And, just in case you were wondering about the fourth item on the list ...
According to Wikipedia (because I had to look it up!) – “Dust bunnies, in American English, are small clumps of dust that form under furniture and in corners that are not cleaned regularly.”
As you will have gathered, Phil v2.0 is different to his predecessor.
At risk of stating the obvious though, difference can take a number of forms. Fundamental alteration is relatively patent (even to me). It can however be more subtle and might for example arise from an exaggeration or diminution of prior characteristics.
The change that I am concerned with in this post, is exaggeration and I will provide a couple of examples of personal traits, that have been subject to this.
Before going further though, it is worth stressing that others will often be more aware of these subtle alterations, than I am - and I often need for them to be brought to my attention. In this way and in appropriate circumstances I can take steps to address them.
The 2 examples that I will mention here, are (as per the title) planning and precision. So far as the latter is concerned, we can seek it in very many contexts – here, I am concerned with linguistic precision.
As a former lawyer, both of these were important to me. It was important to plan one’s work very carefully, in order to ensure that aims were clearly identified and correctly addressed, within for appropriate timeframes. Language used (written or oral) had to be chosen with great care, in order to avoid any risk of ambiguity and to ensure that it maximised the chances of achieving my objectives – for example, it should be as persuasive as possible.
Regarding planning, its importance (albeit in a very different context) remains.
Starting soon after the birth of Phil v2.0 and continuing to the present day, I have been strongly encouraged to plan and write down, how I intend to spend my time. In doing so, I can space out mentally taxing activities, in order to engage in psychological fatigue management. It also assists with my memory problems as it reduces the risk of me forgetting to do something. I have managed to get into the habit of preparing written, weekly planners, which list proposed headline activities, within each morning, afternoon and evening. That ought to be enough …
As a lawyer, while I might have erred slightly, on the side of caution, I don’t believe that I planned things much more than was necessary. The same can’t really be said for the current position!
My formal written planner is as previously mentioned. I have however, got into the habit of supplementing it with a plethora of scruffy, handwritten notes which list (often across more than one piece of paper!) every little thing, that I want to get done in a day, or part thereof. They contain an awful lot more than simply “headline activities”. Apart from the fact that my dining table is now strewn with scraps of paper, a difficulty for me that arises, is that I tend to think of their entire contents as constituting a “job list”. Clearly some items are correctly categorised as “jobs”. They also though, list proposed leisure activities, and this can lead me to think of them as things that have to be done, rather than as activities that it would be nice to do. Such an attitude can limit my flexibility and it encourages a sense of guilt, in the event of a failure to do something – even if that “something” was just for fun! Apparently, I am meant to be going for a run in an hour’s time. Does it really matter, if I don’t do so – after all, I’m not training for anything, in particular? Nevertheless, I will feel that I have let myself down, if I opt for the watch TV option instead - and this can make the run feel like a mandatory task and less enjoyable than ought to be the case.
Going beyond these notes, I make many lists in my mind, which are utterly unnecessary – and ought to be subject to some mental decluttering (easier said than done, for me!)
These mental lists can be incredibly detailed. For example, I can plan to turn the oven on in 3 minutes time (genuinely so)! I also make lists, that are incredibly similar to that in the above picture. Unlike that one, I don’t remind myself to “flush toilet” but have included “go to the toilet”! I will then repeat their contents to myself, almost endlessly. Having recently broken off for a coffee, I have told myself in a repetitive and mantra style manner, “shop, teeth, run, shower”!
Perhaps needless to say, having a head full of lists doesn’t help with psychological tiredness.
As you will have gathered, my planning goes a good way beyond what is actually needed, and I think that the position should be subject to some review. I must however avoid
Now, I’ll just finish this one off with a few words on linguistic precision:
Reading this blog, you might find it hard to believe, but this is still something that is very important to me.
To the best of my abilities (and there aren’t many of them!), I always try to use the most appropriate words and ensure that grammar and punctuation are correct. I try to make points as clearly as possible, using the right type of language for a proposed reader. I don’t always (or don’t usually!) get it right, but this is certainly what I am trying to do.
I await with foreboding inevitability, the list of my errors, in this and previous posts!
That said of course, I am no longer writing technical and complex legal documents. I therefore very seriously, query whether it is worth spending such an enormous amount of time writing and rewriting (over and over again!) the pieces that I prepare (including this blog). Further, despite efforts to the contrary, I do wonder whether I use too many words and don’t always write in an appropriate style. If nothing else, reeling things in a bit, would reduce mental tiredness.
I’ve just read through this post and it strikes me as rather long and a little hard to follow. It has also taken a long time to write. I’ll leave it as it is, though – it serves as a perfect example of why I need to review my writing style
Right time for that run. It’s on the list, so I bloody well have to do it!
