“One of the arts of getting things done is to know what things can remain undone" This was what one of my ex-very senior manager who I admired (still do) a lot used to say. I really liked that, and I usually pass that valuable piece of wisdom to anybody with whom I happen to share a conversation. Yeah..thats like my killer punch line …You say that..and it makes you look really cool..yes, it depends on the timing as well..but then you get used to it with some practice.. (Put a pinch of sarcasm in it, and YALLA..”WE HAVE A WINNER!). Ok so last month, I actually decided to implement what I say because as they say (I do not know who “they” are, but they keep saying) “Always practice what you preach”. So I decided to have a checklist of “to do” things.
Here goes :- though they are not in any order of priority, but these needed to be done.
1.Start going to the gym :- hmmmmmmmm….I have always post poned that. I have put on some extra weight over the last few months . Yucksssss..yeah, as bad as it sounds, the truth is out ..I have put on WEIGHT. Now before you start to visualize my physical structure, let me try to halt any such attempts. I am NOT fat! And at the risk of sounding humble, let me also say that I am ..err..very sexy as well. So, that’s about that.
2. Exercising:- Ok not so different from point 1. But you know, that’s the loop hole, If I don’t start going to the gym, at least do some exercises at home (heh heh..smart..yeah I know). Infact once I started jogging. But sadly by the time I realized that I am not 25 anymore and was not in supreme physical condition for jogging, I had covered a lot of distance and it was way too far to walk back. That’s when I realized autorickshaws are a blessing to mankind.
3.Calling up friends :- Few of them are pissed off with me because I am not keeping in touch . So a call was absolutely important to ensure my social existence.
4.I had brought a book on 6 sigma a looong time back. But even though its been a while, the book stills looks new and even has got that new book smell to it. As logic would say, Buying the book isin’t good enough, you have to read that as well. Making a start was another one on the list.
5. Buying a pair of speakers for my comp. Quite self explanatory I presume. Ok, if you do want an explanation on that, here you go :- I wanted to buy a pair of speakers for my computer.
6. Going to the Courier company to collect my credit card. Long story short, I lost my credit card- called up the bank- bank issued another credit card- courier company never finds me home- They got tired and gave it back to the bank- I called up the bank again- bank got tired, send the credit card again- The same courier company got the card- Courier company never found me home, well, again- Got tired -gave it back to the bank- I call up bank, the bank then tells me the courier company got the wrong address!- wow! now , they have send it to the courier company and asked me to collect it from their office. So, the point that I was trying to make was that, this was on my checklist as well.
7. Ofcourse, How can I forget..I have an office to go to as well in between all this. All this to be done before 02:00pm as that’s the time I have to leave for office.
Me decided that I will start the checklist with point 3 by calling up a few friends. The first one I called, ate up more than an hour. So I decided, to avoid the next and move on to point 6 and get my credit card. Well, as fate may have it, if it was the courier company who couldn’t find me all this while, it was me this time who couldn’t locate the courier company. Found it atlast only to find out that I forgot to carry any Id proof with me to get the credit card from them. Ok, lets buy the goddamn speakers atleast! The sales person at the shop perhaps was way short of his monthly sales targets because he seemed desperate enough to sell me the entire shop, leave alone the speakers. Got the speakers ! ticked the checklist..Now off we go to the gym ..lets atleast say Hi there and let them know that I will start from tomorrow (Yeah..let the poor souls have something to look forward to in life) . Btw, the gym looks cool and all..But I was forgetting something. Yes ..the time ..Looked at my watch , it showed 03:30 pm . Oh yes..I needed to go to office today ..can’t now ..hmm..work from home. Classic case of checklist going wrong OR Classic case of the wrong checklist!
14 comments:
Your article is engaging and raised the right points. I look back and realize that when I start my day in office, my first priority is to schedule my day so that my productivity doesnt dip.
On the personal front, however, I do the same things that you do- miss reading some books that I intended to read, skip the gym but definitely vow to go and that kind of thing. I really liked the way you explained each thing in a very casual but interesting way.
My request to you is: keep blogging regularly. All the best!
well...atleast you blogged about it...thats one third of the battle won :P
You leave for office at 2.00 PM??? Wow!
3. Facebook is a nice solution :)
Wow, you sure tried getting a LOT done in one day... that's fantastic! An awesome start :)
Let's try carrying our drivers' license with us, now onwards!
@Swapna
Thanks Swapna, glad that you liked the post. Prioritizing work especially at office is the best thing to do..I do that as well..except that I forget to that When I start teh days work and end up doing that ..somewhere in between or at the fag end of the day..so, hmmm..the whole point is lost ..hehee
@Meira
Lol..yeah..some light at the end of a tunnel..
@unsung
First things first..I just happened to read your post on suicide..Absolutely amazing..hang on ..I'll post it there. Yeah..facebook seems to be feasible option..widely recomended. I'll check that out.I stopped carrying my driver's license with me from the starting of this year..some very bad experiences..Infact I had written a post on it some time back :)
LOl..hilarious !! Enjoyed reading it..I relay like the effortlessness in your posts..Refreshing.
But kind Sir, do you mind being a bit more regular with your posts??
Heeheeheee..what did you tell your folks at office for not turning up ?
Btw..did you join the gym?
@007
Thanks :) Yes Sir! I am indeed working on that. Its on top priority on my checklist ;)
@Vinod
Hey ..don't ask! ;) No , haven't started going to the gym :( Well..planning to as always
Checklist is the best thing to have if u have a habit of procrastination. Though not regular but i do maintain it for imp tasks.Nice blog. Keep writing!
There isn't cases of checklist going wrong. It is all about the wrong check list.
@Ashish
First time here? Thanks for your visit. Hope to see more of you here and thanks for your kind words :)
@Anand
Yup..may have a point there.
man, its 4-5 days now, have ye got your credit card yet? Or you give them my address, along with your pass-code. I'll do you a favour and use it, what say? ;) I'm a bit stretched at the moment...recession, you see..? heheeeee
Your article was nice, kept me at it for the whole length.
At least you could finish off a couple of them on the checklist. I would've done n-o-t-h-i-n-g.. except for the credit card! :)
Hey, that message conveys a lot. Priority fixing is something most managers miss. They want to get everything done soon.
An interesting tasks list! :)
@scorpio
ys..did get the cc atlast! using my cc ?? hehe ..well try using tat ..and probably a hand from the atm machine might come out and just spank you ..it might also say "credit card inu oru paruthi ille?""lolz..glad that you liked the post.
@Sreejith
Thanks ...yes prioritizing work is always an efficient method of working..but then prioritizing correctly is alltogether different skill set I guess :)
good article
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