Needs, Drills & Systems
Today I have decided to explore 3 smaller topics in order to show my reflections of this week.
- Needs
My 21st birthday is rapidly coming up. At the time of posting, it will be the next day. My family has asked me what I would like for my birthday. I realised that I had not thought about wanting something for a while. There are mostly things that I need. When first asked what I would like for my special day, my answer was permanent markers.
It sounds rather absurd but I had lost mine and since we use markers on a daily basis it is an essential part of my soldier kit. If I am missing a part of my kit then I will be less efficient and less useful as a soldier. Thus my wants are more like needs. They are mostly about survival tools like permanent markers or quick pleasures like sweets and snacks.
2. Drills
Drilling is the military word for repeating a certain behaviour in order to perfect it. In Estonian, there is an expression: "Kordamine on tarkuse ema" which translates to "Repetition is the mother of knowledge". I think most people can agree that repetition can be a useful tool for learning.
The beauty of repetition is that it makes the actions almost reflex-like in order to create more space to actually think. I was blown away by how much it actually helps with physical tasks like opening certain bags, putting on certain gear or doing any sort of movements in a specific order. These actions get faster and more precise very fast.
I have noticed beforehand the beauty of perfecting one's craft but never at this pace. In a single day, a single movement can get exponentially more efficient.
3. Systems
During my time in prépa at HEI, I had time to make a fool-proof productivity system. The three pillars of this fool-proof system were a to-do list, a note-taking system and a calendar.
One of the core principles when having such a system is that it is completely useless unless you use it. Thus it has to be somewhere in sight, visible at all times. For me, that meant that I constantly had 3 tabs open on my computer – one for every component of the system.
Slight change of environment in the army – I did not open my computer for 3 weeks. I had no visual on my tasks nor on my upcoming events. All I have is a notebook and my own head on my shoulders.
The conclusion of this third part is that I need to rethink and remake systems adapted to my novel environment since surprisingly enough there are no one-size-fits-all systems.
This Week's Suggestions:
This is a quick shout-out to my high school English teacher. He has been very supportive of my writings. When he announced he would be starting his own weekly blog I was thrilled. Usually, as students, you only get to see the teacher's grading, seldom their writing. The most recent post explores his solo adventures in multiple cities in Poland.
🎶 "Hier encore" by Charles Aznavour:
Really enjoying myself some chanson Française recently. This song really hits home with: "Hier encore, j'avais 20 ans, je gaspillais le temps,
en croyant l'arrêter." The song is rather melancholic, it is an important reminder to take the most of my twenties.
P.S. I will be listening to this song on my birthday and I will find myself hilarious (I am turning 21).
That will be all for this time!