Get Out!

The biggest challenge to being one of the long term unemployed is getting beyond the four walls of my room, even though school has been my full time task since 2009. The walls provide a sense of protection and comfort in a life of uncertainty and stress. In this case protection isn’t a good thing; Getting out becomes an important activity.

The first benefit of walking out the door is the impact on my physical condition. It is simply the effect of moving about instead of sitting in a chair watching a computer screen. When I worked for Emhart Teknologies every (Spring through Fall) morning was started with a half hour walk. My weight was no lower but energy and general stamina was better.

The internet makes for a great way to explore the theory of living. News articles and blogs are good ways to look out and view the world, but they’re limited. Social Media provides a shadow of human interaction that requires being present. Leaving the security of the four walls requires the possibility of meeting and interacting with unknown people with different ideas, expanding my personal boundaries and zone of comfort.

What is Destiny? (The Past As Prologue)

Often discussions of Destiny or Fate try to incorporate mutually exclusive meanings of the words: Predestination and Free Will. People want to believe that we are exercising the ability to make choices between options (Free Will) but events and outcomes are beyond our control (Predestination).

Maybe Destiny should be understood differently, as the reasonable consequences of choices we make. The ends aren't predetermined but certainly are predictable. If I choose to spend more time playing Jewel Quest instead of doing assigned reading for class it is predictable that my test grades will be poor…but not necessarily assured depending on the subject and testing methods.

In the words of the self-help guru Stephen Covey: "Begin with the end in mind." Therefore, if I make choices that can be reasonably expected to lead to that end my destiny cannot help but lead there. For instance, choosing to join and participate in a professional organization to meet people working in the profession and have opportunities to learn and demonstrate my abilities. A destiny can be steered towards becoming a paralegal.

Success cannot be an assured by making good choices, but failure will be a certain destiny by making poor choices. It's important to take to heart the advice of the Knight in INDIANA JONES & THE LAST CRUSADE: "Choose wisely."

What is Quadrant Two?

For years the idea of a 4 quadrant grid used for activity management has been intriguing and compelling. It helps to mentally sort out activities in terms of priority and effectiveness. Drawn out it looks like this:

	Urgent	Not Urgent
Important	Quadrant 1	Quadrant 2
Not Important	Quadrant 3	Quadrant 4

The columns are ranked by Urgent or Not Urgent. Are there negative consequences if the activity doesn't happen now? Yes, it's urgent. No, it's not urgent. Of course, something may be not urgent today and become urgent next week…but that's getting ahead things at the moment.

The rows are ranked as Important or Not Important. Are there consequences to the activity happening or not happening? Yes, it's important. No, it's not important. Activities can move between these categories, too. For example, it is important to read a textbook before a test but once the test is over it is no longer important.

Evaluating activities requires careful evaluation of activities because different circumstances may yield different results. These will be from the P.O.V. of a non-traditional student.

Quadrant 1 are those activities that are important and urgent, in business setting they are often the "fires" that need to be "put out." Quadrant 3 are those things that require our immediate attention but may not be all that important. There used to be someone who walked around the office every morning just to say hello to everyone. He was urgent, in that he was in the cubicle and required attention, but not important because he was normally just saying "hi." Quadrant 4? Browsing on Zappos or Amazon while at work. Neither important nor urgent to the task at hand.

Quadrant 2 are the activities that make the magic happen. They are important but not urgent. Studying for an exam three weeks out is one example. Changing dietary and exercise habits are another example. These are the activities that lay the groundwork for later accomplishments.

The intent of this blog is to focus on documenting, inspiring, and contemplating those Quadrant Two activities to change the path I'm currently taking.