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We have this chair in the house that really bothers me sometimes. It is not a broken chair; in fact it is quite expensive but it’s just that I don’t feel comfortable sitting on that chair. Recently when I started working in a separate room my wife put that chair there thinking I would feel more comfortable sitting on it and working. She had no idea that the exact opposite happens when I sit on that chair and try to work. Now, that chair is perfectly OK if I want to sit on it and watch the TV or just talk to people, but when I actually have to sit on it and work I have problem because I cannot balance it and type on my laptop at the same time (it’s a revolving chair). Just after working on it for a day, today in the morning I asked my wife if we could swap the chairs. She readily agreed.

This may seem like a trifle event at this time when you’re reading about it but had I been following my old habit I would have tried working on the chair for at least a couple of weeks before deciding to change it. Recently I’ve decided to do things quickly. Even getting the wireless network connection and then shifting to a separate room for my work was a quick decision. It happened just over the weekend and even if it took a day extra it was because the guy who maintains my computers was late setting up the wireless network connection. Otherwise it would have taken me weeks and even months to decide shifting to a separate room and I would have kept working at the same spot in the sitting room and getting disturbed all the time.

Sometimes we don’t even realize that we keep on postponing things and consequently perform a lot less than what we should. I think small things matter a lot because they affect our lives in small ways but in the long run they accumulate and even when we cannot see the three dimensional manifestation the sum total of their effect is great.

If that constant noise coming from the outside bothers you, quickly try to find out if you can do something to stop that noise from entering your work space. If there is an itch in your leg and you are scratching every five to ten minutes then stop your work and take care of that itch because it is not only wasting your time it is also draining away your energy and breaking your concentration. If you feel you need to reinstall your operating system and by not doing so your work is slowing down then reinstall it as soon as possible because it will save you lots of future time.

I’m not suggesting that in order to accomplish you need to be finicky about small things, after all people work under great constraints. I’m just saying that if there are some small problems that can be eliminated and by their elimination if you can improve your performance then by all means eliminate them, and don’t keep postponing the step just because you don’t have the time right now or because you feel the problem is not that big.

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Watching TV keeps your kids occupied and they don’t bother you. It especially seems a profitable situation if you’ve got work to do. But soon your kids end up watching so much TV that some times you wonder how to stop your kids from watching too much TV. Too much TV makes your kids dumb and makes then anti-social and it is also unhealthy because it turns them into the proverbial couch potatoes. When your kids watch too much TV they

• Go out and play less
• Read and study less
• Strain their eyes
• Eat more junk food
• Process information less (because they see and hear everything; the brain doesn’t have to imagine must)
• Watch programs they are not supposed to watch
• Make and maintain less friends

To sum it up, you end up having dumb, unhealthy, socially isolated kids if you let them watch TV a lot.

So how to stop your kids from watching too much TV

• Sit with them and explain to them that they’ll have to limit their TV viewing.
• Allocate a particular time for TV watching and as a compromise let them decide when they want to watch it (of course not when they are supposed to sleeping!).
• Let them “purchase” TV time during the weekend by reading and studying more during week days.
• Reduce your TV time too (practice what you preach) and spend that time with your kids doing different activities like group reading, games, sitting out, pursuing hobbies etc.
• Organize TV-less weeks. Once in a month in the beginning organize TV-less weeks when the entire family doesn’t watch TV. Don’t force this or it will be counter-productive.
• Ban TV during meal time. This will give you more time to eat properly and talk to everybody. I think when kids talk to their parents more they have a less desire to watch TV.
• Get rid of the TV when your kids are too small to notice its absence.

With not much entertainment and information happening on TV, you won’t even miss it if you stop watching it, along with your kids.

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Reading develops your mind and it expands your intellectual horizon. I know we all want to develop a book reading habit but time constraints and lack of interest always puts this habit in the back burner. Besides, there are so many distractions these days like the Internet and the television. But do you know that all successful people read books. Bill Gates (OK, I know some of us don’t like him) has a team of six people who are constantly reading books to recommend the best one to him.

So how can you develop a book reading habit?

• Keep a book at hand. It is easier to read a book if it is lying somewhere nearby. Put it on your table. Put it near your bed. I mean, anywhere it is conspicuous to you constantly.
• Decide to read a certain portion everyday. If you think you won’t be able to read a lot, you don’t have to. Just read a couple of pages each time you open the book. No need to set a reading record and no need to indulge in marathon reading. Decide to read two pages, and stick to that, no matter how tired or distracted you feel.
• Set a challenge and reward yourself. Make it into a challenge to read at least one book every month and when you complete yourself, then reward yourself or give yourself a treat. This will make the whole thing very special.
• Select a book that interests you. If economics put you to sleep, don’t select a book about economics. Choose a subject you are highly interested in. Do you like fantasy? Good! Start reading one of those Harry Potter books.
• Make a list of books you want to read. We all have list of books we want to read. Prepare one and take out a printout if possible, or right it down. Buy them all. If this affair seems a tad expensive, then buy a few of the. Buying some of your favorite books is a great reading motivation.
• Create a reading corner. I know this is not possible for everyone, but if you can spare some space in your house, create a comfortable reading corner where you can sit with your book with your favorite beverage. You can even go out in the garden to read.
• Carry your book around. There are many time when you are sitting somewhere and not doing anything: waiting for your train, traveling in a bus or a train or a taxi, or waiting for a meeting. You can take out your book and start reading it.
• Stop watching too much TV or surfing the Internet or playing computer games. You can get so much time if you can reduce the time you spend watching silly programs on TV or visiting weird websites or playing video games. All these things take away lots of time and don’t give back much to you.
• Join a book club. You can join an online or offline book club to meet people who, like you, are trying to develop a book reading habit. Meeting like minded people keeps you focused and in some manner also makes you accountable.
• Read blogs on book reading. Contrary to what I just said above, visiting blogs that talk about developing a book reading habit can really help you orient your effort. They often recommend great books to read.
• Visit your local library. Libraries are a great source of inspiration. So many books on the shelves, and so many people sitting earnestly engrossed in their books, certainly act as great stimulants. This also makes you realize that you are not fighting a lone better, and there are lots of people who are avid readers of books.
• Let people around you know what you are trying to do. Let people in your family know that you need some time for you book reading. They will then know that you shouldn’t be disturbed during that time.
• Try to attend book-reading sessions. Although you may not have time for this, but if some book-reading sessions are going on during weekends, try attending them.
• Blog about what you are reading. Start a blog and share your book-reading experience with other book-lovers. This too will act as a great stimulant and besides, it will help you analyze your book while you are reading it.

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It’s very hard to apologize and it is very easy to apologize: it makes a big difference if you know how to apologize. We goof up all the time. We break things; we break hearts; we break promises and sometimes we just don’t do things we were supposed to do. At these time, we should know how to apologize.

Some people think you lose respect when you apologize because of two reasons:

• You take an apology in a wrong way.
• The person receiving your apology accepts it condescendingly.

The second reason, of course is not in our hand. But we can surely control the first situation: to apologize doesn’t mean you have been defeated or humiliated. It means you are intelligent enough to recognize and accept your mistake and are ready to mend it.

Of course this means you need to first of all understand your act, and only then you can apologize with earnestness. If it isn’t a hostage situation or if you are not surrounded by psychopaths and terrorists, never apologize to brush aside an argument or pacify the other person. When you apologize, mean it, or else don’t.

Whenever there is a situation that has angered or saddened people around you, analyze your act or the lack of it. Try to figure out where you have gone wrong. There can even be a chance when it is all a misunderstanding but you are the best judge of it.

How to apologize?

There are many ways of apologizing and these vary from person to person. Just be yourself and don’t try to become something else. Your way of apologizing depends on many factors:

• How well you know the other person.
• How close or far that person lives to you.
• What sort of apology would make the most powerful impact.
• What you intend to achieve by apologizing.

All these things should define the way you apologize.

Why apologize?

An apology is a kind of internal catharsis. Some acts are irrevocable (the Nazi actions, the 9-11 bombings, the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, rape and murder, etc.) and an apology only incites cynicism, in regular, day to day life an apology really does wonders. When you apologize to a person that person feels valued. You stature in that person’s eyes increases. An apology also acts as a closure. A sincere apology means you have recognized the problem and are really interested in tackling it.

Is it OK to apologize to mean people?

Yes, because along with apologizing for the sake of the other person, you are apologizing for yourself too. Don’t let your behavior be governed by the action of the person to whom you are apologizing.

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For at least a year I have been planning to start this blog but one compulsion or another kept postponing the idea. I have a lot to share about life, not because I’m a great philosopher or a guru in the matters of life; I feel sharing always expands our intellectual universe. I have got a lot to learn and everyday I’m learning new things that change my perspective of life and things around me. Through this blog I want to share those perspectives.

I also want this blog to act as a platform for many people who want to improve the way they live and the way they treat the world around them. I believe the world deserves a lot from us than we presently give it, and if I sound idealistic, then I am. We are perpetually trapped in the whirlwind of our own aspirations, desires and worries and don’t even have a few moments to spare for other human beings, animals, plants and our earth. After all we live among these.

Your participation will decide the direction of this blog. I don’t have an agenda right now, and I don’t want this blog to be a preaching spot. Of course initially I’ll have to decide what comes here as currently I have no traffic and hence no interaction with my readers. But as the traffic builds up gradually, more and more people will join the conversation and this will help me define the direction of this blog. As the name stands — Lifeonomy — we’ll mostly be talking about life and how to make it better and rewarding, both for us and for those around us.

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