How to find solution

Everyday we are searching for solution to small or big problems. So, in this article I want to share my experience with you, how to find a good solution for any task of life

Don’t try to break wall using your head
Sometimes we find us in situation, when we are trying to solve problem using one approach after another. We try many different methods, eventually we start to use methods, which we’ve already tried for that problem. The worst thing is that we even didn’t notice being stuck in circle of wrong methods. Often we spend much time in this circle. For cases like this I suggest two solutions: have leaflet with information where to search new methods for finding the key to the problem, and don’t forget to take breaks.

Have “questions leaflet”
It’s very primitive, but effective method. Write questions on paper, which may help to find new ways of solving the problem. You can write places where to look inspiration or names of friends which may help. Here goes my own “questions leaflet”:

  • Have I already tried using “Google”?
  • Do I know any methods, which I haven’t used yet?
  • Who from my friends could know the answer or to put me in the right direction?
  • Take a 30 minutes break.

Keep the pamphlet in a well visible place, for example, on the monitor edge. It will force your eyes to see leaflet enough often and not to fall in a circle of using wrong techniques .

Let the brain to rest
Tony Buzan in famous book „Use your memory” wrote that a human needs to take break every 10-50 minutes. Interval size depends on human characteristics. But most of us are used to 45 minutes period, which is used in schools, and 45 minutes is what I offer. A break should last from 2 to 10 minutes. Use the break to let your brain to have mental rest. For that matter perfectly fits walk, small exercise or making a cup of tea.

This kind of routine enables you:

  • To keep good comprehension and memorization for a long period of time;
  • To understand new information easier and quicker, because the older one is already arranged in your head, and your brain is ready to memorize and comprehend new knowledge;
  • To have a better long term memorization, because brain uses breaks to sort information, and it allows to keep various details longer in your head.

To conclude, making pauses allows to keep high creativity, to reduce fatigue and helps to work with new information and tasks.
The next advantage is that while taking break, brain gives us many fine ideas about recently made tasks or seen information. I call it “nose lifting from screen” syndrome :)

Let your brain work instead of you
Sometimes no matter what we do, we just can’t see the right solution. We think again and again, but the light doesn’t go up in our head. When the decision isn’t speedy, you can use very simple method: just leave the problem. Formulate the problem in your head and forget it. Now it’s just a question of time, when you’ll get the perfect idea about the key to the problem.

Most effectively this method works, when just before going to bed you search for solution, but after failure you go to bed. Mostly, just after wake up I know the answer to the problem.

If you have never used or heard about this method, don’t dispose it. It’s widely used approach for finding right answers. Your brain can more when you think.

August 25, 2009 · Povilas Panavas · No Comments
Tags: ,  Â· Posted in: Personal Development

Value of money

What does money mean for you? Is one of your goals to be rich? Maybe you are very saving? Or, on the contrary, you spend all you can and even more?

What is money?
In the olden days people used direct exchange of goods, for example, 10 kilos of salt for one sheep. Every item meant some kind of value. For exchange to occur, two persons needed to want to sell and buy the things of the same value.

Of course, the method wasn’t convenient. So, there came coins. Later they were changed by paper money, which hold the value of gold, which was secured in bank. Nowadays value of money depends on economical strength of country, human attitude and so on.

Well, money always means some kind of value. It can mean a pack of salt or sheep, or more subtle things, like gain, which was given to me by a man, who did something for me. I think my profit is 500$, so I pay him that sum of money. The whole world lives on the idea, that people creates value and gets reward in form of money. Later the reward is used to procure other kind of value, for example, food or journeys.

Is money worth to be sought?
Of course, not. Except cases when money is exactly what is needed. For example, a wish to have 10 000 $ in cash for a rainy day. Here money are good like the goal, because they hide seek of security, which means, that after some kind of accident a man could acquire some things. He currently doesn’t know the concrete purpose of money, that is why money is very good tool in this kind of situation. Money holds indeterminate value.

But to seek things, like to earn one million is disastrous. Firstly, money doesn’t inspire, doesn’t motivate, doesn’t  enchant, they are just simple paper. People are motivated by things, which can be bought for the money: houses, fancy cars, journeys and other pleasures. So, why to hide real goal in the shadow of money? It is easer to seek goal, when you exactly know, what you want and how happy you’ll be, when you’ll get it.

Secondly, money by themselves are nothing. And you can’t get the most precious things of life for them. Imagine, that you slaved ten years, saved every cent and finally you have your million. And what’s now? Probably you have some health problems, have small circle of friends and you hasn’t felt pleasure worth of 10 years of your life! I prefer to have only 10 000, but to do enjoyable work, be healthy, have great friends. To cut a long story, I would prefer wonderful live than suitcase filled with stupid papers.

Two true stories
I want to share with you two stories, which perfectly illustrate, what money is, what money can and what they don’t. I found these stories in a small ebook called „A Simple System to Achieve Your Goals” (www.yourfreebook.com).

What would you do, if you had a million..
One day, John decided that couch could help him to achieve his goals. So, he found a couch and there goes their talk:
C: What goal do you want to achieve most?
J: I want to be rich.
C: What do you mean by rich?
J: I want 1 000 000$ in my bank account.
C: And what would you do, if you had this amount of money?
J: Well.. um.. I would go fishing!
C: But you don’t need million dollars for that…

Well, it’s obvious that nowadays John often goes fishing and has started doing it, before earning a million. This story perfectly shows, that we want not money, but things we could buy for them.

To have a million, but actually to have nothing
This story is about a guy, which literally froze to death. This incident was announced in newspaper.

The police came to make sure that a man died not by crime, but on his own. They found something, what shocked them. No, he wasn’t killed, but really froze to death.

Neighbours told how poor the man was. He bought the cheapest food he could find, kept the lowest possible temperature. The temperature was so cold, that even if someone would wanted to come, he couldn’t. The man also was suspicious and paranoid.

While checking the apartment police noticed something odd about the mattress. After taking a better look, they discovered that it was filled with money. He had apparently saved every cent he earned.

The man froze to death while sleeping on over 1 000 000$ worth silver certificates.

As I said before, it’s better to have less money, but happy life.

August 5, 2009 · Povilas Panavas · No Comments
Tags: , ,  Â· Posted in: Personal Development

Small step

Even the largest journey began only with one small step.

Everyone encounters situations, when they need to accomplish a big project. Actually, it may look as the big task only to them. So, they postpone it, find other tasks to do before that, for example, to clean up a desk or room. Everyone knows, that you just postpone the task, which is the most important at the moment. Another problem is, that you want to do it perfectly at the very first try. Do you really think it happens? Well, even some adults believe in fairy-tales.

Also, most of us knows, that we need to accomplish only one small part of task at first. And it would break the ice. We can easily agree with ourselves to dedicate half an hour for doing anything towards accomplishing the task. Then set your alarm to ring after 30 minutes and start doing! After time runs out, stop and do whatever you like without excuses for yourself for doing nothing throughout days. This method allows to avoid tension, which comes by wrong attitude, which impacts that you must do a lot of work and perfectly.

I suggest to use this method for wider purposes. Why to use it only for one project? You can use it every day, for every small task, you want to complete. I offer this: everyday after dinner do a small task and think up a new task for the next day.

To make it even easier, do it only for 30 days. If you don’t like results, you’ll stop doing it. This flexibility allows to begin the series of small steps very easily, because it doesn’t forces to do it every time for long period.

To make it even more pleasant, you need to think up the reward for doing it every day for 30 days in a row. For example, to buy something you want.

It’s very simple and effective. Also, it improves self-esteem and upraises mood, because you know that yesterday, today and tomorrow you’re doing something which pushes your life more and more towards the right side.

July 22, 2009 · Povilas Panavas · No Comments
Tags:  Â· Posted in: Personal Development

Importance of priorities

Priorities

After evaluating life with marks like in school, we saw, what comes easy and hard for us. It allows to choose where to begin life balancing. But it’s not enough. Firstly, we need firm principles, how we behave in every situation. There comes priorities, which tells what’s more important and what’s not. Priorities is like decisions made even before situation appeared.

I suggest to define hierarchical list, which reflects importance of things, which competes for your time. My list looks like this:

  1. I
  2. Family and Girlfriend
  3. Friends
  4. Finance
  5. Job

Priorities allows decision making by using principles. For example, you must choose between your son/daughter show and job. If your list similar to mine, you’ve already made decision. Family is higher by 4 steps than job.

Firstly, take care of yourself
You might ask, why I’ve written myself in the first place. It even may look selfish. Actually, it’s on the contrary: if you want to help, to be useful and to inspire other people, firstly you need to fix your life into some minimal level. What would you think about a man, which tells how to live healthy life, while having lots of health problems?

Old, moral story
I guess everyone knows it, but always forgets. Father sedulously works, makes much money, has many unused vacation days. He has one goal, that his family would be fully supplied . And financially it’s true. But one day wife leaves him and takes children with her.

While using priorities don’t forget to use sense and other side opinion. Only other side knows what it actually needs.

July 13, 2009 · Povilas Panavas · No Comments
Tags:  Â· Posted in: Personal Development

How to evaluate current life situation

Article contains thoughts, recommendations  and suggestions about evaluation of your life. The question why is it important to evaluate current situation was answered in previous blog entry.

Importance of the big picture
Everyone has heard, that having lots of money doesn’t bring happiness. But why? Once again we have heard the answer million times. We can’t just buy most important things. So, if we have money, it doesn’t mean we’re happy, healthy and so on. As you can see the balance of life is most important thing, because besides money we still need friends, health, love and many other things, which you can’t get in exchange for money.

I made a template, where life is divided into 6 areas. Every area consists of some components. In life, every area should be not left behind or too far from others (it means, that all areas are left behind except one). You can find template here.

Evaluate every component from 1 to 10. Area average is calculated automatically. And average of all areas is written at the end of the template.

Purpose of this template is to be filled every year, because it lets to observe progress in your life.

Balance
For visually seeing your life balance, I made life circle template. Just take assessments of every area of your life and write them here. Now connect assessments with circle, which should be round as much as possible. Large dents shows that your life is out of balance. By looking at the circle, you can tell the first area where you need to start improving your life.

Final thoughts
No matter how it’s important to plan and measure, only action makes difference. So, don’t take too long and take some actions.

Summary
The most important thing in your life is balance.

Life areas evaluation template here.
Circle of life template here.

May 2, 2009 · Povilas Panavas · No Comments
Tags:  Â· Posted in: Personal Development