Genuine Curiosity

Author Dwayne Melancon is always on the lookout for new things to learn. An ecclectic collection of postings on personal productivity, travel, good books, gadgets, leadership & management, and many other things.

 

Updated: I can see clearly now...

[Update on progress at the end of the article...]

Originally posted June 3, 2006:
On Thursday June 1, I had LASIK done on both my eyes. After needing glasses or contacts for the past 33 years (my vision was about 20/450 in my left eye and 20/425 in my right - that pretty much translates to to "blind as a bat" with my naked eyes).

My results so far

The vision in one of my eyes is crystal clear and better than 20/20. The other has slight residual "haziness" that comes and goes depending on the time of day - when the haze is clear, I can see better than 20/20 in that eye, and about 20/30 when it's hazy. They tell me the haze is normal and should fade and clear up over the next few weeks. Even with that, I can now see better than I ever did with contacts or glasses. Truly amazing stuff.

If you're thinking about LASIK, I recommend you check it out. If you decide to investigate, here is my perspective.

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Audit time!

Lately I've been frustrated that, even after a very busy day, I don't have as much to show as I'd hoped. So, I have gone back to the classic approach as I wrote about last year: I'm time logging again.

This year, my time logging is going more smoothly - I'm doing a lot of it electronically. Here are the basics:

  • I'm using a Microsoft Word document called "timelog.doc" and have added a shortcut to this document to my Startup group on Windows. Therefore, my time log opens up every time I boot my system.
  • I have created a few ActiveWords macros to make things easier.
    • "newday" adds a divider, inserts today's date, and moves me down a couple of lines to start my logging
    • "ct" inserts the current time and a couple of spaces so I can easily timestamp things
    • "log" opens up my time log document (because I accidentally close it a few times a day)
  • I'm logging more "extra" details than I did last time, such as:
    • the activity I need to be doing (or should be doing, or want to do) for the next chunk of time ("Need to review slides for xxx meeting")
      • this allows me to see how many times I end up doing something other than what I intended to do
      • if I deviated from the plan, I fess up on the next timestamp if I didn't do what I set out to do
      • I also record unexpected obstacles - like yesterday when I tried to print my credit card statement for expense purposes, but Chase's card member site was down for a flippin' long time
    • how many messages are in my Inbox (I only do this periodically - usually before I start processing my inbox, then again when I shift to a new task
      • this enables me to see things like
        • how much time I spend processing email
        • how many messages per minute I'm processing (am I meeting or beating the 2 minute rule or not)
        • the impact of any ratholes I got dragged into while doing email
    • how many caffeinated drinks I'm consuming
    • my energy level (on a 1-10 scale)
      • I look at this to see what impact certain foods and drinks have on my energy, as well as which activities energize me
    • what and when I eat and have snacks

I'm only a few days into it, but I'm already uncovering some sources of unproductive time, particularly during the work day. Here are some things I'm seeing so far:

  • It seems my days are either too structured (filled with meetings) or too unstructured (on days when I don't have meetings, I am not being deliberate enough about what I *want* to work on - this is what triggered my previous post)
  • Any time email processing takes me to a web browser, I'm in danger land
  • My mid-morning and mid-afternoon Zone Bars are really good for my energy level
  • I've been drinking way too much caffeine - I've cut it by 75% in the last couple of days
  • I feel better when I take a walk outside at lunch (vs. sitting inside the whole time)
  • I gain energy from making phone calls, but lose energy when I receive them
  • I don't schedule enough "catch up time" after meetings to write up notes, etc.

I'm going to keep doing this for a few more weeks to see how I can tune my behavior, and I know I'll learn more. I'm also looking for a good PalmOS-based time logging system that is easy to use and (ideally) synchs easily with a PC. I'll let you know if I find anything I like.

I highly recommend time logging periodically. If you're interested, a couple of good places you can learn about it are:

Related posts:

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What if the world slept polyphasically?

I recently followed Steve Pavlina's journey into a polyphasic sleep routine, and have found myself wondering what it'd be like if a majority of the world operated in this way. He just posted his "60 day update" on polyphasic sleep, raving about the productivity gains he's seen.

In case you haven't followed Steve's experiement, he describes polyphasic sleep this way:

"Polyphasic sleep involves taking multiple short sleep periods throughout the day instead of getting all your sleep in one long chunk. A popular form of polyphasic sleep, the Uberman sleep schedule, suggests that you sleep 20-30 minutes six times per day, with equally spaced naps every 4 hours around the clock. This means you're only sleeping 2-3 hours per day."

I have been thinking about some of the implications, were this ever to catch on across the majority of the world:

  • Would we change the length of our work days? What about the school day?
    • Maybe we could spread out the congestion of "rush hour" by having staggered shifts around the clock?
  • Would all business begin staying open 24 hours?
  • Would this create more jobs, or just create the expectation that we should do more at our current jobs?
  • Would we all consume more?
    • We'd leave our lights on a lot more (at home and at work)
    • We probably wouldn't turn down our heat at night during the winter
    • We'd probably drive more
    • We'd be awake more and eat more
  • Would the hotel and leisure industry change? How?
  • When would they play those infomercials on TV?
  • Would bars and restaurants change how they operate?
    • After all, when would it be "time for breakfast?"
  • Would we still get jet lag?
  • Would our joints and organs wear out faster because we'd make them work more?
  • Would we get sick more or less often?
  • Would the murder rate (or crime in general) go up or down?
    • If more people were awake for more of the time, and you didn't have everyone away from their neighborhoods at the same time every day, what would that do to crimes of opportunity?
  • What about the suicide rate?
  • When someone said they needed to "sleep on it" would they really be ready to answer about 15 minutes later?

And I could go on, of course. This is fun and intriguing to think about, but I don't think the majority of the world will every sleep polyphasically. A few years ago, I heard claims that the "Atkins diet" would cause all kind of negative impacts on the market for sugar, potatoes, corn, and all kinds of things like that. Of course, that didn't happen - and I think polyphasic sleep is much less of a phenomenon than Atkins was.

Sometimes, I consider doing the polyphasic sleep thing and have even discussed it with my wife. She is also intrigued by it, especially after hearing some of Steve's stories about how much more he is getting done with all of his extra time.

At the end of it, my wife usually says, "Wait until Steve's done it for about 6 months to see if he has some big problem." And then there's the fact that on cold winter mornings like this morning. As I reached over, hit snooze, retreated back into my warm, comfy bed, I decided I'll just consider it a bit longer.

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A Quest for Genius

I've been reading interacting with Dick Richards' book "Is Your Genius At Work?" for weeks now. This book is not long and is very easy to read and understand. But man, is it deep.

When I say I've been interacting with the book, I mean that I've been doing (and repeating...and revisiting....) the simple exercises Dick provides in the book. The exercises approach the challenge of finding your genius from a lot of different angles, to enable you to get a glimpse of the essence of your power. I feel like I'm getting closer, but I haven't gotten the "buzz" that others in the book describe when they finally name their genius (I'm looking for that "tongue on 9-volt batttery" kind of buzz - I know it's out there).

Provisions for the journey

The book provides you with the tools to go through a personal discovery process to discover and name your "genius." Dick goes into lots of detail about genius, but I describe genius as: that special capability that you have that makes you special, and flavors all the other parts of who you are and how you interact with the world.

The whole concept was very intriguing, and Dick provides some vivid examples of how others have found and named their genius. If you want to see what the book is like, head on over to OnGenius.com and you can check out a sample chapter and sample exercises.

Here is a brief overview of what you'll find in this book.

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Kind words and a warm place to sleep

During a recent hotel stay, I found a laminated card on my pillow at an Embassy Suites outside Kansas City. I made a copy of it and carry it with me now, since I love the sentiment. It made me feel better about my stay at the hotel, and I'd like to share it with you.

To Our Guests
In ancient times there was a prayer for
"The Stranger Within Our Gates"

Because this hotel is a human institution to serve people, and not solely a money making organization, we hope that God will grant you peace and rest while you are under our roof.

May this suite and hotel be your "second" home. May those you love be near you in thoughts and dreams. Even though we may not get to know you, we hope that you will be conformable and happy as if you were in your own house.

May the business that brought you our way prosper. May every call you make and every message you receive add to your joy. When you leave, may your journey be safe.

We are all travelers. From "birth 'til death" we travel between eternities. May these days be pleasant for you, profitable for society, helpful for those you meet, and a joy to those who know and love you best.

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