Because it’s fun solving problems.
…. thinking. Especially on this blog.
I’m going to change that. From now, I aim to update this blog no more than once (okay, maybe twice) a week. All other thinking is to be done on my notebook, in rough form, and quickly.
And I’ll update this blog with the summaries, the conclusions, of those thoughts (as well as what I actually get done in real life).
Then finally we come back to this.
Possibly the most important goal that I could ever pursue in this life. And a lifelong goal at that.
I have decided to start another blog, specifically dedicated to my meditation practice. And so meditation ends …. as a topic in this blog.
I put this back on the Grandmaster’s List because I argued with my wife today. And this led me to thinking about a couple of things. Basically a happy home is not something to take for granted. It takes work – hard work. So it deserves to be back on the Grandmaster’s List.
My wife is very imperfect, but so am I, and it is actually not reasonable for me to expect her to be different from what she is. I have to work with what’s available. I have to live my life starting from exactly where I am. I have to take responsibility for my own life, and that means every situation in my own life, including my wife. She has some major faults, (again, I do too) but really the question is – what are we going to do next? We have to be constructive and intelligent about the whole thing.
So the Happy Home project is back on, and it will comprise a series of ongoing projects. One of which is to wean the little girl from breastfeeding. The other is to get the domestic helper up to speed. The 3rd is to get the house physically in order, and arranged for greater efficiency.
I am thinking about this again and I ask myself – “What do I really want to achieve here?”
I think that realistically, the most sensible thing to do is not to get overly structured, in the sense of having a very rigid structure of what to teach and when to teach it. The key really is to just continually supply enjoyable learning experiences for the kids – that is how I formulated my goal originally, but I guess I just forgot along the way.
The advantages of me teaching my own kids, as opposed to a teacher in a classroom teaching them, is that I can tailor much more specifically to what my kids like & are interested in, and to their level of competence and ability, and to their individual strengths. These advantages are the kinds that I would lose if I get too rigidly structured.
The drawback of not having such a rigid structure is that I may not be so systematic or regular in teaching the kids. Without specific tasks to do, one may end up doing little or nothing. This is the danger that I’ve got to watch out for.
Instead of using the method that I recently started to employ (Google Calendar – fixed activities on particular days) - I will switch to the general goal of doing something with them every day. What the daily activity will be – I’ll play by ear. But to ensure that there is variety and quality and that I don’t end up automatically falling back on doing what’s convenient, I will record the activities actually done, in this blog, and review periodically.
Will be creating a new sub-category – the Kids Learning Fun log.
I had outlined a two-part strategy:
1. Focus on productivity and efficiency through superior TM.
2. Build on technical knowledge and expertise through reading.
I want to sharpen on Part 2. The next task is to draw up a reading list and spend an average of half an hour a day at work on self-learning.
My learning log isn’t working very well so far. I need to take it more seriously. I think that I need to put some reasonable amount of effort at the outset in drawing up a proper reading list, instead of being so haphzard about it. Of course the list can change and adjust and shift over time, but first there must be a real list. I will draw it up based on the books & other materials I have at work; I will identify specific chapters and articles that I want to read. I will draw up a list early next week, and aim to put 15 items on it.
