Going with the flow of energy to electrify your efficiency
#141 - the winter chill snaps all weekend
Hi there,
It is nice to be back at my old desk to write this week’s blog post. It’s been 4 (very fast!) weeks to start the term, and the pace doesn’t seem to be easing up with midterms fast approaching. Nevertheless, not having to think about food is an unparalleled liberation of the mind.
The week itself was quite musical, with my last orchestra rehearsal for now and also our highlight of the week - a visit to the Royal Festival Hall with a Maths and music mate (#alliteration) Luca. A new concert venue, a new white jacket (had to work very hard to keep it unblemished) and some incredible music with the Liverpool Philarmonic Orchestra. We enjoyed a fabulous burger place on the way home too 🎹🍔
I. Wednesday was a strange day, ending with the above concert. With the solitary lecture, I made the decision to stay at home, utilising my time better with self-study, a gym session and making food1.
However, the second half of the day made me frenetic. A call with a real estate private equity analyst (A long job title!) I met last month, then a team call for a cyber security challenge I’m doing (off to Cheltenham tomorrow!) and then getting ready for the concert - one thing after the other. 😅
Here’s my mistake - I tried to squeeze in watching the lecture I ‘missed’ in the morning between the team meeting and dressing up smart. This was ineffective because I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to absorb a not-so-straightforward set of concepts.
When I’m jumping between tasks quickly without a chance to catch my breath, I feel restless, jittery, uneasy - not the conditions you want for a smooth understanding of applied maths with electric circuits.
II. Being the awesome older brother I am, I sat down with my sister to draw up a plan for the next 3 months, which I termed ‘Mission GCSEs’ during my turn. We discussed her strong and weak areas from the mocks just gone, how to split up the subjects and much more.
We spent a good portion of time on the two English ones before I had to take a call from a Maths friend. When I came back, we got through the rest of the subjects in good time, maybe even too quickly.
I noticed that as I neared the last two, I gave the subjects less thought, time and detail compared to the others. Pausing briefly to reflect, this makes sense - I’m closer to the end so I speed up, like you do in a 100m sprint. Further, I have less patience/energy/willpower than I did at the start of making the plan.
Why is this a mistake? Ultimately, each subject deserves the same a baseline amount of TLC2, especially when my ordering of subjects is arbitrary (based on the way my school used to order them).
These two stories are problems of energy mismanagement, paired with time mismanagement. They are examples of failing to account for the energy I’d have or perhaps the type of energy state I’d be in then.
One part of greater independence at university has been learning to manage my own time. Different courses have different amounts of contact time and therefore, a greater chance of learning to optimise this free time. For me, this term offers more spaces of free time to learn how to use it best.
However, applying the right amount of energy to a task is as important as giving it time, to make the time well spent.
Some tips I’ll be looking to follow to address this:
Can you modify the state you’re in? There are definitely factors you can control to alter how you feel: taking a shower before I work always puts me in a better place to work. Listening to a hype-me-up pop song and a cheeky groove to it can be a mood booster too, as can a quick exercise or two (my pick-me-up last night in between my challenging coursework).
On the other side, if you want to calm down, maybe not drinking a coffee for a few hours before you want to wind down/sleep, or dimming the lights to get you relaxed.
Working with your natural clock. You’re more likely to have the energy to tackle your hard task first thing in the morning, with a tank full post-replenishment (reminds me of the saying ‘a good morning starts with a good night before’) than at Friday 4 pm.
Likewise, I’m most likely to want to be thoughtful/reflecting (equivalent to not doing hard work 😁) on a Sunday night, in anticipation of the long week ahead, and this makes Sundays the best time to blog.
There is also the science of working out your chronotype - are you an early bird or a night owl? Unfortunately, society hasn’t adapted flexibility enough to completely accommodate these 2 ends of the spectrum, but you can definitely shape your weekends and holidays with this knowledge.
Think about your environment. When I was in that jittery state, I would have been less likely to work if I had a messy desk. I might have been more likely to work if I was surrounded by other students working hard (influencing my decision to stay in through next week’s evenings before the midterms).
Similarly, what setting do you need to focus? Do you want the quiet of some piano music and headphones, getting you in the zone, or perhaps you want to feel busy and together in a cafe?
Think of your energy state as a room temperature. It’s sometimes uncomfortably hot and sometimes it’s shiveringly chilly. Your mission is to bring in the tools (heaters, air conditioners) and make proactive changes yourself (shorts or sleeves) to be at the temperature you want to be at.
That analogy is a little ropey, but what isn’t is me wanting to hear your thoughts on this - how do you think about energy and ordering the activities in your day? Reply to this email or shoot me a message - I can’t wait to hear from you.
Podcast of the week🎙️
I didn’t have a clue how much our oral microbiome can impact our overall health. Definitely want to (re-)listen to and look after our teeth and mouth!
What I’m grateful for this week 🙏
The friends - Zane, Phillip and Yalesan - who have offered their tips on a coursework we have due on Monday - I’m nearly there!
Quote of the week 💬
People never care how much you know until they know how much you care. Theodore Roosevelt
A week to brush up on my maths before a week of daily tests, the prospect is terrifying and terrific - see you soon.
Adi
Made a fish and potato dish, garlicky and delicious
Tender loving care