Saturday, August 30, 2008
It's Both
I think we're supposed to learn to act both ways: many things at once and one thing many times. Put another way is multitasking and consistency.
I noticed that after a whole summer where I visited the gym maybe four times that the first week of the semester (seeming like a good time to recommit) when I decided to run, I could only do so for about 5 minutes, and that at a pretty slow pace. Not completely unexpected, and not a problem since I wasn't expecting miracles. But then yesterday when I went again I went for over 10 minutes, and with the treadmill set at a faster pace. Maybe the first workout made the second one easier, but there was another difference. The first one was sans tunes, the second, with. I could focus on the music rather than the not-so-fun part of a run that happens before the endorphins kick in.
Then again, today I was doing housework and noticed that even though it was tedious and tiring (and I was starving) I hardly noticed time passing. I just sang along (only because my roommate wasn't there). I knew what I was doing wasn't as fun as relaxing on the couch with a Wii controller in my hand, but I was oblivious to it.
I find this happens a lot - doing two things at once (especially when one of them is fun or relaxing) makes it a lot easier to focus. Sometimes I can't for the life of me focus my thoughts just sitting still, but if I go for a walk my thoughts also gain direction and momentum. It's the same in relationships: you have to think about both the other person and yourself. Life in general is a multiplicity of demands and activities. Often having many things to do makes it more, rather than less, difficult. But where there's challenge there's growth potential.
The reciprocal - doing one thing many times, or consistently over time - is also important, and maybe more difficult. It's simple to get excited about something for a minute or a day. To acquire the mindset of commitment to a process or ongoing responsibility for the long term, and to let that drive continual action and course correction is a worthwhile if demanding venture.
On an unrelated note, I'm reminded of one of the few things of value I feel I gained from my college English courses: we write to think.
On another unrelated note, we transferred all of the to-date footage for the closing chapter of the Jinglesthula saga to Jarrett's macbook for editing. We still have some to shoot, but it's nearing the halfway milestone (which, in terms of our style of film making, equals nearly ready to call complete).
I noticed that after a whole summer where I visited the gym maybe four times that the first week of the semester (seeming like a good time to recommit) when I decided to run, I could only do so for about 5 minutes, and that at a pretty slow pace. Not completely unexpected, and not a problem since I wasn't expecting miracles. But then yesterday when I went again I went for over 10 minutes, and with the treadmill set at a faster pace. Maybe the first workout made the second one easier, but there was another difference. The first one was sans tunes, the second, with. I could focus on the music rather than the not-so-fun part of a run that happens before the endorphins kick in.
Then again, today I was doing housework and noticed that even though it was tedious and tiring (and I was starving) I hardly noticed time passing. I just sang along (only because my roommate wasn't there). I knew what I was doing wasn't as fun as relaxing on the couch with a Wii controller in my hand, but I was oblivious to it.
I find this happens a lot - doing two things at once (especially when one of them is fun or relaxing) makes it a lot easier to focus. Sometimes I can't for the life of me focus my thoughts just sitting still, but if I go for a walk my thoughts also gain direction and momentum. It's the same in relationships: you have to think about both the other person and yourself. Life in general is a multiplicity of demands and activities. Often having many things to do makes it more, rather than less, difficult. But where there's challenge there's growth potential.
The reciprocal - doing one thing many times, or consistently over time - is also important, and maybe more difficult. It's simple to get excited about something for a minute or a day. To acquire the mindset of commitment to a process or ongoing responsibility for the long term, and to let that drive continual action and course correction is a worthwhile if demanding venture.
On an unrelated note, I'm reminded of one of the few things of value I feel I gained from my college English courses: we write to think.
On another unrelated note, we transferred all of the to-date footage for the closing chapter of the Jinglesthula saga to Jarrett's macbook for editing. We still have some to shoot, but it's nearing the halfway milestone (which, in terms of our style of film making, equals nearly ready to call complete).
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