Matthew Lang

Would you use it?

I propose the Glasgow Pound currency. Not an actual note, just a bottle of Irn-Bru.

You think the best coaches and players sit near the field of play? Think again.

You always find the best players and coaches in the bleachers. They know all of the right plays and the sharpest moves. They can tell you who should have been traded or kept and can rapidly recite a litany of blunders going back to the Twenties and beyond. They're especially ready to recall maddening mistakes they've been forced to endure while watching games or listening to sports radio.

— In the Bleachers
by Michael Wade

Can a building taller than the Burj Khalifa be built in seven months?

Blank pages are great. They are empty to begin with. Devoid of markings, letters, pictures, symbols or any written mark that represents something. They are empty for a reason. They need to be filled. But what with?

With a blank page you can start writing. A sentence, a paragraph, a poem, a short story, a long story, a film, a trilogy of films. It all begins on a blank page with a few words.

With a blank page you can start drawing, sketching or even doodle. Whatever it is you want to call it. Your thoughts visualised could be an idea that will change the world or act as a window for future generations to see through. It all begins on a blank page with a few lines.

With a blank page you can start making. Take an idea. Iterate over it with different approaches. Draw variations of it, list the pros and cons for each different variation. Finalize it before moving forward. It all begins on a blank page with an idea.

With a blank page you are recording a thought or idea that could outlive you and even the end of this century. With a blank page you are freeing yourself from the confines of technology. With a blank page you have decided that it is better to have a reliable means of recording that doesn't require wi-fi, the Internet or even a battery.

Did I mention that blank pages are great?

Seriously, stop reacting.

Stop checking Twitter, Facebook, email and anything else that's driven by notifications. In fact just turn off all notifications. Turn them off on your computer, phone and tablet. Notifications are the great reactive intruder that ruins your focus. With notifications turned off, you'll stop reacting to the outside forces that will destroy your focus.

Stop putting the work aside that should be doing for the work you need to do. Yes there are things we need to do, but we should be smart enough to identify the work we need to do and schedule it in for the appropriate time in the future. It then becomes work we should be doing at the right time. Continually reacting to work that needs to be done shows a lack of planning. Plan ahead to eliminate reactive work.

Stop reacting aimlessly to changes in your life. Aim for a point in the distant future and work towards it. The world will do it's best to try and push you off track. Changes in family, career, finances and health can be negotiated with a slight detour but you can still arrive at the place that you initially aimed for.

Stop reacting. It can be done.