Monthly Reflection is a project where I document my learning stuff and life experience last month. The project is aim to hone my English writing skills and track my spiritual status, if you are interest in my life, feel free to subscribe the project. 🎈
Introduction
I didn't see myself as an organized person. However, at the end of December, I watched a Netflix series named "Tidying Up with Marie Kondo"(怦然心動人生整理魔法), in which Marie Kondo visits various American family homes full of clutter and guides the family in tidying up their houses through her methods. The method is quite simple yet inspiring. Therefore, I started following her technique and threw out 70% of my stuff literally. I recommend you to watch 1-2 episodes and learn her philosophy. Some unique ideas may occur to you!
Summary
This month is a little bit boring compared to the last two months. But I believe there are still things that I could share.
- Suck TOEFL Test
- Running Improvement
- Optimized Life Parameters
Suck TOEFL Test
Sarcastically, I am a data fanatic but refuse to accept the quantitative indicator.
Among a bunch of documents for applying to the graduate program, there are three significant indicators, respectively GPA, GRE, and TOEFL. I don't realize the importance of this indicator until I graduated from college. Although the GPA is irreversible, I could invest my time and money on another 2 English proficiency test. However, I couldn’t pass the “T100” threshold( get 100 out of 120 in TOEFL) no matter how hard I have tried. I decided to submit my poor score and took the risk of being eliminated in the 1st round. The experience is quite disappointing, yet in a hindsight, taught me to look at the essence of the real world.
Although the English test is annoying, it is a piece of cake comparing to the approaching pressure monsters, including acquiring decent packages in State, striving for work-life balance, suffering from loneliness(I actually get used to it lol), or dealing with career choice(SWE or Consultant or DS)… After seeing the challenging and unpredictable future, I no longer worried about it. Past is past, it is practical to think about the changeable future.
Running Improvement
I run a productive life in December 2020. The 250km running distance, which is 147% more than November 2020, led me to a tremendous improvement. Last month I set my goal as 95:00 in the half-marathon contest at Kaohsiung. But now I challenge myself running within 88 minutes(4:12/km). To achieve this mid-term goal, I have to run 10km within 41:00. (4:06/km). It seems incredible for a five-month runner, but I love to conquer challenges.
btw: Due to COVID-19, my half-marathon contest at Kaohsiung was canceled. Neither can I travel with my daddy and enjoy our time together nor can I experience my very first half-marathon. But I believe that the opportunity is always there waiting for people to wield their swords. The only thing I should do right now is practice.
Optimized Life Parameters
Since people(including me) function inefficiently most of the time, recently I was curious about the best formula for living the most productive life.
We are susceptible to external noises such as 3C products, social media, entertaining streaming platforms, communication software, etc. These distractions are the main reasons why we fucked our life. Netflix and Youtube deprive our sleeping time. Facebook and Twitter control our thoughts with algorithms and fake news. Line and WeChat render us to leave from focusing model during the work. Instagram and Snapchat waste our energy catching on trivials such as Ms.A just ate a pancake” or “Mr.J had fun at the nightclub last night.” I’m not saying that we don’t need this technology. To be honest, they are all good companies with talented employees and prosperous markets. But we have to come up with a strategy to deal with the modern issue — information overload.
Therefore, I started observing my life pattern and tried to tune each parameter every day to optimize my performance efficiency. As a result, my best performance happens in the following situation
1. Exercise
Run for 5–10km (30–45 minutes). More than 10km is exhausted, and less than 5km is too short.
2. Relaxing
Have a shower, a cup of hot water, an interesting book before sleep.
3. No masturbation
It would decrease my next morning's energy. But it could be categorized as relaxation if you don’t have huge loading tomorrow.
4. List the schedule before going to work
People tend to be afraid of unpredicted things. To prevent ourselves from getting lost in the morning, make short-term objectives to tell ourselves what is today’s goal. Don’t forget to set rewards after achieving the goal. It could help us maintain the circulation of efficient flow.
5. Abandon the phone before work
When I was preparing for the college entrance exam, I throw my phone into my locker before I opened the studying mode. Since our desire of using phones is usually stirred when we see the phone or the notification, apply such a method could help us pay more attention to the work.
6. Talk to people
The magic of conversation is without a doubt. You could gain knowledge from people with different interests and backgrounds. Moreover, it is a great opportunity to practice delivering our thoughts coherently and contagiously, which is an essential skill in life.
The formula is temporary, and I am still working on enhancing its sophistication. Recently I found out one more parameter — “leap before you think too carefully.‘ Sometimes we think too much about intimidating stuff. Maybe we should focus on systems instead of goals.(principle from the book "Atomic Habit")
I insist on using my own photo instead of beautiful pictures on Splash.
