Mind Pilot – Take Self Control

November 25, 2009

A few thoughts from Tony Robbins

Whenever I find myself veering off course, Tony Robbins books are often a good way to get back on track, and as someone who doesn’t normally like wading through chunky volumes of text, I’d have to recommend ‘Giant Steps’, which breaks everything down into simple postcard sized notes, designed to have once each day of the year. Of course, I’ll never find myself sticking to such a precise daily routine, but I think he makes a very good point about the need to read something positive for half an hour each day in order to stay mentally sharp.

The concept of ‘mood food’ is something I have been well aware of for while, but haven’t always indulged in, but the key point being that the mind needs nourishment just as much as the body. I’ve already got my work pretty well cut out over the next few weeks, so to fit in half an hour of reading would initially seem like a luxury, until it is broken down into three quick chunks of 10 minutes at the start of each day, over lunch and in the evening.

But even if you don’t like reading, good music can elevate the mood even quicker than text, and any music has to be better than the constant stream of bad news which so many news stations like to broadcast.

November 2, 2009

Using this blog to stay with it

Right, it has been a few months of chaos, and to be honest, a pretty lousy fortnight preceeding this one. But I’m hoping I can kick-start this blog and get back to the original reason for setting it up. The original idea for ‘Mind Pilot’ is probably around 3 years old, but I have always tried to find ways of managing my weekly fluctuations in mood and concentration levels.

The analogy with flying comes from the fact that I run an aviation related travel website, so there was a simple analogy for dividing the day up into 7 different phases, based around preparing for a flight, taking off, crusing and then landing safely at the end. This was all nice in theory, but let’s just say there’s been some turbulence in the meantime, some of it being far more severe than I was ever expecting.

But now, things are starting to head back on an even keel (sorry, should be sticking to flying rather than nautical metaphors, but sod it, this is a blog not a novel), and I want to really even it all out and try and cruise as smoothly as possible. Yet just as things seem to get back in place, something breaks, and I’m back to the start – or at least I am undoing a lot of the progress.

So the main idea of having this blog has to be to create some form of online interaction, where I can stay motivated enough to keep a focus. One way of doing this is to post open comments about the feelings I go through, and to invite other people to share their experiences. I hope to get enough of a following to give me something to log back into each day, so please stick around.

Mind Pilot is back – at last

Wow, has it really been that long? I last posted back in March, then was trying to upgrade the blog template, and bang! Something went wrong with the site design, then I hit a bit more mental ‘turbulence’, and here I am, winter is coming, and I need to get my mojo back!

So I hope to do a bit of tidying up, and then get back into the swing of things over the next few weeks. Watch this space!

March 20, 2009

How many computer windows do you have open?

I have been concentrating a lot lately on the bipolar aspect of my mind, but I should never forget the ADHD aspect, especially as I am starting to return to my old ‘normal’ levels of business.

So, how many windows do you have open at any time when you are running your computer. Do you use two or more screens – I have two widescreen monitors, which are generally great for increasing productivity, but this can sometimes just mean that you have more windows open and more chaos.

Right now, I am in chaos mode, but at some stage, I will call time, say enough is enough, and detach that modem. In the meantime, here’s my count – 8 Internet Explorer Windows, which might include several sub windows, Outlook, Dragon Naturally Speaking (Voice Recognition, but when I am in un-disiplined mode like now, I switch to conventional typing), 3 Excel spreadsheets, Flash, SQL Datatabase server, Dreamweaver, one Sykpe conversation – thankfully not active! Enough! I’m not even going to begin to count.

I think I have reached the point where I need to start closing down some windows and pulling out some plugs! Is this way of working productive – well, yes, stuff is getting done, but there is no routine to it, everything is happening in a random and chaotic manner. Sometimes that can be nice, but it is generally just totally frustrating as nothing seems to ever get done.

The solution? Switch off that modem, and set out some clear tasks. Get back to taking clear breaks, and bring the week back to making a decent start in the morning, so I can be finished by this time on a Friday evening!

Have a great weekend!

Over and out,

The Mind Pilot!

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