Small Things for 2015

It has been a good year, 2014. Not great, not average, just good. And I grew a lot as a person. I did better than last year on most fronts, but some were still left screaming for mercy and progress. I learned a lot at work, I read many good books, I met people and interacted and laughed with them and became more confident. At the same time, I became fat and failed miserably in keeping up with online courses and writing. I made a post in January about Resolutions and Wishes for 2014, and let us just say, the plane didn't stay up long ... and crashed, voilently, into a Saharan desert type of a jungle and the pilot was eaten by a crocodile when he found water after wandering for three days in scorching jungle heat and being bitten twice by a non-poisonous and once by a poisonous snake on the butt.

Okay, moving on, I decided to not make resolutions or wishes for 2015, cause they tended to be mostly quantitative. Something which I am bad at, and something which isn't always a good thing. For instance, when setting a book reading goal. But then I came across a question on Quora and decided to, instead of making or stop making resolutions altogether, introduce small changes in my routine so as to become a better person gradually. I took some suggestions from that Quora post/question and added (or changed to suit) some of my own and came up with this list. I have arranged these in categories so that I can print them out and have them at access whenever I need.

     Work     

- Make a list of things to do the next day, the night before.

- Work time is for work. Calling and texting are for breaks and later.

- Reply to mails. If the mail needs a long reply, send an acknowledgement of having received/read the mail asap. Follow the following rule as much as possible - desktop for replies, phone for removing junk.

- Read something that strikes interesting? Write to the author about it. You will get to interact with people from different spheres of life and it will make you more confident.

- With tasks, projects, chores, bills - do NOT follow the first-in-first-out rule. Organize them according to when they're due, and always be working on what's due next.

- Use apps. Use calendar and notes and to-do lists and manage your work. The government and its agencies already knows everything about you, accept it and move on. Still keep everything private, just because the government know, doesn't mean everyone else should.

- Get rid of new clutter. Unsubscribe from any/all mailing lists that aren't relevant or absolutely necessary.

- Before starting a side-project, like an online course, ask yourself if you have time.


     Home     

- Leave the bedroom blinds open so that you wake to sunlight coming in your windows, and hence wake up early.

- Wash. Have a bath each morning, no matter what the weather. Wash the laundry before it becomes crucial. Wash the dishes right after their use. 

- Exercise. Half an hour of exercise is okay, no matter what type it is. Walk/cycle if the distance is less than 3 kilometres.

- Spend time with kids and innocence. Make time if you don't have. Read with them, play with them, colour with them, do whatever as long you spend time with them. The world would seem a lot better. 

- Listen to kids. Just, listen!

- Write. More with pencil and lesser with phone. Keep a small log of dreams in a bedside diary. Sit to write for half an hour every day, no matter how many words. Reduce whatsapp.

- Read books. On Kindle when traveling and out and in bound when at home and near bed. Set a target of one book a week and read qualitatively. Make and update a list of type of books for 2015.

- Write blog posts. Try to keep them short and limit the time to an hour at the maximum for any given post. Write about your experiences, as a diary or just about what you like.

- Take dinner before 9 and brush teeth before sleeping. 

- Pick out your wardrobe each night for the following day, and set it out before you go to bed. 

- Spend half an hour every Sunday organizing stuff. Watch a film a week. Just one.

- On facebook, subscribe to people you want notifications for and train yourself to check only your notifications and then get out. 

- Get rid of old clutter. Clean out the junk in the drawer, the attic, wherever. If something is there for more than a year, seriously ask yourself how necessary is it to keep.

- Use cloud tools. Again, figure out privacy and keep a copy of important stuff online. Scan most bills, memos, warranty cards and throw the actual paper out (except the important ones) after a period of time. Save on an external hard drive as well.


     General     

- Dress for the occasion. 

- Language comes with speaking. Keep speaking and reading the language.

- Address people by their name. If you forget, ask their name. Look into their eyes when you talk.

- If you're really hungry, drink a bottle of water. Snacks eat you.

- A handshake is always better than a hello. A hug is mostly better than a handshake.

- Don't ever run after money. Donate a specific percent of your earnings, consistently.

- Always lend a hand wherever and whenever possible.

- Remember important phone numbers instead of saving them. Carry a notepad and a pen/pencil.

- Trolls feed on time. Do not go into the comments section, ever.


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So there, this is all I can think of, as of now. If you have any suggestions and ideas on how to make big impacts through small changes or even if not exactly small changes, then do suggest, I would be very glad to know. Also, I think I would be updating this particular post over time and as I encounter other important stuff.

Thanks for reading. You can make your own if you you'd like, I am sure they would help. :)