Insightful Intakes

I spent this week skiing. The one and only time I have taken any lessons was in fifth grade, about nine years ago. This being said, since I can handle myself alright on skis I was a little skeptical of taking lessons. I am very happy I did. It was very rewarding. I improved a lot in just a few days. Before I could (somehow) get from point A to point B while being scared for my life but now I feel like I can actually kind of ski and the fear has dissipated.

Skiing lessons were helpful in multiple ways. They also reminded me that failure is good. The first three days I did not fall once, even though I was challenged, I stayed in my comfort zone. On the fourth day I fell. It was such a crucial part of my learning process. I realised that falling is not something to be feared, but praised as a lesson. This helped me put into practise all the theoretical information that I had gathered about skiing.

We stayed at Manigod. It is a really nice place. It is small but there is everything necessary: a few restaurants and bars, a doctor, a bakery, a farm and a little supermarket. The speciality of this skiing station is its nocturnal skiing slopes, which are illuminated by floodlights. Therefore it is possible to ski from 9 A.M. to 9 P.M. I really enjoyed night rides. There were lesser people thus there was less noise, less waiting at the ski lifts and the whole experience was a lot more comfortable.

On the way back to Lille we took a break at a restaurant that only played 2000’s and 2010’s hits (like Toxic, Rolling in the Deep and Counting Stars). That meal felt very nostalgic. Everything came rushing back. The summer car trips, reading comics in the attic and the school recess'.

During this week I barely listened to music. I listened to a few songs that were sent over after I asked for hip-hop suggestions on the Friday of last week. After a dry spell I decided to listen to a mix that a good friend of mine suggested IMANU B2B Buunshin's Set at Noisia Invites 2021. This set made me real happy. Such good energy and I love their choice of music. As a gift from heaven there were also a lot of new releases this Friday (Drum & Bass): Wilkinson's New album, Andromedik's new single and also a song from Culture Shock.

This upcoming week I will have to actually get some things done because the skiing was a pure holiday time. I postponed my entire to-do list to the following week. Meaning now I have a combination of personal and school-related matters to attend to. I have some planning to do. On that note, here are a few suggestions on how to further improve your productivity system by incorporating a calendar:

How to build the best calendar for You:

Having a functional calendar is an important addition to one’s productivity system. The general structure of a great calendar is slightly similar to a to-do list’s. This repetitiveness is actually good for us, this means there is less to learn and as with most things in life, it is about applying this knowledge, taking action.

On the calendar it is best to put events and important deadlines. It is not to be confused with a to-do list. The point is NOT to break down every task and event but to give a general and concise overview of a given time period. Ideally a great calendar when looked at in the morning should give a clear structure to the day. Personally I use it mostly to mark down my holidays, people’s birthdays, all sorts of exams and project deadlines. I have a paper version of my school schedule which changes too often in my opinion for me to put it online.

Using a paperback calendar distracts us less and helps us remember things better. Nevertheless I find that the distraction caused by our digital device is minimised because the time spent on actually setting an event is so much smaller with a digital calendar which makes it worth the risk of seeing a notification pop up. Although developing an ability to memorise things is actually good, I suggest that instead of memorising events, deadlines and birthdays you take up poems.

As can be understood from my tone I believe digital calendars to be superior. I highly suggest Google Calendar, but that is just my opinion. Most of its functionalities can also be found in other calendar applications. Reasons I especially appreciate online calendars are recurring events, notifications and the power of CTRL+C and CTRL+V.

Practical advice:

1. Make it simple and concise. That is, of course, far easier said than done. As Steve Jobs put it "Simple can be harder than complex." To the event add minimal but sufficient information. Instead of just jotting down the name and time maybe try also adding the location, concerned contact information and other event-specific information.
2. Make it a tool that You can not go without. The calendar has to be part of your everyday routine, for that it has to be pleasant to use for You. I have made it a habit because I try to avoid having to remember stuff. David Allen says it nicely: “Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.” Every event I need to know about has to be in my calendar.  If it is not, then it is not worth my time. A great way to make your calendar present in your life is to use notifications. Setting notifications can be tricky, it has to be distant enough from the event to leave time to prepare but also close enough to not be able to forget it. The only way to figure out that timing is personal experience.
3. Make separate calendars. One for work, one for personal use and another for birthdays. On Google Calendar having separate calendars is truly great because you can visualise all calendars separately. For example you can look at what your school schedule looks like and then compare it with your work schedule and then check separately what times you have workouts planned (By the way: scheduling your workouts can be a great way to make it a habit).

Extra tip: When using Google Calendar maybe implement also other people’s calendar and/or some optional events to see how they overlap and to make planning even more efficient.

I hope You found value from this post! Till next Monday morning!