The fact that I have not posted for years is a damning testament to the fact that I have not been productive for quite some time. What’s the deal?
This is something I never wanted to write about, for many reasons. One, is that I didn’t want this blog to be personal. I wanted it to be about concepts, not about me. I’m coming to realize that it’s not possible for me to write about one without the other. This is a personal journey for each of us, so I’ll have to admit that it’s personal for me, too.
I guess I’ll have to write about what’s stopped me from writing before, and what’s causing me to write, now. So for full disclosure, I’ll have to discuss a health issue that I have. It’s called Trigeminal Neuralgia. It’s a condition which causes phenomenal facial pain. Without putting too fine a point on it, let’s just say that when a flare-up comes, the pain is so intense, that I’d rather pass a large kidney stone, have root canal without anesthesia, and deliver octuplets by natural childbirth than have TN. Even when there’s no flare-up, there is constant pain, or at least discomfort, but not as bad.
There is no cure. There are some treatments, but none have a very high success rate. No one knows what really causes TN, or why it flares up when it does, and no one can predict when a flare-up will hit. They can last for seconds or longer, and they come and go. You can have many in a day, or just once in awhile. A series of flare-ups can continue for years, then go away as mysteriously as they came, and return at any time. TN is a fairly rare condition, so it is not well understood, and does not get major research funding. I guess a Rock Hudson will have to get it before we learn much more about it.
When I was was diagnosed with TN, I was put on some heavy medications. Around the time I stopped blogging, I was on such large doses that I couldn’t focus at all, and my memory was shot. Short and long term. I could barely get out of bed. I was a zombie, but that was better than the pain. But I just couldn’t go on writing about “Productive Memory,” as I no longer had one, myself. The little bit of concentration and memory I had, I can’ thank to some of the methods I want to write about on this blog.
This continued for years. Recently I tried CBD oil, and that seems to have helped. Either that, or the flare-ups stopped by themselves, which they can do for awhile. Whichever is the case, I’ve been able to wean myself almost completely off the other meds. So, either it’s the CBD or coincidence, but I haven’t had pain in many months, and in that time my pain has pretty much subsided.
I’ve been doing more memory work and my focus has totally come back. I’d been deciding whether to start blogging here again, when suddenly I’ve been getting “warnings” about a possile flare-up. Jaw getting tight, slight twinges of discomfort, etc. Needless to say, I’m terrified that the CBD may not be working. It may be minor, and this may turn out to be nothing (I hope), but either way, I’ve decided to journalize what my mind is going through, in order to find and keep ways of focusing and keeping my memory strong, even if I ever have to go on those meds again.
And If I don’t have to go on those meds (which will probably be the case) I will get to explore and develop more and more memory and focus techniques, and share them with you. Since the pain stopped months ago, I’ve made a lot of progress, and want to share it with you.
I’m terribly sorry about having to vent like this, but I thought you had the right to know what is going on, and why I now feel the need to help as many people cut through the fog as fast as I can, before the fog may take me back for awhile. So let’s get down to work with a technique that I’ve been using which has been enormously helpful.
It’s quantification. That’s a two-dollar word for “measuring things.” It’s a technique that everyone knows about, but few people use. You know that if you keep a chart of your progress, you will probably progress, right? It’s simple to make a spreadsheet, or use a calendar to keep a record of what you want to do and how often you’ve been doing it. The more days or occurrences of what you want to keep a record of that you ex-off, the more motivated you will become to keep doing it.
It’s like when you were in kindergarten and your teacher gave you “stars” for doing things. It sounds childish, but when you give yourself those “stars,” it is much more meaningful.
Any way you keep track of what you want to do is helpful. Let’s say you decide to brush and floss your teeth twice a day, every day. You could put up a wall calendar somewhere in your bathroom, and mark an X on it for every time you brushed and flossed. The first time you saw two Xs on each day for a week in a row, you’d feel pretty good, and probably keep it up. By the time you kept it up for a month, you’d have it as an ingrained habit, and probably keep it up without the needing the calendar anymore.
I know I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know, but are you doing it?
I’ve been using this method for four months for my daily practicing routine (I’m a professional magician.) I’ve been wanting to master three particular skills for many years now, and about four months ago I made a spreadsheet with the days of the month listed on one side, and spaces for how many attempts I tried in one column, and how many were successful in the next column, for each of the skills.
With this spreadsheet, I’ve been tracking my daily progress. Two out of three of the skills I’ve already got down, so I can practice them less and less, but still keep them sharp. I must admit, I thought I’d have the other skill down by now, but I’ve realized that it will probably take a year of practice, at least. So I’ve upped the amount of practice each day, and still make a worksheet for it each month.
What’s this done for me? Well, I used to procrastinate about practicing, but now I almost never miss a day (I’ve missed less than five days in four months – I even practiced two out of the three days that my wife and I went on a trip for our anniversary. I woke up in the middle of the night to practice, so it wouldn’t interfere with out vacation.)
To be able to focus for a few hours a day, on a particular skill for month after month normally would take a lot out of me. But now I feel energized after a bout of practice. I feel like I’ve accomplished something I otherwise would have vegged-out about, so I feel a bit proud of myself and ready to take on more of the day and get more things done like this.
After years of being a zombie, this is a wonderful feeling. Next time, I’ll share more specific ways of measuring progress so that it will lead you to accomplishing more in your day, week and on and on.
Till then, get cracking and decide which habit or skill you want to make more progress with, and see if you can figure out a way to quantify it and record your progress. Feel free to leave a comment or ask for specific help on measuring what you want to accomplish.
