Today was the first time I stayed in the office rather late unaccompanied by Marylin. It was just me and Goof, working away at our given tasks. I quite liked the atmosphere, which was much more conducive to working for me than most. For one, there were fewer distractions around - during the day, people are bustling in and out and random spurts of stories and sharing will interrupt the flow of work. A lot of people are also online to distract me (namely, Panda, who I now get to sit and watch working as I do my own work) and the light outside makes the world itself a distraction.
After everyone else left tonight, however, it was very quiet at our little corner studio and the dark outside provided nothing to attract my attention. I had my music playing, contributing to the background noise. Other than that, I didn't pause to do anything else, like check e-mails or browse links or look things up online. Instead, a sense of calm overcame me and I just worked away. I always knew that I perform better at night, but I think a lot of that has to do with the simple fact that I have time and space to myself. No other people, no other sounds, and no other light to make me lose focus. I come alive when the world around me puts itself to rest.
I really like that feeling of actually being productive and efficient, rather than sitting around all day slowly getting work done. I do enjoy the vitality of our interactions though, so it's a difficult balance between wanting to get stuff finished and wanting to enjoy the company I have. I certainly don't expect work to be a powerhouse unforgiving of human interactions and breaks and distractions. Yet, I still can't help but feel guilty when at the end of the day I have taken longer at a task than I could have, merely because I had fun with everyone. So, it's nice to have more productive days here and there, to even things out.
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It was 8:05 PM when I opened up my planner to pen an event into it. Suddenly, a reminder of Earth Hour was staring up at me. In this line of work, it really feels like creativity is a way of life, not just a skill you have or a thought process you must endure. Being creative consultants for a wide array of clients requires flexible thinking, curiosity, critical analysis, and understanding the market. These skills are all a part of the lifestyle of becoming a creative person who takes everything around them and can draw connections that others may not, be able to adapt quickly based on new developments, and be able to dream in ways that others may not dare. Namecards, or business cards, are one of those things that are really helpful in the business world. Though you can come up with various creative designs to try to stand out, what ultimately matters is a clean look with key (mostly contact) information. It's pretty much a standard to hand someone a business card when you make a contact or find someone interested in learning more about what you or your company can do for them. While you want to get your name out there and encourage follow-ups, you also don't want to throw cards at anyone you come across, especially if you haven't even spent a few minutes to talk to them. I spent nearly two hours discussing ideas and philosophies with a coworker today, as he shared with me his thoughts and observations and I expressed some of my own. Though we see things from very different angles, I respect him as a capable person who is good at what he does. However, his motivations and mine are vastly different, so the way we approach and think about things is quite unlike the other. Talk about a powerhouse. I am constantly surprised at all the speeches that I hear overseas that include references to America this, America that. I mean, I know that American culture is infecting other countries, but in every area, from social to political to scientific, I am reminded again and again just how effectively this seems to be occurring. Ok, so they watch American TV dramas and movies, fair enough. Hollywood is the mecca for the entertainment industry after all. But must it also be mentioned when referencing research, political philosophies, or economic analyses? (I'm not talking about the current economy "crisis" here - I can understand how talk of that can stem from the states.) Instead of looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow, I will be getting up even earlier than I do for work to go to a facilitation seminar of sorts. I'm not exactly sure what it is about, but that's why I'm going! (To learn about what facilitation is and how I can add it to my list of skills.) It's a part of this whole idea of "relentless self-improvement" and learning. I feel like I should take advantage of all the resources available to me, as long as I'm even remotely interested in them. If it doesn't get in the way of work or something else that really matters to me, why not? I can sacrifice a little sleep to gain some extra knowledge. Even though it has only been three days at the office with no internet, it feels like much longer. I don't know if I should be more amazed that we are so dependent on technology or the fact that we could still function and get work done without. I have been rather disconnected during the day and never feel like taking care of business when I get back for the night, so getting it back will certainly boost my productivity. It will be nice to have the resources I need to get work done properly now. It never ceases to amaze me how my life has taken some very unexpected turns in the past couple of months. Somehow I went from my ten year plan to flying out to Singapore to work with one of my closest friends and "British" twin of sorts. Now I'm in a foreign country in a region of the world that has always been a mystery to me and I'm trying to come to terms with how it at once reminds me very much of my Chinese roots and British immersion, yet still doesn't resemble either of those countries. One thing I am really enjoying about living and working with Marylin is all the great conversations we've been having. From work related musings to discussions about life's various issues, there's an endless array of topics for us to cover. We have similar enough interests to have a lot to talk about, but we're not clones, so we do have differing opinions to share. Sometimes I am still amazed at how similar we are (yet how slightly different we can be too). I honestly feel like she and I were twins separated at birth, naturally inclined to the same things, but taught and raised differently and thus diverging in certain opinions. It makes me wonder if having a sibling near your age who you are close to feels like this, but somewhat opposite, with natural inclinations differing, but the common upbringing bridging the gap. Whatever it is like, I appreciate the time we've had together and the discourse we've shared. |
laelene My philosophy is simple: things change. Therefore, we are all on a lifelong journey of discovery. We should be flexible, questioning, learning, adapting, and growing. Always. Archives
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