Jeff Davidson's Blog, page 28
October 7, 2015
Real and Imagined Friends
Researchers from the National Opinion Research Center have found that people who watch a lot of television seem to be as psychologically content as people who have many friends. These disappointing findings stem from the fact that "the human brain evolved long before television came along, so subconsciously it recognizes any face it sees regularly as a friend, even if it is on the screen," says Satoshi Kanazawa, Ph.D., author of the study.
Does the above explain why society remains in a stupor of overfed, undernourished, overweight, socially inept citizens? After all they are, indeed, getting their social and psychological strokes by tuning in to see their favorite "friends" each week.
As someone recently noted technology can certainly be an aid to human kind but if we are not careful it can greatly diminish of the quality of our lives. Technology distracts us from our own thought, daydreams, even our own imagination. When we fill in the time from the car to the elevator and the elevator to the office, or from lunch back to the office, with a beeper or cell phone, we interrupt the opportunity for people to marinate in their own imaginations.
Does the above explain why society remains in a stupor of overfed, undernourished, overweight, socially inept citizens? After all they are, indeed, getting their social and psychological strokes by tuning in to see their favorite "friends" each week.
As someone recently noted technology can certainly be an aid to human kind but if we are not careful it can greatly diminish of the quality of our lives. Technology distracts us from our own thought, daydreams, even our own imagination. When we fill in the time from the car to the elevator and the elevator to the office, or from lunch back to the office, with a beeper or cell phone, we interrupt the opportunity for people to marinate in their own imaginations.
September 17, 2015
Productivity Gains via Concentration
Amazingly we spend 47% of our time, thinking about something other than what is going on, based on a study published in the Harvard Gazette. Hence a most extraordinary productivity benefit awaits those who can concentrate on the item at hand.
Times Sure Have Changed
In 1904:
* The average life expectancy is 47 years.
* 14% of homes have a bathtub.
* 8% of homes have a telephone.
* A three-minute call from Denver to New York cost $11.
* There are 8,000 cars in the U.S. and 144 miles of paved roads.
* The maximum speed limit in most cities is 10 miles per hour.
* With a 1.4 million residents, California is the 21st most populous state.
* Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee are each more heavily populated than California.
Okay, all the above seem archaic. Would you trade it, however, for a slower simpler life?
* The average life expectancy is 47 years.
* 14% of homes have a bathtub.
* 8% of homes have a telephone.
* A three-minute call from Denver to New York cost $11.
* There are 8,000 cars in the U.S. and 144 miles of paved roads.
* The maximum speed limit in most cities is 10 miles per hour.
* With a 1.4 million residents, California is the 21st most populous state.
* Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee are each more heavily populated than California.
Okay, all the above seem archaic. Would you trade it, however, for a slower simpler life?
September 8, 2015
The Five Mega-Realities of Life
The five mega-realities of life serve as a framework to understanding change and how we can adjust our thinking and activities to maintain some semblance of control.
Sitting right where you are, what you now know about population — the fact that the world gains more than a quarter million people per day enables you to safely predict the following:
1) Investing in real estate, more specifically a home, now while prices are depressed and interest rates are low will be a sound financial move almost independent of your economic station in life.
2) Adopting a somewhat contrarian mindset will prove to be advantageous. Attempting to head into the city or out of the city at the same time as everyone, or booking theater or restaurant reservations at the same time as everyone else will be problematic or increasingly so as time passes. Commutes in all directions will become more arduous. Hence, living closer to work, living closer to shopping and conveniences, telecommuting occasionally, and shopping online will only grow in attractiveness and utility.
3) Old friends become more valued friends. Anchors such as family, close business associates, former college roommates and those who have shared experiences with us become more important with the passing of time. This is not to downplay the role of new friends, for indeed they can become great friends and eventually even old friends!
Sitting right where you are, what you now know about population — the fact that the world gains more than a quarter million people per day enables you to safely predict the following:
1) Investing in real estate, more specifically a home, now while prices are depressed and interest rates are low will be a sound financial move almost independent of your economic station in life.
2) Adopting a somewhat contrarian mindset will prove to be advantageous. Attempting to head into the city or out of the city at the same time as everyone, or booking theater or restaurant reservations at the same time as everyone else will be problematic or increasingly so as time passes. Commutes in all directions will become more arduous. Hence, living closer to work, living closer to shopping and conveniences, telecommuting occasionally, and shopping online will only grow in attractiveness and utility.
3) Old friends become more valued friends. Anchors such as family, close business associates, former college roommates and those who have shared experiences with us become more important with the passing of time. This is not to downplay the role of new friends, for indeed they can become great friends and eventually even old friends!
September 3, 2015
Your Lungs, Renewed
Advice told to me: To keep your lungs young, do this simple exercise two or three times a day: Stand straight and slowly exhale until all your breath is gone. Then slowly inhale until your chest is completely expanded. This exercise takes your lungs to each limit, which combats the loss of efficiency and elasticity that come with aging.
Take Stand at Work
A feature many years ago in Men's Health caught my eye, as I have been using a stand-up desk for the last eight years:
Stand In The Place Where You Work: "Quit sitting down on the job. Australian scientists found that workers who log more than 6 hours of chair time a day are up to 68 percent more likely to be overweight than those who sit less. One solution: Ask HR for a stand-up desk. You burn one more calorie each minute when standing than when sitting. (Do the math.) Request denied? Create your own stand-up workstation: Place your monitor on a box, with the top of the screen at arm's length and at eye level, and elevate your keyboard so your elbows are bent 90 degrees. A bonus: Your posture will improve from standing instead of slumping."
Stand In The Place Where You Work: "Quit sitting down on the job. Australian scientists found that workers who log more than 6 hours of chair time a day are up to 68 percent more likely to be overweight than those who sit less. One solution: Ask HR for a stand-up desk. You burn one more calorie each minute when standing than when sitting. (Do the math.) Request denied? Create your own stand-up workstation: Place your monitor on a box, with the top of the screen at arm's length and at eye level, and elevate your keyboard so your elbows are bent 90 degrees. A bonus: Your posture will improve from standing instead of slumping."
August 25, 2015
Less Clutter, More Life
With the introduction of satellite television, the Internet, which was not prominent before 1993, and all the consumer choices that exist, many things that compete for your time and attention. If you cram that into the same 24-hour day or 168-hour week that you have always had, then your perception will be that time is speeding by.
For example, if you talk to a friend, watch a single television show while doing nothing else, read a book, or engage in any singular activity for one hour, you will have a certain perception of how quickly that hour will pass. But, if you pack more tasks into that same hour: the television being on, trying to read a book, maybe eating, maybe looking at 4-year-old; maybe a friend calls; maybe fiddling with an iPhone, and so on, then you perception of time changes. So, the more things that you can fit into that hour, then more things compete for your time and attention, and the faster that hour passes will seem to pass.
Does this seem like all the makings of a chaotic life? We each have 24 hours in day, so how are you supposed to fit in all of your daily tasks without getting so stressed out or frustrated that you cannot finish any? The answer is: less is more.
You can only eat one meal at a time. Focus on the task at hand and reflect on that 60's phrase, Be Here Now! You can actually taste the food when you are eating. You can actually watch the show that you are watching. You can actually play the sport that you are playing. Have the emotional and financial strength to let go of all the peripheral items competing for your time and attention and focus on the activity at hand.
The message that is being disseminated in contemporary society is to practice multi-tasking. "Do multiple things at once." "Click here." "Push here." "Turn me on." "Switch me on." Every place you look, you are besieged by more items competing for your time and attention. Now, people actually have dwindling attention spans. They lack the ability to remain focused on the same subject for more than a few minutes and, sadly, some people for more than a few seconds.
The key to reclaiming your time is to practice the art, something I call an art, of doing one thing at a time. Sounds pretty simple, doesn't it? Focus on the task at hand and be present in the moment.
For example, if you talk to a friend, watch a single television show while doing nothing else, read a book, or engage in any singular activity for one hour, you will have a certain perception of how quickly that hour will pass. But, if you pack more tasks into that same hour: the television being on, trying to read a book, maybe eating, maybe looking at 4-year-old; maybe a friend calls; maybe fiddling with an iPhone, and so on, then you perception of time changes. So, the more things that you can fit into that hour, then more things compete for your time and attention, and the faster that hour passes will seem to pass.
Does this seem like all the makings of a chaotic life? We each have 24 hours in day, so how are you supposed to fit in all of your daily tasks without getting so stressed out or frustrated that you cannot finish any? The answer is: less is more.
You can only eat one meal at a time. Focus on the task at hand and reflect on that 60's phrase, Be Here Now! You can actually taste the food when you are eating. You can actually watch the show that you are watching. You can actually play the sport that you are playing. Have the emotional and financial strength to let go of all the peripheral items competing for your time and attention and focus on the activity at hand.
The message that is being disseminated in contemporary society is to practice multi-tasking. "Do multiple things at once." "Click here." "Push here." "Turn me on." "Switch me on." Every place you look, you are besieged by more items competing for your time and attention. Now, people actually have dwindling attention spans. They lack the ability to remain focused on the same subject for more than a few minutes and, sadly, some people for more than a few seconds.
The key to reclaiming your time is to practice the art, something I call an art, of doing one thing at a time. Sounds pretty simple, doesn't it? Focus on the task at hand and be present in the moment.
August 14, 2015
Outrageous Information Overload
An observation as to why we face massive information overload: our equipment, computers, laptops, and mobile devices will become ever more powerful, but our ability to take full advantage of their capabilities will always be lagging. Pare down, focus, organize, and let go of the extraneous
July 29, 2015
Manage Your Commute
1. Keep your car in top shape. Take it in for servicing if you even suspect something is askew.
2. Join an automotive club. They pay for themselves after one tow.
3. Wean yourself of flicking on the radio the moment you step into the car, or of listening to shock talkers who offer little to your life. Instead...
4. Install a CD player to control your environment to and from work. Patronize your local library for lectures, plays, books, and music on CD.
5. Ride with the windows closed and the A/C on. You'll get the same MPG as otherwise, the ride will to be quieter, and you'll have more control of your immediate environment.
6. Keep spare car keys in your house and spare house keys hidden in a faithful "Hide-a-Key" compartment which magnetically attaches under the bumper.
7. Hide several quarters, key phone numbers, a pad, and a pen in your car.
8. During your ride, reflect on what you'd like to complete or how you'd like your day to go.
2. Join an automotive club. They pay for themselves after one tow.
3. Wean yourself of flicking on the radio the moment you step into the car, or of listening to shock talkers who offer little to your life. Instead...
4. Install a CD player to control your environment to and from work. Patronize your local library for lectures, plays, books, and music on CD.
5. Ride with the windows closed and the A/C on. You'll get the same MPG as otherwise, the ride will to be quieter, and you'll have more control of your immediate environment.
6. Keep spare car keys in your house and spare house keys hidden in a faithful "Hide-a-Key" compartment which magnetically attaches under the bumper.
7. Hide several quarters, key phone numbers, a pad, and a pen in your car.
8. During your ride, reflect on what you'd like to complete or how you'd like your day to go.
