Monks don’t give a fu*k
An easy guide to training your monkey mind into a productive mind.
What does a 2,500 years old religion (Buddhism) teach us about productivity?
No Fu*ks To Give
Let’s start with a story that has an important lesson. Here’s a scenario for you to imagine:
You’re working in your home office, with superb determination. All of sudden you hear your dog barking and then the sound fades out slowly.
You get up to see and notice that the door is open! Probably it’s time for his walk. Since you were busy, the dog decided to go on his own. You know just for a change.
That’s another thing that he ran out of the house like he’s never coming back again.
Holy sh*t, right? What would you do? Finish your work and hope for the dog to come back? Or step out to catch the dog?
Yes, you might wanna consider not wasting your productive time of the day. Utilise those ‘creative juices’ while the flow is open.
But, your dog is cute and you need him in your life.
At this point, you are the only person to bring him home, why the hell are you even thinking? Shouldn’t you be out already?
GO!
Okay, wait, relax.
I’ll bring your dog home to you, but only if you promise me that you’d be responsible. It’s your dog, man!
Do you know what a monk would do if their dog escapes?
A monk will escort it back with sheer benevolence, play with it for a while and then get back to work.
You know why? Cause monks don’t give a fu*k (about interruptions).
If you want your schedule to be less stressful then lend me your attention for a moment!
How to take care of unprecedented events and situations
“Is it just me or is it getting crazier out there”?
Oh yes, it is crazy indeed. We live in a world that interrupts us at every step. Those interruptions demand our focus and attention which is why we tend to forget about the task at hand.
There’s no chance that you can work uninterrupted 5 hours, 5 days a week for 365 days. Interruptions will come to break your schedule (even your spirit at times) and that is natural.
Interruptions will come.
What should you do about it? Prepare yourself!
Well, it sounds okay on paper but is kinda hard to deal with.
The monk’s perspective teaches you to be more mindful of obstructions.
Monks know that they need to focus on a few crucial things at a time and that’s all. All the other things are distractions and they do not require much attention.
Change the way you look at interruptions
Overall, the interruptions are not bad. They are just unplanned things that sometimes are very unpleasant to deal with.
They come as natural occurrences. Interruptions have a gazillion forms and they have the ability to surprise us.
What matters the most is how we look at it. More than often we think of interruptions as a pernicious force sent out from barbaric gates of Hell Hiem, by Satan himself.
Well, this one’s not on Satan.
Let’s address interruptions with what they are; incidents.
How to deal with interruptions
Prioritise First
Most people think that multi-tasking and efficiency are synonyms for each other. They begin to juggle between ‘n’ number of tasks and soon they find out that they are at a bad place. Speaking from my own experience, you should not do this.
First thing’s first, Do not spill your beans all over the place. Make a list of things you need to do, rank them in order of urgency and start your dance.
That’s called proper multi-tasking. Nailing down one task after another.
Block out your time
The best way to make sure that you get your daily tasks done is by blocking the time in your schedule.
Well, admittedly that’s most of us. Check out a Complete Guide to Time Blocking by Mike Vardy
The idea is simple, do one thing at a time. Focus sharp and get it done then move on to the next task.
Procrastination is the enemy
Hey, let’s be honest with each other. You and I both have been brought down to the knees by this beast which we low-key embrace within us; the beast is procrastination.
I believe that it’s one of the truest forms of interruptions.
Recognise your beast, come to terms with it. Or even better, kill the beast if you can.
Stay away from digital interruptions
Oh, the internet! The webbed world allures us into its fancy scrolling trails, endless streaming tributaries, and whatnot!
It’s so inciting at times. The temptations to check your phone is hard to resist, especially while working.
You hear that notification sound and you are second to none, there you go pal. Man interrupted.
Try to use your phone after 25 minutes of work, kinda hinting towards the Pomodoro technique.
Record your interruptions
Make a simple log sheet of all the things which could interrupt you. Here’s a log sheet as demonstrated by mindtools.com
You can maintain a log sheet or just list down the interruption followed by the date, time and urgency of the task.
Mind you that it’s not something you will have to do for a long time. Your interruptions record will help you mitigate unnecessary things within a week or two.
Learn to say no (to people and things)
We need to learn that we have some limitations and we’re as good as the things which we complete.
I believe that the power of the word ‘no’ is highly under-rated.
Interruptions might come from your teammates, boss or family member. Or literally anything. A simple ‘no’ can save us from a lot of BS. Just make sure you say it politely.
Also, practice saying no to yourself. Accept that you can’t do it all so why bother, right?
Just set yourself up with what you can do in your own sweet time and in own your sweet way. And that’s enough! For other things, there is ‘no’.
Some interruptions are essential
Do you remember the intro of this blog? Where I wrote about the dog who escaped. Well, sometimes you have to commit to unusual responsibilities like that.
For the interruptions that cannot be ignored, we need to deal with them patiently. Like an urgent request from your boss while you’re on fire and nailing down that priority list of yours.
Use your judgement and instincts to identify the nature of each interruption.
Once you grow patient while dealing with interruptions, you could do your dance with more freedom than ever.
Conclusion
Prioritise — First thing’s first, Do not spill your beans all over the place. Make a list of things you need to do, rank them in order of urgency and start dancing.
Block out your time — The idea is simple, do one thing at a time. Focus sharp and get it done then move on to the next task. Check out a Complete Guide to Time Blocking by Mike Vardy.
Procrastination is the enemy — It is known to ruin lives and I’m not even exaggerating. When you decide to procrastinate you interrupt your natural drive and workflow. That could make you feel regretful and obstruct productivity.
Stay away from digital interruptions — We let the internet allure us into its fancy scrolling trails, endless streaming tributaries, and whatnot!
It’s so inciting at times. The temptations to check your phone is hard to resist, especially while working. Try not to react when you hear a notification buzz.
Record your interruptions — Start making a simple log of all the things which could interrupt you daily. Or a list of your day to day interruptions would also be helpful to minimise breakdowns and stay productive.
Learn to say no — I believe that the power of the word ‘no’ is highly under-rated. Interruptions might come from your teammates, boss or family member. Or literally anything. A simple ‘no’ can save us from a lot of BS. Just make sure you say it politely. We can’t do it all so why bother, right?
Some interruptions are important — Use your judgement and instincts to identify the nature of interruptions.
Once you grow patient while dealing with interruptions, you could do your dance with more freedom than ever.
Bonus point — Breathe and start again
Do not forget to find some peace for yourself mate!
After everything that’s been said… I’d like to add further that nothing can be controlled by us sentient mortal beings unless we find our calm.
The objective is to set up a nurturing space inside our heads.
The interruptions will come and go. There will be times where we would struggle to keep up with them. Precisely in those times, we have to think like monks. Breathe in and out then start again.
Monks don’t give a fu*k. Because monks are calm as fu*k.
