Archive for June, 2010

As I was growing up and going through school, I was constantly told that I should do things because it would give me more choices. The more options I had the better off I would be. To an extent, I think this is actually true. However, having too many choices and not being able to choose can also bring about stress.

Lately, I have been planning my wedding. And even though we are keeping it small and simple, there is still a lot to plan. The complications are further increased since people will be coming from around the world.

Most recently we have been working on invitations. There are a lot of choices. Do we have them made or make them ourselves? If we make them ourselves what kind of paper and what color. Where should we get the paper from? What about envelopes? This is a pretty special occasion, we want it to be perfect right? We don’t want to get it wrong.

Not wanting to get it wrong is what causes the reluctance to make a choice. The more choices there are, the more you have to give up to make a choice. What if we choose a certain card and then don’t like it. We would have give up all those others that might have been better. This inability to make a choice can waste a lot of time and cause a lot of stress, especially when there is a deadline.

So what should you do?

I find that selecting the ones that I like and then making quick eliminations works well for me. If a feature I am looking for isn’t present then it is eliminated. Once I have far fewer choices it is much easier to make a choice. And while some times I will wish I had made a different choice. That disappointment is usually much smaller than the stress of not being able to make a choice at all.

Sometimes even a bad choice can be better than not being able to make a decision at all. A bad choice can be fixed and you can move forward. If you don’t make a choice then you can’t move forward at all.

Lots of choices are a good thing, but only if you are able to make a decision. If not, then you are better of with fewer options.

As I sit here writing this I am laying in the sun on Maehama beach in Miakojima, Japan. The picture above is the location just after getting out of the car. Am I sending you this from my vacation? No. Technically, I’m working.

For those who have been following this blog for a while know that I gave up my job in Tokyo, got rid of all my stuff, and moved to the beautiful island of Miyakojima to do Internet marketing. For those interested in doing something similar, check out the 4 hour work week.

Today, I actually want to talk about how important it is to get out of the office and especially, away from the computer.

Regardless of the job, it seems that most of us spend a lot of time punching away at a keyboard. It has become so common we don’t even consider working somewhere there isn’t a computer. Unfortunately, working on the computer isn’t always efficient or creative. It can also be quite distracting.

If you are using a computer, then there are a lot of distractions. It can be difficult to focus on work, when a failblog video is just a couple of clicks away. This of course is after you read through the endless unimportant email. And even when you do get to work, you switch between several tabs and projects. What is it that computers actually help us do again.

So what can you do? Get away from the computer. Turn it off. Remember what you did before you had a computer? A lot of projects we do on the computer can be done ( better and more creative) another way. This works especially well for projects that have several parts. Most projects have a part you need to think about and create. If you do that away from the computer and in a place you like it doesn’t feel like work.

Lastly, consider substitutes. Today’s smart phones can do quite a bit. If you have to be in front of a “computer” take it with you. I say this as i am typing on my Iphone. Work doesn’t seem like work if you are sitting on a beach.

And with that I think it is time to end this post. The sun is getting kind of bright.