WEBVTT captioned by rodrigo, checked by sachac and bhavin NOTE Introduction 00:00:00.300 --> 00:00:00.874 Oh, wow! 00:00:00.924 --> 00:00:05.740 I'm gonna tell you about how I'm learning this new thing… 00:00:07.790 --> 00:00:08.539 Okay… 00:00:11.840 --> 00:00:15.157 Hey dude, I am recording, okay? So, I'll call you back 00:00:15.757 --> 00:00:18.074 yeah yeah I'm doing learning the new thing. 00:00:18.724 --> 00:00:20.574 Yeah yeah yeah later later later 00:00:20.624 --> 00:00:22.924 not right now later later later later. 00:00:24.024 --> 00:00:24.990 Sorry about that. 00:00:25.390 --> 00:00:28.719 Okay, as I was saying, I'm going to tell you all about 00:00:28.920 --> 00:00:30.774 how I'm learning this new thing. 00:00:32.074 --> 00:00:36.440 Ooh, Sacha Chua's Emacs newsletter is out. 00:00:36.490 --> 00:00:38.874 Maybe I should spend some time… 00:00:38.924 --> 00:00:41.769 Oh, wait a second. I have to learn this new thing. 00:00:43.370 --> 00:00:46.790 Haha. Okay, so I'm going to tell you 00:00:47.290 --> 00:00:51.474 how we can learn new skills in the middle of 00:00:51.524 --> 00:00:54.359 so many other wonderful things that you want to do 00:00:54.360 --> 00:00:56.959 and to speak to wonderful people that you have to speak to. 00:00:57.460 --> 00:01:01.407 My name is Bala Ramadurai and I'm going to be talking about 00:01:01.607 --> 00:01:06.307 the Survival of The Skillest, that's what I call it, okay? 00:01:07.407 --> 00:01:11.574 Survival of The Skillest. Thriving in the Learning Jungle. 00:01:11.724 --> 00:01:14.149 Here I'm going to give you some tips and techniques 00:01:14.250 --> 00:01:17.490 as to how you can learn skills, new skills. 00:01:17.990 --> 00:01:22.974 I'm going to give you a quote from a multi-talented teacher. 00:01:23.224 --> 00:01:27.007 He was the second president of my country, India. 00:01:27.357 --> 00:01:29.440 S. Radhakrishnan, he says, 00:01:29.590 --> 00:01:32.324 “When we think we know, we cease to learn.” 00:01:32.674 --> 00:01:33.849 That was his quote. NOTE What is a skill? 00:01:35.350 --> 00:01:36.240 What is a skill? 00:01:36.540 --> 00:01:39.157 A skill is the knowledge and the ability 00:01:39.507 --> 00:01:42.707 that enables you to do something well. 00:01:43.157 --> 00:01:45.557 There's the knowledge first and the ability 00:01:45.607 --> 00:01:46.474 and you have to do it well. NOTE Why should you learn a new skill? 00:01:47.424 --> 00:01:50.324 Right. So why should you learn a new skill? 00:01:50.824 --> 00:01:53.474 Now if you can pause this video, 00:01:53.674 --> 00:01:55.224 watching streaming part of the video, 00:01:55.524 --> 00:01:57.990 then come up with your own reasons. 00:01:58.040 --> 00:02:00.290 I'm going to give you my top three reasons 00:02:00.340 --> 00:02:02.424 that you might want to learn a new skill. 00:02:02.574 --> 00:02:03.989 Get ahead in your career. 00:02:04.390 --> 00:02:08.040 Look good or cool in your community or peer group 00:02:08.640 --> 00:02:09.890 or someone forced you to. NOTE What skills should you learn? 00:02:11.040 --> 00:02:14.174 Now, what skills should you learn? 00:02:14.574 --> 00:02:16.124 Ok, there could be a whole list. 00:02:16.674 --> 00:02:19.479 Let me take a stab at some of the ones 00:02:19.529 --> 00:02:21.757 that I think could be cool: bungee jumping, 00:02:22.057 --> 00:02:24.340 teaching your pet to pick up the newspaper 00:02:24.390 --> 00:02:25.679 without tearing it to shreds. 00:02:26.330 --> 00:02:29.974 Perhaps with Python rearing, I meant coding, coding, 00:02:30.024 --> 00:02:31.090 you can do learning coding. 00:02:31.240 --> 00:02:34.340 So you could list your own skills that you have to learn, 00:02:34.390 --> 00:02:35.174 you want to learn. NOTE What stops you from learning new skills? 00:02:35.974 --> 00:02:38.540 But what stops you from learning new skills? 00:02:39.140 --> 00:02:41.030 The most common reason that I've heard 00:02:41.230 --> 00:02:42.690 in the past is lack of time. 00:02:42.790 --> 00:02:45.174 “Oh Bala, I have to do so many things.” 00:02:45.474 --> 00:02:47.540 “I don't have the time to learn any new skills.” 00:02:48.140 --> 00:02:50.440 Lack of motivation could be another reason. 00:02:50.740 --> 00:02:52.257 Or you're just a rebel. 00:02:53.307 --> 00:02:56.407 Who is he or who is she to tell me what I should learn? 00:02:56.507 --> 00:02:57.707 I'm going to learn things like that. 00:02:57.857 --> 00:03:00.040 So then it stops you from learning a new skill. 00:03:01.040 --> 00:03:04.307 But there's even more fundamental reason 00:03:04.357 --> 00:03:06.874 for why we don't learn a new skill so easily. 00:03:07.374 --> 00:03:10.074 And this comes from the story of scholar in the teacup. 00:03:10.174 --> 00:03:12.157 I can pass on the link later to you. 00:03:12.257 --> 00:03:15.424 You can watch this, my own version of the story. NOTE Empty your teacup 00:03:16.274 --> 00:03:18.740 The ultimate truth in this story 00:03:18.790 --> 00:03:20.757 or the moral in this story is that 00:03:21.057 --> 00:03:23.657 we are filled with preconceived ideas 00:03:23.957 --> 00:03:25.874 and the Zen master in the story says, 00:03:26.074 --> 00:03:27.540 it's like a full teacup. 00:03:27.940 --> 00:03:32.107 In order to learn new skills, you have to empty your teacup. 00:03:32.807 --> 00:03:34.674 Now, how do you empty your teacup? 00:03:34.724 --> 00:03:37.607 You just can't pour everything out of your head, right? 00:03:37.707 --> 00:03:39.824 So how do you really empty your teacup? 00:03:40.624 --> 00:03:43.340 So the way to empty your teacup, 00:03:43.790 --> 00:03:46.540 simplest way to do it is write down your thoughts. 00:03:46.790 --> 00:03:48.390 As simple as that. 00:03:48.740 --> 00:03:51.157 Just take a piece of paper and write it down. 00:03:51.657 --> 00:03:53.674 Or if you are on electronic means, 00:03:53.724 --> 00:03:57.840 use Emacs Org Mode and type out your thoughts, okay? 00:03:58.490 --> 00:04:00.007 There is a task for you right now. 00:04:00.507 --> 00:04:02.607 What you have to do is to create a folder 00:04:02.657 --> 00:04:05.774 in your documents folder called Inbox. 00:04:05.824 --> 00:04:09.874 Create one and create a new file called todo.org. 00:04:10.224 --> 00:04:11.240 If you are paper based, 00:04:11.290 --> 00:04:14.607 you can use a notebook or any other forms of the same file. 00:04:15.257 --> 00:04:18.407 In that, write down all your unfinished tasks 00:04:18.707 --> 00:04:19.969 personal and professional. 00:04:20.270 --> 00:04:23.207 Write down some things that have been worrying you, 00:04:23.607 --> 00:04:25.074 whatever worries you right now. 00:04:25.124 --> 00:04:27.569 just write it down, the whole thing, okay? 00:04:28.019 --> 00:04:29.957 Write down some tasks or actions that 00:04:30.107 --> 00:04:32.174 you are waiting for somebody else 00:04:32.524 --> 00:04:34.740 that could also be part of your list here. 00:04:35.640 --> 00:04:37.859 Great. Now that you have emptied your tea cup, 00:04:38.160 --> 00:04:40.374 I'm going to tell you the origin of these ideas. NOTE Getting Things Done 00:04:40.424 --> 00:04:42.990 These come from “Getting Things Done” by David Allen. 00:04:43.090 --> 00:04:46.207 It's a great book. I've read it multiple times. Fantastic. 00:04:46.657 --> 00:04:50.240 And he says, your mind is for having ideas, 00:04:50.390 --> 00:04:51.424 not holding them. 00:04:52.274 --> 00:04:54.740 You have to hold on to this idea in your mind. 00:04:55.040 --> 00:04:55.840 Keep it in your mind. 00:04:55.890 --> 00:04:59.107 saying it's for having ideas, not holding them. 00:05:00.757 --> 00:05:05.007 Alright, perform one of four actions on your task list. 00:05:05.207 --> 00:05:07.474 Okay? The one that you just wrote down. 00:05:07.974 --> 00:05:10.274 You delete them, okay? As simple as that. 00:05:10.324 --> 00:05:13.574 Strikethrough the task, hit the delete 00:05:13.624 --> 00:05:16.274 or change the state to cancel, okay? 00:05:16.674 --> 00:05:18.307 Alright, If you don't want to delete it, 00:05:18.357 --> 00:05:20.074 you want to defer it, do it later. 00:05:20.524 --> 00:05:21.807 Add it to your calendar. 00:05:22.107 --> 00:05:23.840 Add a reminder to it if you want. 00:05:24.190 --> 00:05:27.307 Or in Emacs Org Mode use C-c C-s to 00:05:27.357 --> 00:05:31.207 schedule it to a different time that you feel 00:05:31.257 --> 00:05:32.940 you would be able to do that task. 00:05:33.640 --> 00:05:35.374 Or just delegate it to somebody else. 00:05:35.424 --> 00:05:37.380 Maybe you are not the best person to do it 00:05:37.430 --> 00:05:40.090 or you probably won't find time to do this. 00:05:40.590 --> 00:05:43.357 Send it to your colleague, student, assistant, 00:05:43.807 --> 00:05:46.524 maybe even your favorite LLM to do this. 00:05:47.374 --> 00:05:49.624 LLM being large language model. 00:05:50.274 --> 00:05:53.457 Or just do it, right? As they say, just do it. 00:05:53.807 --> 00:05:56.140 Set a timer for two minutes and do the task. 00:05:56.190 --> 00:05:57.807 Finish the task, right here right now. 00:05:58.257 --> 00:05:59.207 Nothing is stopping you. 00:05:59.257 --> 00:06:00.909 Finish it. Oh, great, I'm going to do this 00:06:01.360 --> 00:06:02.457 but set yourself two minutes 00:06:02.507 --> 00:06:04.940 because sometimes it may spill over to half an hour 00:06:04.990 --> 00:06:06.674 and you still haven't processed through your list. 00:06:07.024 --> 00:06:08.407 That's why the timer for two minutes. 00:06:08.907 --> 00:06:10.524 One tip I'm going to give you is: 00:06:10.624 --> 00:06:13.459 Don't skip any of the items from your list 00:06:13.910 --> 00:06:16.490 because it's tough work you've been trying to avoid it, 00:06:16.640 --> 00:06:17.374 don't do that. 00:06:17.724 --> 00:06:22.974 Be rigorous and finish it off, processing at least, okay? 00:06:23.324 --> 00:06:25.607 Now you can do the absolute same process 00:06:25.657 --> 00:06:26.940 on your email inbox. 00:06:27.090 --> 00:06:31.490 I know, I know some of you have 55,000 emails in your inbox. 00:06:31.540 --> 00:06:33.274 How am I going to process all of them? NOTE Archive 00:06:33.724 --> 00:06:36.490 Well, Tiago Forte, whose method 00:06:36.540 --> 00:06:39.157 I'm going to be also talking about, says: 00:06:39.257 --> 00:06:42.657 Archive them all and pull out the top 100, okay? 00:06:42.707 --> 00:06:45.007 The last latest 100 and process that. 00:06:45.757 --> 00:06:48.207 That's a cool way to do it, okay? 00:06:48.407 --> 00:06:50.674 So you're not stuck to those 55,000, 00:06:50.724 --> 00:06:52.340 but just the top 100 of those. 00:06:52.990 --> 00:06:53.957 You can do the same, 00:06:54.007 --> 00:06:55.140 absolutely the same thing 00:06:55.190 --> 00:06:57.624 to any of your messaging apps as well: 00:06:57.674 --> 00:07:01.240 WhatsApp, Matrix, Slack, whatever you choose. 00:07:01.890 --> 00:07:03.099 Even to your physical inbox, 00:07:03.200 --> 00:07:04.540 you can do the absolute same things. 00:07:04.590 --> 00:07:06.574 You lift your items and 00:07:06.624 --> 00:07:09.707 see if you can need to process them, okay? 00:07:10.407 --> 00:07:13.174 What if the email or message or task is something 00:07:13.224 --> 00:07:14.974 that you might need in the future? 00:07:15.274 --> 00:07:16.807 Great! Archive them 00:07:17.107 --> 00:07:19.507 or move it to a place you may refer to later. 00:07:19.757 --> 00:07:23.240 So, you have plenty of storage in your cloud space, 00:07:23.290 --> 00:07:25.690 in your email space, in your computer space. 00:07:26.040 --> 00:07:27.790 Use that. Archive it. 00:07:27.890 --> 00:07:29.719 You can refer to it later. Not a worry. 00:07:29.820 --> 00:07:31.040 Don't want it right in front of you. 00:07:31.090 --> 00:07:32.740 That's the only thing here, right? NOTE Multiple steps 00:07:33.290 --> 00:07:35.207 Now another question that pops in your head is: 00:07:35.257 --> 00:07:38.807 What if something that requires multiple steps, right? 00:07:38.907 --> 00:07:42.774 not all steps are created… not all tasks are created alike, 00:07:43.074 --> 00:07:44.474 There are multiple steps to a task. 00:07:45.024 --> 00:07:47.959 That's when a task becomes a project, ok? 00:07:48.009 --> 00:07:49.990 An example or few examples of those 00:07:50.190 --> 00:07:53.840 are finishing a course on say Coursera or NPTEL or Udemy, 00:07:54.340 --> 00:07:56.224 teaching a course if you are a teacher 00:07:56.274 --> 00:07:57.874 in your college or school. 00:07:58.224 --> 00:08:00.807 If you are organizing a conference 00:08:00.957 --> 00:08:03.607 such as the Emacs conference, it's a huge project, 00:08:03.957 --> 00:08:05.990 you will need to use… it's a project. 00:08:07.440 --> 00:08:10.359 Arranging a birthday party for your spouse, that's sweet, 00:08:10.560 --> 00:08:13.170 but it's still a project, you will have many tasks in it. 00:08:13.220 --> 00:08:14.824 So these are examples of projects. 00:08:15.874 --> 00:08:17.374 Here's how one can handle projects. 00:08:18.024 --> 00:08:19.940 Create a folder for each project. 00:08:20.390 --> 00:08:24.340 Create a text or word doc or title it as todo.txt 00:08:24.390 --> 00:08:26.559 or todo.docx or todo.org. 00:08:26.560 --> 00:08:28.507 I prefer .org and you can do it. 00:08:29.057 --> 00:08:32.340 And in that, write down the success criteria, 00:08:32.440 --> 00:08:35.079 the goal or the deadline of the project. 00:08:35.730 --> 00:08:38.290 Write down all the tasks that need to be done. 00:08:38.340 --> 00:08:40.040 You don't have to think about all of it, 00:08:40.190 --> 00:08:41.529 but whatever comes to your mind, 00:08:41.579 --> 00:08:42.474 just put it in there 00:08:42.524 --> 00:08:45.974 as some tasks that you need to get done inside this project. 00:08:46.624 --> 00:08:52.174 Now, identify the immediate action that needs to be done 00:08:52.224 --> 00:08:53.740 for the project to move forward. 00:08:54.040 --> 00:08:56.279 That's usually something that's stopping the project 00:08:56.580 --> 00:08:57.257 from progressing. 00:08:57.457 --> 00:08:58.874 So identify that and say: 00:08:58.924 --> 00:09:00.307 “That's the next thing I'm going to do.” 00:09:01.557 --> 00:09:03.974 An example of a project is right here. 00:09:04.274 --> 00:09:06.107 Goal of the project is to deliver a talk 00:09:06.207 --> 00:09:09.157 about my organization system, 00:09:09.257 --> 00:09:12.709 make it like a workshop with pauses for activities. 00:09:13.010 --> 00:09:14.890 You can see that this is the talk 00:09:14.940 --> 00:09:16.174 that I am delivering right now. 00:09:16.424 --> 00:09:19.590 And right now if you see recording the talk, okay? 00:09:19.840 --> 00:09:21.907 Of course, the next one I'm going to do after this 00:09:21.957 --> 00:09:24.024 is going to be sending the recorded talk, 00:09:24.074 --> 00:09:25.339 the file and the PDF for the talk. 00:09:25.389 --> 00:09:27.974 Now, if you want, you can add some sub steps and all that 00:09:28.024 --> 00:09:28.774 also into this. 00:09:29.174 --> 00:09:31.599 Of course, I'd like to thank the coordinators for their 00:09:31.600 --> 00:09:33.479 absolutely wonderful work that they're doing 00:09:33.480 --> 00:09:35.240 throughout this, okay? 00:09:35.640 --> 00:09:37.274 Now, tasks for you. 00:09:37.474 --> 00:09:38.579 You can take your time. 00:09:38.779 --> 00:09:40.440 And first of all, think of a project 00:09:40.490 --> 00:09:42.374 that you have to absolutely get done. 00:09:43.474 --> 00:09:48.274 Create a folder on your computer or phone 00:09:48.324 --> 00:09:49.557 with the name of the project. 00:09:50.157 --> 00:09:51.724 Create a todo.org. 00:09:52.024 --> 00:09:56.024 If you want to use a notebook, you can use a fresh leaf. 00:09:56.524 --> 00:10:00.074 Write down all the tasks associated with this project. 00:10:00.524 --> 00:10:02.524 That's going to be how you handle it, right? NOTE Multiple projects 00:10:02.874 --> 00:10:04.540 Now, what if you have multiple projects? 00:10:05.490 --> 00:10:08.107 Not many of us have only one project. 00:10:08.157 --> 00:10:09.757 In fact, many of us have multiple projects. 00:10:09.807 --> 00:10:11.240 What do we do in that situation? 00:10:11.790 --> 00:10:12.974 Well, the answer is simple. 00:10:13.274 --> 00:10:15.174 Create a folder for each project. 00:10:15.624 --> 00:10:20.157 Add this Org file called todo into each of those folders 00:10:20.657 --> 00:10:25.040 and write down the task for all of these projects as well. 00:10:25.190 --> 00:10:29.107 Write down all of these tasks and mark one of them as next. 00:10:29.207 --> 00:10:30.590 There can be only one next action. 00:10:30.790 --> 00:10:31.940 It can't be multiple next actions. 00:10:32.390 --> 00:10:34.840 That's the immediate thing that has to be done 00:10:34.990 --> 00:10:37.674 to take this project forward, okay? NOTE What if the project stops before completion? 00:10:37.874 --> 00:10:40.390 What if the project stops before completion? 00:10:40.440 --> 00:10:42.974 There are possibilities sometimes you lose interest, 00:10:43.024 --> 00:10:44.874 sometimes your collaborator loses interest. 00:10:45.124 --> 00:10:46.707 What do you do in those situations? 00:10:47.157 --> 00:10:49.590 Have a folder in your computer or phone 00:10:49.740 --> 00:10:52.040 for abandoned projects called resources. 00:10:52.590 --> 00:10:53.270 Oh, by the way, 00:10:53.320 --> 00:10:57.157 for your projects folder, create an 00:10:57.557 --> 00:11:01.239 overarching projects folder and inside that are 00:11:01.289 --> 00:11:02.507 all the project folders. 00:11:02.607 --> 00:11:03.507 I forgot to tell you that. 00:11:03.707 --> 00:11:06.807 Same way, on the same level, create a resources folder. 00:11:06.957 --> 00:11:09.057 That's for all your abandoned projects 00:11:09.107 --> 00:11:13.040 or even could be on your research material as well, 00:11:13.090 --> 00:11:14.859 which you are not currently working on. 00:11:15.509 --> 00:11:18.669 Move this particular project that's abandoned or stopped 00:11:18.769 --> 00:11:20.274 somewhere in between to that folder. NOTE What if you successfully complete the project? 00:11:20.974 --> 00:11:23.590 Now, there's a possibility you might successfully complete. 00:11:23.640 --> 00:11:26.840 I hope all your projects end up being successful. 00:11:27.190 --> 00:11:30.174 But there are quite a few which will end up in this, 00:11:30.224 --> 00:11:32.857 quite a few which will end up abandoned as well. 00:11:33.757 --> 00:11:37.390 Now, I write an end report so that I can learn from this. 00:11:37.440 --> 00:11:39.274 What did I enjoy most in the project? 00:11:39.324 --> 00:11:40.574 What could have been better? 00:11:40.874 --> 00:11:43.024 What did I learn from this particular project? 00:11:43.724 --> 00:11:45.699 Now, you will need to move that folder 00:11:45.849 --> 00:11:47.490 to a folder called archives. 00:11:47.790 --> 00:11:50.757 This is the final resting place for the project, 00:11:50.807 --> 00:11:53.490 completed projects because if you come up 00:11:53.540 --> 00:11:55.640 with another project which sounds similar 00:11:55.690 --> 00:11:56.807 to the archives one, 00:11:56.857 --> 00:11:59.140 you can pick that out and create that as a template, 00:11:59.190 --> 00:12:00.124 use that as a template. 00:12:00.524 --> 00:12:04.290 Now, why would I have one folder per project 00:12:04.340 --> 00:12:07.457 when there's only one file sitting in it called todo.org? 00:12:07.757 --> 00:12:10.774 Well, most projects also have some project files 00:12:10.824 --> 00:12:13.574 and this folder can be a storehouse of all of that 00:12:13.824 --> 00:12:15.824 and you can access all of them at one shot. 00:12:16.174 --> 00:12:16.990 That's the advantage. NOTE What if the project is ongoing and doesn't really end? 00:12:18.140 --> 00:12:20.740 What if the project is ongoing and doesn't really end? 00:12:20.790 --> 00:12:23.590 That doesn't seem to have a deadline or an ending point. 00:12:24.190 --> 00:12:27.107 That's called an Area. This is now an Area. 00:12:27.157 --> 00:12:31.674 Examples of Areas: gardening, paying bills, never stops, 00:12:32.024 --> 00:12:34.574 bills never don't stop, blogging. 00:12:34.624 --> 00:12:36.974 These are all some examples of Areas that really 00:12:37.024 --> 00:12:39.474 don't have a definite deadline. 00:12:40.374 --> 00:12:44.559 For Areas also, create a folder for each of them, right? 00:12:44.710 --> 00:12:47.274 You can create a parent folder called Areas 00:12:47.324 --> 00:12:50.540 and under them you can have those areas, okay, 00:12:50.990 --> 00:12:53.519 and have a todo [file] in each of those folders. NOTE What if you forget to visit the TODO files? 00:12:54.320 --> 00:12:56.724 Now what if we forget to visit the todo files 00:12:57.024 --> 00:12:58.824 which in my case often happens? 00:12:58.974 --> 00:13:00.790 I forget to visit those todo files 00:13:01.040 --> 00:13:03.540 and see what the task net needs to be done. 00:13:03.940 --> 00:13:08.174 You can of course add all of this todo.org 00:13:08.224 --> 00:13:11.110 and into your org-agenda-files variable 00:13:11.360 --> 00:13:14.014 so that when you pull up your Org Agenda, 00:13:14.015 --> 00:13:14.729 all of them show up. 00:13:15.080 --> 00:13:15.790 That's a good idea. 00:13:16.440 --> 00:13:18.574 You need to have a weekly review with yourself. 00:13:19.624 --> 00:13:22.090 Weekly review is essentially a weekly appointment 00:13:22.140 --> 00:13:24.207 with yourself for you to stay 00:13:24.357 --> 00:13:28.674 in control of your life or career. To keep things on track. 00:13:29.524 --> 00:13:32.474 In the weekly review, you need to empty your teacup. 00:13:32.724 --> 00:13:34.974 That's the first and foremost, okay? 00:13:35.274 --> 00:13:38.539 Then process all your items in the TODO file. 00:13:39.239 --> 00:13:42.007 Process all your emails from the last week. 00:13:42.057 --> 00:13:45.340 Use the exact same structure of do, delete, defer, delegate. 00:13:45.390 --> 00:13:47.074 These are the four D's that you can use. 00:13:47.474 --> 00:13:51.740 Process all your messaging app messages from the last week. 00:13:51.890 --> 00:13:54.024 So last one whole week, whatever has come up, 00:13:54.074 --> 00:13:56.824 you need to process all of them, okay? 00:13:57.174 --> 00:13:58.174 In the weekly review, 00:13:58.224 --> 00:14:01.439 you also need to archive all your emails and 00:14:01.440 --> 00:14:03.839 messaging app messages that you have processed. 00:14:03.990 --> 00:14:05.707 You've already taken care of it. 00:14:05.857 --> 00:14:07.690 You don't need to have it right in front of you. 00:14:07.740 --> 00:14:09.707 You can move them all into archive. 00:14:09.957 --> 00:14:12.240 Most messaging apps and email systems 00:14:12.290 --> 00:14:14.774 have archives as part of their features. 00:14:15.524 --> 00:14:17.124 Look through the project TODO files 00:14:17.174 --> 00:14:20.290 to see if the next action is marked, okay? 00:14:20.690 --> 00:14:22.374 Now look through the project folder list 00:14:22.424 --> 00:14:24.157 to see if some of them need to be archived 00:14:24.307 --> 00:14:26.274 or moved to resources. 00:14:26.474 --> 00:14:28.390 Some may be abandoned, some may be done. 00:14:28.640 --> 00:14:30.490 You can move them successfully to 00:14:30.540 --> 00:14:32.407 all of where it needs to belong. 00:14:33.257 --> 00:14:34.942 Now task for you, you can pause this, 00:14:34.943 --> 00:14:36.290 of course, and do this. 00:14:36.540 --> 00:14:39.679 Set an appointment with yourself, sacrosanct time, 00:14:39.730 --> 00:14:42.124 only with yourself and title it weekly review. 00:14:42.324 --> 00:14:43.674 Start with half an hour, 00:14:43.924 --> 00:14:45.907 perhaps you can have it longer later on. 00:14:46.057 --> 00:14:47.712 As you need more time, 00:14:47.713 --> 00:14:49.096 you can have more time with yourself. 00:14:49.846 --> 00:14:51.907 And make it repeating every week. 00:14:53.607 --> 00:14:56.307 Now you can complain, I can hear you some of you complain 00:14:56.357 --> 00:14:58.507 “Oh, this is such a microscopic view of my life. 00:14:58.557 --> 00:14:59.707 What about the big picture?” 00:14:59.857 --> 00:15:03.674 Well, there is quarterly review, once every 13 weeks 00:15:03.724 --> 00:15:06.107 you can mark an appointment with yourself. 00:15:06.357 --> 00:15:08.274 Right after your weekly review 00:15:08.324 --> 00:15:11.240 to do your quarterly review, okay? 00:15:11.290 --> 00:15:14.116 And also every year, mark yourself-- 00:15:14.117 --> 00:15:15.174 it could be at the start 00:15:15.224 --> 00:15:18.840 or the end of an academic year or a calendar year-- 00:15:18.990 --> 00:15:21.840 mark yourself an appointment again with yourself 00:15:21.940 --> 00:15:22.890 called yearly review. 00:15:23.790 --> 00:15:26.474 And these contain some big life questions, okay? 00:15:27.074 --> 00:15:31.157 Now I'll give you some examples but feel free to modify it, 00:15:31.207 --> 00:15:32.274 have it as your own. 00:15:33.324 --> 00:15:34.799 How much money did I make? 00:15:34.850 --> 00:15:36.540 How much money did I save? 00:15:36.640 --> 00:15:38.440 How many people did I help? 00:15:39.040 --> 00:15:42.307 How many do I plan to help in the future? 00:15:43.457 --> 00:15:44.690 What projects did I enjoy? 00:15:44.740 --> 00:15:47.707 Look through your archives and resources. 00:15:47.907 --> 00:15:49.840 Which one are best avoided? 00:15:49.890 --> 00:15:52.440 I don't want to get on to this, okay? 00:15:52.490 --> 00:15:55.359 You can look through a personal and private… I'm sorry… 00:15:55.360 --> 00:15:56.707 personal and professional and 00:15:56.757 --> 00:15:59.324 see how much is there a balance between all of these. 00:15:59.724 --> 00:16:01.640 These are some questions you can answer. NOTE Planning for the future 00:16:02.740 --> 00:16:04.840 Now that you know how to manage them now... 00:16:04.890 --> 00:16:06.590 So far we have looked at the now, 00:16:06.840 --> 00:16:08.240 how do you plan for the future? 00:16:08.290 --> 00:16:09.674 like really into the future? 00:16:10.224 --> 00:16:13.174 Well, I have a trick called nine windows for you. 00:16:13.474 --> 00:16:15.340 Nine windows are essentially, 00:16:15.640 --> 00:16:18.257 it's like a tic-tac-toe grid 00:16:18.507 --> 00:16:25.174 and the left column is your past, 00:16:25.574 --> 00:16:27.740 the middle column is your present 00:16:28.090 --> 00:16:31.740 and the right column is your future, okay? 00:16:31.940 --> 00:16:37.590 and the bottom row is your skill set, 00:16:37.940 --> 00:16:40.519 the middle row is what you do 00:16:40.920 --> 00:16:44.607 and the top row is whom do you work for 00:16:44.657 --> 00:16:46.674 or whom do you serve, right? 00:16:46.724 --> 00:16:50.349 So you are doing something for an organization 00:16:50.500 --> 00:16:51.869 so those could be in your top row. 00:16:52.570 --> 00:16:54.974 Let me give you an example from my own life. 00:16:55.424 --> 00:16:58.874 This I made about 10 years ago, okay? 00:16:59.024 --> 00:17:05.674 So the middle column is the what I did 10 years ago. 00:17:05.724 --> 00:17:09.207 So that is the now let's keep it as the now, okay? 00:17:09.257 --> 00:17:11.390 So five years before that, I used to work 00:17:11.440 --> 00:17:12.990 for General Electric (GE). 00:17:13.090 --> 00:17:14.790 I was a research scientist for them 00:17:15.240 --> 00:17:16.874 and the skills that I had was: 00:17:16.924 --> 00:17:22.474 I had a PhD which was used in this profession. 00:17:22.824 --> 00:17:23.740 I had writing skills, 00:17:23.790 --> 00:17:25.224 I had some teaching skills, 00:17:25.424 --> 00:17:28.224 and I love to interact and learn from my teammates. 00:17:29.224 --> 00:17:32.540 Then I joined Mindtree, which was the current job 00:17:32.590 --> 00:17:35.774 when I did this, software services company. 00:17:36.824 --> 00:17:38.474 I co-founded TRIZIndia also. 00:17:38.524 --> 00:17:40.574 These are two organizations that I served. 00:17:41.124 --> 00:17:44.940 And facilitator, that was the main profession that I was in. 00:17:45.240 --> 00:17:46.874 And the skills I had was: 00:17:46.924 --> 00:17:47.399 TRIZ [Theory of Inventive Problem Solving], 00:17:47.800 --> 00:17:51.874 interacting with people outside of my team, 00:17:52.224 --> 00:17:54.840 and I could align well with my organization. 00:17:54.890 --> 00:17:56.224 I knew exactly where they were going 00:17:56.274 --> 00:17:58.407 and how to align myself, my goals with that. 00:17:59.107 --> 00:18:02.174 Now, I said, five years later, 00:18:02.224 --> 00:18:04.674 I want to be an entrepreneur and an author. 00:18:05.174 --> 00:18:06.924 And I want to do this for, 00:18:07.224 --> 00:18:11.557 I want to really work with academia and corporate companies. 00:18:11.757 --> 00:18:12.790 That was my goal. 00:18:13.240 --> 00:18:15.007 So the skills I needed to have were: 00:18:15.057 --> 00:18:18.157 marketing, writing, sales, hiring, people management, 00:18:18.207 --> 00:18:19.474 all of that I needed to have. 00:18:19.924 --> 00:18:21.490 And I had to plan that so I used 00:18:21.540 --> 00:18:22.740 the PARA structure [projects, areas, resources, archives] 00:18:23.090 --> 00:18:27.240 to manage how I'm going to learn all of these skills 00:18:27.290 --> 00:18:29.207 and imbibe those and get better at it. 00:18:29.257 --> 00:18:30.357 So that's where I use this. 00:18:31.157 --> 00:18:32.439 Ok, your turn. 00:18:32.639 --> 00:18:34.940 You can pause this video and build your own nine windows 00:18:34.990 --> 00:18:36.007 to plan for the future. NOTE Summary 00:18:36.957 --> 00:18:39.957 So in summary, you need to empty your teacup 00:18:40.007 --> 00:18:42.740 before engaging with the work in front of you. 00:18:43.040 --> 00:18:45.340 Use the PARA structure: projects, area, 00:18:45.390 --> 00:18:46.669 resources and archives. 00:18:46.770 --> 00:18:51.479 Create this folder structure and use reviews regularly, 00:18:51.480 --> 00:18:53.474 weekly, quarterly and yearly. 00:18:54.024 --> 00:18:55.740 Use the nine windows to your advantage 00:18:55.790 --> 00:18:57.290 for your future career planning 00:18:57.640 --> 00:19:00.340 and of course, apply PARA to your future plans 00:19:00.440 --> 00:19:02.859 to plan for those as well, ok? NOTE References 00:19:03.210 --> 00:19:04.790 Now, these are the references I have used. 00:19:04.840 --> 00:19:07.240 heavily borrowed upon Tiago Fortes' PARA, 00:19:07.640 --> 00:19:09.239 David Allen's “Getting Things Done” 00:19:09.240 --> 00:19:13.039 and Tasshin's way to implement this in Emacs and Org Mode. 00:19:14.190 --> 00:19:15.457 These are some acknowledgments. 00:19:15.507 --> 00:19:17.790 I used some generative AI for this. 00:19:18.290 --> 00:19:20.590 And this is a question to you: 00:19:20.790 --> 00:19:24.090 What parts of this talk are you planning on implementing? 00:19:24.140 --> 00:19:26.274 Please write this in the Etherpad. 00:19:26.824 --> 00:19:28.519 Thank you so much. If you have any questions, 00:19:28.569 --> 00:19:30.357 let me know in the Etherpad as well. 00:19:30.857 --> 00:19:32.724 Good luck managing your tasks, 00:19:33.474 --> 00:19:36.650 emptying your teacup, and planning for the future.