Life is full of surprises!
So I just got this laptop back
after a month. It cost me a lot just for the repairs. But the results were
ironically pleasant.
It was not that I was so happy my
Mac is back, but because of the experience. It was inevitable to use my old
desktop. Who would have thought I get things done with an old dual core,
Windows 7, 2 gigabytes of RAM computer bought four years ago.
But for me using an old desktop
and feeling miserable is not the point. Actually, a lot of surprises and
blessings just kept on coming ever since that minor fallback. In just three
weeks I improved my professionalism (in a great extent), my pay, my jobs, and
even how I manage time.
I just thought of sharing this to
anyone who experienced a misfortune before. If you are interested to tag along, then ere are the things that I learned
from using an old computer for work.
It made me time conscious
Now with all my productivity apps
gone, like Promodoro timers, I tried to adapt on the desktop. And you know what?
I actually discovered something better than what I’ve been using.
I always thought I had the best
program for that since I always consider I’m on a better OS (I know that's a stupid way of thinking). But this specific
program for Promodoro is ten times better.
If you’re wondering what Promodoro
timer is, it’s basically a productivity timer that promotes 25 minutes of focus
and 5 minutes interval and somehow a longer break after four or segments.
I have been using this ever since
I worked online. But I just used simple timers before and do the intervals manually. I just didn’t notice
that a lot of apps have been developed for it. Now, instead of just manually
adding my list of targets from an excel file, I just type in everything in the
program enabling me to check those I’ve done. It's simple, automatic, and sleek.
This simple discovery allowed me to see “the
big picture” on where my day is headed. It’s a perfect way to meet goals and
sleep better at night -- knowing I had a productive day.
I don’t sleep with work anymore
Now, I no longer sleep with my
laptop. I usually do (or so I think I do) some last minute work in bed, which
usually ends up instead with browsing, reading manga, or watching a movie.
But now that I find it impossible to bring the
desktop upstairs, I make sure I finish all my work before deciding to go to my room. This means that the only activity I do in bed is sleep, with some
exceptions if I decide to read a book or have some late night phone calls with
a chick (in my dreams LoL).
It gave me more ways to earn
I ended up having excess time
than usual -- even with doing a full-time online job. It started when I became I lot more focused on my tasks at hand. Since I can’t open numerous programs and tabs
on the browser, I tend to finish tasks in time. It’s a relatively small
realization, but its benefits are tenfold. I’m even applying this
principle even though I’m with my laptop now.
I never understood the beauty of
clarity and a de-cluttered workspace on the computer not until now.
Furthermore, in one of my reads,
I discovered that time is money, and money is time. In short, if one
appreciates their own time and focus on productive tasks, then money will come
along. Hopefully, I’m on the right track.
It made me see the beauty of versatility
I could say that I could work on both OS efficiently now.
It’s easy to change function keys.
I read one research that changing the way you do things may
help in developing both sides of the brain. So I try to change mouse scrolls,
which I do differently depending on the OS. Also, the keys are naturally
different.
Of course, this concept of developing the
brain is not only limited to using a computer. I heard from Bernard Marquez
from one Truly Rich Club Mentor talk, that you could even learn juggling for
you to develop your brain and creativity. You never know you might see me
juggling on the streets.
With all these experiences, it made me see the beauty of
versatility, of trying out new things, of not being afraid of changes and so
on. It’s amazing!
I found beauty in everything
The most important lesson I
learned is probably the appreciation of things that we have already thrown or
neglected. I realized that everything we have right now was at some point
“brand new.” This also means that there were once a time when we were so glad
to have them.
Stepping back and appreciating
these old things made me realize that I got so much more. And I don’t really
need fancy things to live or to earn. I just need what’s necessary.
I guess this holds true to all as
well. We don’t need the fancy looking car, the latest smartphones, and the cool
gadgets. We just need the simple and basic things to appreciate life.
One step forward, two steps back.
Lastly, I realized that a
fallback is not entirely a failure. Yes I may have worried at first on where to
find thirty thousand pesos to pay for the repairs. I managed to borrow a credit card from my dad,
which pretty much gave me a month deadline. Also, I never wanted to use any of my
savings.
Now, I’m glad to have come up
with the money (basically jobs and sidelines that allow me to pay) in just two weeks. It’s
crazy! But once you see that fallbacks are just there to tell you that you can
do more, you just discovered a cookie jar or some sort. You know. It’s just an ugly mask
of beautiful things.
I’d like to say that I have
better perspectives these past few days. I think I can face life with most kinds of failure. I tend to worry less and fear less. I figured out there’s nothing really stopping
you from doing something if you truly just go for it. And God or the universe will provide the path to you.
In relevance to my programming
projects, I can see that any device is fine. It’s the core work that matters.
Also, we’re never going to be ready, we just have to keep on moving forward and
we’ll figure it all out, in a way, once we’re out there hustling.
I do know that this is quite a
subjective post. I just thought of sharing how grateful I am for the fallbacks
in life. This old computer among others has brought me wisdom in some way.
