I've been lazy.
The mere fact that I had the time to update is, for me, too much of a guilty pleasure. Even though writing is an ultimate stress reliever. And I do it at night anyway, after dinner. And during weekends. And on the train to work. But still.
I dunno, I feel like I haven't updated my skills since 2010. I haven't studied anything new, and I simply depended on what I knew 3 years ago, rendering-wise, design-wise, which is bad, very bad.
I entered a profession where overtime is a norm, and to be able to sleep 6 hours a day is a blessing. But lately I've been sleeping well and enjoying my weekends. I don't know if it's proper time management, or I'm being inefficient. Or I'm really being harsh at myself right now.
It's not that I'm wishing to be overworked and burnt out again but I feel like I'm still so far away from my long term goals and aspirations. I think--no, I know-- that I am not working hard enough. I used to complain that I'm not being given an opportunity to hone my talent, until someone told me,
"You don't wait for an opportunity, you work for it." and man, what a cold bucket of water that was to have been thrown at me. It's a phrase I'll never ever forget.
It's just so easy to be distracted! Besides being interested in makeup and photography, I've also started to enjoy cooking and it's one of the things I look forward to at the end of the day. But I'm starting to realize I cannot delve into these little joys too much. I must strike a balance. Concentrate on work, and enjoy work as much as I enjoy my hobbies. That should do it.
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I often write posts halfway then stop when I notice that there's nothing positive about it. So the past few weeks I've tried to combat this laziness, and I found that there a lot of ways! I'm glad I did something about it, I'm writing them down now so I also can keep note of them, and maybe to share it with those who might find it useful. I can't give scientific explanations on how your mind and body works, but these are based from experience, and have been effective for me! (actually they're all just common sense lol)
1. Wake up earlier than you usually do.
I'm not a morning person! It's so difficult for me to wake up in the morning, and I often wake up very late. But I find that during the times that I force myself to wake up very early, I get to accomplish more during the day and become more efficient than I usually am. It's because when you sleep too much you feel very sluggish and weak, but waking up early gives you that energetic vibe for some reason. (I have to have coffee to accomplish this though, and I used to hate drinking coffee.)
2. Make lists.
Make a list of your goals. Make a to-do list. Make a list of your lists. Lol. Actually, it shouldn't be just lists because that would make you feel like you have so many things to do, so what you do is make it a CHECKLIST. Knowing what you need to accomplish gives you a sense of direction and seeing a checklist that you need to fill up makes it easier for you to be reminded of everything you need to do, and how to manage your time to be able to "check" everything out. When you do see a lot of "checks" at the end of the day, you'll enjoy the feeling of having been really productive.
3. Be motivated.
Ah, this is so generic, but it's so true. If you don't like what you do, that's when you don't feel like waking up early and going to work. Actually, THIS IS SERIOUSLY A NO-BRAINER. successful people are those who are always passionate with what they do, and we all know that already. Sometimes, it's just hard for us to find work that we truly enjoy... and pays well.
4. Throw away your smartphone.
Smartphones are like those friends in highschool that your mother told you to stay away from: they're bad influences. Especially when you have 3G and you can access the internet everywhere, it's so easy to browse in between breaks. Except maybe candy crush, because it only gives me 5 lives and I end at that because I don't like asking for lives. LOL. Ok fine, self control is really the key! Stop clicking the "See More" tab on your facebook newsfeed!!
5. Play Music
I think this should be no.1 on my list. Know this meme? (below)
It sooooo applies to me.
And I find that it also works with almost anything. As long as I have my headphones on, I can concentrate! Too bad most companies don't allow them, I'm pretty sure if they did, everyone will be able to focus on their own work and get less distracted. Prevents useless chatter in between seatmates, too.
6. Have and Inspiration.
Also the most obvious, but this is the reason why I am writing this post anyway. Of course having "someone special"as an inspiration is a given, but being truly inspired is quite a different thing.
About a month ago I went for a meeting to see a client's house that she wanted to be renovated. There were two other architects, and one was introduced as a German architect who flew in all the way from Japan. I didn't think much of him in the beginning, he was quite friendly and all but I thought he was like us, just a normal employee who might be working under a Japanese company or something. He gave us his name card and I saw that he owned a company himself (which I didn't even bother to read, at first):
After inspecting the house I was lucky enough to stay on and hear about his proposal. It was his first meeting with the client, but he already got a printed, glossy brochure for the site analysis and schematic diagrams-- something that definitely impressed the client, and me (ok ok you might say that's pretty standard we do that for school too when we want to show the instructor something that's actually nothing. But still, the effort, dude) . I have to admit, it's not common practice, here, we usually meet the clients first and get the brief from them before giving them anything, so it was quite new to me and I so wished I had thought of that and had that initiative.
After explaining the problem and probable solutions to the client, he showed us his sample of works, which were really good! The way he presented the concepts were really the way an architect should think. So I secretly googled him on my phone, and to my utter shame, I saw his works on
archdaily. Yes, arch daily wtf!! I was stunned, he has even worked alongside Toyo Ito (this year's Pritzker Prize winner). This is one of his projects:
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| Photos courtesy of Archdaily and Florian Busch Architects |
Those are just a few and I leave you to browse his
website for his works. I have been privileged to have met, discussed and learned from him.
The point is, that meeting inspired me. Or must I say it woke me up from a deep slumber. That meeting is what made me write all these. I suddenly felt ashamed of myself, because I want to be
that kind of Architect, and what am I doing now? I'm so comfortably nestled under my safety zone that I forgot all my previous ambitions. I know I'm still far off, I have been left behind, but maybe, it's not too late. I hope I can still make it.
I have dreams. And to achieve all those, being lazy is not an option.
