A Short Rant on Quietness

For the bulk of this post, I will be focusing on the topic quietness. However, before I start, I would like to go a little off topic and talk about something that I have in mind. Scrivener text fonts seem to look extremely small on my Macbook Pro. I wonder if there is anything I could do to adjust the size. That is something I will leave it after I have completed writing this post. I have to admit that I have not been writing much lately. It is largely because I was too tired to do anything after work. There is a need for me to build up my stamina so that I can get more things done in a single day. Now, let us jump into our topic for the post. 

Many of us were told to be more proactive, to ask more questions and to speak up during our days in school. It is rarely a quiet place, at least to me. A little introduction on the education system in the country I am living in. After primary school, all students will sit for their PSLE and the grades will determine the schools you can be admitted to. If you want to go to the ‘elite’ schools, then you’d probably score within the top 10%. Alternatively, you may apply through special admission if you are extremely talented in sports, music or arts. As you probably guessed it right now, I am not within the top 10% in my cohort. Hence, I went to a below average neighbourhood Secondary school near my home. A normal class in that school was everything but quiet. Even the teachers were having a hard time keeping the class volume within control. Sore throat was common among my teachers. 

The quietest place in my Secondary school was (No, not the library. Don’t you know children loves playing catch around the library?) the toilet, but recess time was an exception. 

There was almost no place which was quiet enough for me to work. Hence, I always prefer to walk home and study. Studying was a means to run away from all problems I had faced then. Home was a quiet place. So quiet that you will start hearing voices in your head, stirring up fear, uncertainty and hopelessness. Yes, that period was one of the most difficult times I have had where there is a possibility for me to loss my only parent left in my world. (Who cares about the world when I couldn’t get mine straight?) Of course, I am glad that I didn’t and managed to pull through all difficult times since then. 

Now, let us pause here and think about quietness for a moment:

- Do you work better in a quiet environment? 

- Do you perhaps prefer some noise in the background? 

- In what environment will your concentration improve? 

If we were to list out our answers right here, we probably see various different answers. Some of us are so used to having our televisions on when we are doing work. Well, maybe YouTube videos had replaced our televisions. While some of us find it difficult to concentrate with all the noise in the background. That is why it is so difficult to find a workspace in the libraries. I am fortunate to be working in a University right now with an access to all the libraries available. I must say it is really a good environment for me to work in during the weekend. Research materials are readily available and it is not crowded (with the exception during exam periods). Yes, I prefer a quiet workspace. 

Quietness enables me to work better, think better and focus better. These are essential for both study and work. Hence, as long as the environment is right, I will be more productive. Yet, environment is not something we can determine ourselves. When we are in the wrong environment, the only thing left for us to do is to adapt. Some of my colleagues bought themselves earplugs as their desks were among the noisiest place in campus. Others will just bring all their work to empty spaces beside my desk in order to focus and get things done. Adaptation proves to be an important characteristic one should have in order to do their job well. 

However, if I am travelling alone overseas, the story would be very different. I prefer to have some background noise for me to focus. This is largely due to the unfamiliar environment. Noises reassure me that I am working in the place and my environment is not changing too quickly. Yes, it is delusional and I am fine with this way. I know of some colleagues who shared my habits as well. So don’t worry if you share the same habit, you are not alone. 

Well, some of the reasons for us to have some background noise are:

- Sense of being secure

- Reduce the tendency to feel lonely

- Prevent distraction from the environment you are in

Everyone of has a different take in whether we prefer a quiet working environment or one with some noise. Regardless, it is good to understand yourself and know the environment you are most comfortable working in. 

That’s all for the current post. I will see you again next time. 

A Conscious Effort

As mentioned in yesterday post, I had decided to put in a conscious effort in writing more frequently. This also means posting more frequently on this particular blog. I am also thinking of having a blog with a specific theme or topic in time to come. In order to do that, I will need to understand myself better and the topic or theme that is suitable for me. Of course, since I am not an experienced writer, starting out will definitely be difficult. However, as long as, I am willing to fork out my time and effort, I believe that I will improve with time and effort.

Now, I believe that everyone has their own working habits. Some prefer to work at night, while others prefer to work in the day. As for me, I am a ‘day-worker’. Basically, I focus better during the morning and I get increasingly more restless as time past. To me, the best time to work is before lunch. Of course, given the current society that we are in, we do not have much autonomy in our working hours. They are pretty standard across the job market, depending on the industry you are in. 

Currently, I am collaborating with a market research company and we have been corresponding emails quite a bit. The team I am working with has a different preference in their working hours. Based on the timing of their replies, I can see that they always sent me their responses after my working hours. Well, that makes a delay in our correspondence and resulting in lesser work done during the day. I was wondering if there is any way around this, if only they could sent me the documents that require additional attention in the day, I could have responded on the same day. When we work with different parties, we need to adapt to their work habits. If the differences resulted in a decline in productivity, perhaps it is time to have a good talk and negotiate a solution in which both parties are able to accept. Well, I wonder if I will be ending up doing that soon. 

Have you ever wondered if breakfast affect your performance at work? (Does this even matter?)

Based on my own experience, I feel that I will be able to focus better if I had breakfast before work. However, the funny thing is it is a complete opposite for lunch. Maybe this is influenced by my colleagues and my thinking. Are there even scientific evidence behind this? I guess I just want to live a simple life without pondering too deeply into things that are not important for me. 

Recently, I feel that almost every minute and second is precious to me at work. I need all the time I have to complete the work I was assigned with. Hence, I started going into office earlier and shortening my lunch break. It may seem stupid to veteran employees of my company. Why work extra when the pay remains unchanged? It is one question that I often ponder about myself. Is it because I want to do my job well? Or is it because I fear of having my work incomplete by the deadline? There are plenty of questions in my head that I could not understand fully. Perhaps, if I keep thinking, experiencing and analysing I will come to know the reason myself. However, when will that be? I hope to know myself better soon. Spending time pondering these questions is not always fun. 

There are always so many different aspects of work which sparks discussions through various mediums. It is only natural as work often takes up more than one third of a day for any full-time working adults. We spent on average almost 10 hours in our office a day, and depending on the location of your home, it may take you around 2 hours to travel to and fro from your workplace. Easily half a day spent. However, when we are asked on how much we value our work, it is not as much as our family, relatives, friends. To some of us who are stuck with doing the work which we don’t enjoy, we don’t value work as much as our hobbies, interest and passion. Right, we often hear people giving motivational talks about ditching the work that we have no interest in and find something that we are truly passionate about. How practical is that in reality? For me, I don’t find it practical at all. (Probably because I have a background in Economics.)  I think in terms of demand and supply and that is how the labour market works. The interest, passion, hobbies we may have does not necessarily coincides with the skill sets the market demands. Moreover, I believe that the things that we are passionate about may not necessarily be the things that we are good at. I find that there are too many sound arguments made by different parties which make sense. However, it is difficult to find a right answer to every question. There may be better answers but no single answer is a complete and right one. 

I guess I will stop right here for today, enough ranting…It’s Monday and we’re all tired. Dying to rest and relax after a long day of work or school. Don’t you think so?