You don’t know until you ask

You don’t know until you ask. That was advice from my mother, and her mother. Yet I’m always afraid to ask. What if they say no? Well, that is always a possibility. It’s a 50-50 chance. Yes or no.

So I’ve started asking. You never know, right? And so far the odds have been good. It’s mostly a yes, or an ok if. The latter requiring something to get it to a yes. Never anything that is much effort. It’s rarely been a no.

So now I ask. Politely of course. As you never know until you ask.

Being a picky completionist

I’m being a picky completionist. I don’t complete everything. I used to. But I soon found that life can get in the way, and it’s way shorter than you think.

Nowadays I complete what I enjoy. The rest can stay unfinished. I may return to it at a later date to pick at it, to play with it a little, to savour it for a moment. But essentially if I’m not fully enjoying it I’ll leave it unfinished.

And I’m ok with that.

If I am fully enjoying something then I’ll complete it. Depending on how much I’m enjoying it, and my level of willpower at the time, I’ll devour it, or ration myself. It will depend on the quantity I know is available. This applies to books, TV shows and movies, video games, and music.

I tend to be a picky completionist.

Finding something to read

Finding something to read can be hard. If fiction, it has to entertain me, and within the first few chapters. After that I struggle. I’ll make it to maybe chapter 7, then I’ll bin the book. Well, give it to charity. For non-fiction if it doesn’t grip me in the first few chapters I’ll flick through it looking for any nuggets of wisdom. I may even skeed it. A personal blend of skim and speed reading. Skimming through the book speed reading the bits I find interesting, if any.

It’s a form of ADHD, but one born out of the modern world. A mixture of information overload and impatience. I am old enough now to have calculated how many books I can read in my remaining lifetime given my age and the available leisure time that I am happy to dedicate to reading. The number is not as high as I would like it to be, so I tend to be picky. If the book isn’t well written I’ll quickly move on. I donate a lot of books to charity.

I listen to podcasts while I multitask. If I hear a book recommendation that sounds interesting, I’ll make a note of it. Same goes for recommendations from friends, colleagues, TV, radio, and other literature. I have a reading wishlist and occasionally I’ll buy when the price is low. I never sell, I shelve or donate.

I used to have two or three books on the go, max. Never the same subject and only one fiction. Otherwise I’ll get literature crossover. At the time of writing I have eight books I’m reading. None are gripping. I’m either skeeding or taking forever to get through them. It started at three, but then I was bored and gave another from my to read pile a chance. It failed so I tried another, and another. Now there’s eight. At what point do you admit you have a problem?

I do love to read. But as I get older, finding something good to read gets harder.

Writing just for fun

I like writing just for fun.
This is practice for me.
I don’t profess to be a good writer.
I’m self taught.
It shows.
I’m not making any money doing this.
It’s a sort of digital therapy.
I’m writing just for fun.
And practice.
I didn’t do well in language and writing at school.
But I like words.
And I like reading.
Words can be calming.
When not angry words.
Words can help you make sense of things.
To understand something well, explain it to others.
With words.
Writing just for fun.

When to let something go

Something that you’ve built up over time. Nurtured, put your blood sweat and tears into it. You’re done all you can with it, and now others are ready to take it on, to run with it, to take it further.

Yet you are not sure you are quite ready to let it go. To let it be someone else’s baby, their project, not yours.

Is it safe to leave it in their hands? Will it thrive without you?

It’s hard to let something go that you’ve built up. That You’ve put so much of you into. But maybe it’s time to take a step back and see if it can survive without you. Something You’ve created, and put out into this world.

Knowing when it’s time to let something go.

There needing to be a purpose

I’ve been thinking about my need for there to be a purpose.

If I can’t see how something will help me in my career or goals in life then I keep putting it off, never doing it. Why? Why not do something just for the fun of it, or because you want to? Does there need to be a reason, a purpose, a part of a bigger plan?

You can just enjoy something because it’s fun. It makes you happy. No matter how temporary. There doesn’t need to be a purpose. You don’t have to have a reason that serves something bigger. It can just be this one thing that doesn’t improve your skills, up your experience level, gain you a certificate, or earn you a reward. You can do it just because you wanted to.

You don’t always need a purpose.

The joy of writing manuals

I’ve had to be a technical author on several occasions. I don’t mind it. In fact I kind of like some aspects of it. Like reading all the technical data on the subject at hand, then distilling it down into an easy-to-follow step-by-step format. I sometimes play around with the text, if I have time. Tweak this bit or that. Make a sentence or paragraph read better, to be more clear, or to say the same thing with less words. Concise.

It’s usually under-appreciated though. Your target audience just wants the bare facts. The how to information as fast as possible. They don’t care about how you do it, only that you have, and that anyone can follow it.

Sigh.

The joy of writing manuals.

Drop a pin

Drop me a pin.

A what?

A young’un asked me to drop them a pin. To let them know where I am. I should know how to do that, but I don’t.

Maybe you have to go to maps and get your current location and then share it? Seems arduous. Must be a faster way. I could ask how but then I’d have to admit to the circle of life coming true. Like me showing my dad how to program the VCR. Geez, VCRs, how old am I?

Old enough to not know how to drop a pin apparently.

About you

Sell yourself.
Write about you.

Ever had writers block when having to create an About page for LinkedIn or a website, explaining who you are and what you do. Your credentials. Your bonafides.

Takes me back to English class. Write a short essay on yourself. Five thousand words. All about you.

It was compulsory in the early days of the web. Your website must have an about you page. As compulsory as a running dog chasing a ball or construction worker to signify that your site is coming soon or under construction. Just don’t use blinking text.

Tell me about you.