I’m not. It’s nice to look at, but past that, I can’t think of another use for it.

So here’s my point with all of this: I’m from Texas, where snow is as hard to find as “pop.” To any of you who know what to do with snow, congratulations. It’s a useful skill. I don’t know what to do, and it’s going to take a lot of effort to convince me to learn. But if you move somewhere like Texas, or anywhere in the deep South, respect our lack of knowledge. We try. We really do. I tried to make it to class without causing any bodily harm to myself. I just can’t. Don’t mock us. All the same courtesy rules that apply in Texas still apply in the snow. You stop to help stalled cars, and you check in on your neighbors, and you extend a helping hand to anyone you happen to see eat it on the sidewalk on their way to class. Or work. Or up their driveway, or wherever the case may be. Because snow isn’t part of culture, but respect is.