7 Habits of Highly Ineffective Locals
By Ng Wai Loong

Half our life is spent trying to find something to do
with the time we have rushed through life
trying to save.

- Will Rogers (1879 – 1935)

I’m a lazy person. To me, time is only precious when I’m in a hurry.

Did that strike you somehow?

I’m not denying that, or else, I would have finished this writing a few days ago. You see, I’ve got plenty of time on hand now as I’m on long leave (but ending soon) and I took a lot of time drinking coffee with my good friend Thim Wai.

I pondered for a while on what to write today, while reading a new book I’ve gotten last Friday. Something plagued me while I was taking several breaks on and off while reading and writing. I was thinking IF I can compile those thoughts into writing.

Violia! And here’s a topic I’ve created which may be of immerse interest to you!

Would you like to know how you could have wasted your life?

Yes, you have wasted your life…

Yes, you have drained your energy and life…

Yes, you did NOT achieve what you set out to be…

Don’t feel so bad – I’m a culprit myself but here’s something you can take away and ponder upon if you care enough to reflect upon for yourSELF.

Let me just share some insights I have on the folks living in this funny country (well, this might just as well applies to yours too!).

1. Folks Sleeping Late at Night

Are you a member of this cult?

Don’t feel so bad! I’m one of this kind too – in the past. But not anymore!

I realized that not only is this habit harmful to health, it is addictive too!

Yes, in case you’re not aware, sleeping past midnight is harmful to your immune system. Your body is optimized to repair damages in your body somewhere between 10pm to 2am, IF your body is in a fully relaxed state.

If you’re thinking that you can cheat your body by sleeping around midnight, then you’re shortchanging yourself – unless you can knock out immediately upon hitting the mat. From the study of traditional Chinese medicine, sleeping late creates fire that harms the liver and speelen. Sleeping late depletes energy from these organs and you’ll get all kind of health problems when you get older.

It’s addictive too because it appears to you that you’re getting more time which you’ve lost (see the contradiction?) during the day. In fact, you’ll only get to loose more time because you’re not efficient and fresh in the morning, where the bulk of most work is done.

If you’re a late night workaholic, consider adjusting your activities for the sunshine.

2. Eating Sufficient Breakfast In the Morning

I observe that most folks do not eat sufficiently for the day. The Chinese has a great saying – that the greater part of the day is in the morning. Food is essentially stored energy, as would petrol to a car.

Your body (car) absorbs nutrients and minerals and convert them to packets of energy, ready to be unleashed upon summon. As you probably have guessed, a few slices of bread and butter is insufficient. Your body probably need a lot more.

I aim for anything from half a portion of lunch and a good cup of tea to kick off a busy day.

If you’re on a diet, don’t worry. You can easily cut down on carbohydrate intakes for lunch and skip dinner altogether. Does that surprise you? It did for me when I got to know of a friend who does exactly that! The fact that he’s still alive and kicking today, I know it works!

3. Doing Nothing on Public Transports

Believe me, I’m pretty disturbed by this phenomenal too!

More than 95% of all commuters on public transports literally waste their lives!

If that didn’t strike you somehow, let me show you some examples…

My observations over the past 10 years revealed that 90% of all idle people do one or more of the following:

• Ogling at women
• Ogling at men (believe me – women do it secretly too!)
• Staring blankly at other commuters
• Staring outside the windows
• Staring at advertisements
• Dozed off
• Pretending to be asleep (Yes! Unbelievable but the truth!)
• Texting (sms) on cell phones
• Playing games on cell phones
• Stealing glances at what others are doing

If all it takes is 15 minutes of travelling a day for you, let’s work out the maths…

15 mins x 5 work days = 75 mins/week

which translate to:

75 mins x 52 weeks/year = 3900 mins/year

Or:

2.7 days a year

Think about the massive amount of time wasted a year in just 15 minutes a day!

It saddens me to realize that most people do not value time at all. If time is money, then I’ll be a fool not doing anything about that.

I don’t mean you’ll actually make money with all that time lost. You can leverage time for money, and still enjoy the fine aspects of life. In short, you can have your cake and eat it too… but that will be a full topic of discussion on itself!

As a tip, I almost always carry a book along when I travel. That’s how I manage to find time to read so many books in a month.

4. Idle Talking and/or Gossiping At Others

Idle talk and gossips are harmful to your spiritual being.

Not only will it cause harm to others, it is also a killer habits for folks who do not value relationships.

Why do you think office politics and strain relationships comes about?

If you’re in the habit of lashing your tongues at others, be warned that unless you are aware of yourself and get a firm grip on it, chances are you’re not very popular with the messes.

5. Being Running Late For Appointments

I don’t know if this is a disease or not. Lateness can become a contagious disease!

Most Asians (with the exception of the Japanese) actually thinks that it’s ok to be late!

So what has that got to do with your life?

My short answer – yes, everything!

My long answer:

Being late is a reflection of time management habits. It just goes to show that you don’t care a hoot about what other people may be doing if not meeting you up. Yes, people are self-centered. I’m one and I believe you are one too so don’t pretend and deny that.

Imagine calling for a meeting with all the email memos circulating and you’re late on the appointed time. How’s that for a reputation? Okay, so you may agree that you’ve none to start off with? Everyone is the same. We’re all the same from the beginning. So why are some folks impeccable in their actions? They created them, just as if you created your own reputation of running late every time.

If you’re in a habit of being late, consider setting aside time for traveling and bad weathers – just in case.

6. Rushing For Home or Office During Peak Hours

This habit appears to be quite harmless. In fact, everyone does that. So what’s the real issue here?

It’s not like you’re going to miss making a million dollars if you can’t get back in time to close a trade?

You know, I hate crowds and deep down inside you, I believe we’re the same. Yes?

Nobody likes being cramped up on buses and train cabins. Nobody likes body contacts with strangers. Do you? You do?! Wow, that’s rare…

Anyway, if you’re not taking public transports, I mean if you fly or drive, then it’s worse! Not only are you paying more taxes on ERP gates, you’re also cramp packed in files of unmovable automobiles.

I’m not suggesting that you arrive for work late or leave home early to avoid crowds.

Why not try the opposite?

You can avoid the messes by getting to work early (so you can have enjoy a great breakfast as well) and leave work a little later (for you to finish clearing loose end works or junk emails).

Try it!

It works amazingly well for me!

7. Burning Time In Front of the TV or Computer

As if you haven’t got enough time wasted travelling on the road, you’re set off to waste more at home.

I laugh at people who tell me that they have important things to do when they get back home after work.

“What work?”. I challenge them secretly.

Again, like what I conjured up, unless they’re at home closing a trade online to take in profits, or making that business deal closing, there’s no real good reason other than to waste it.

Before you blast off your flames and counter challenge my point of view, go ahead and see if it’s true for you most of the time. I”m not denying that you do not treat yourself nicely to some entertainment after a hard day at work. You can go out for a great dinner, read a book or learn something you are passionate about.

Life is too precious to waste them on the TV or on the computer surfing aimlessly.

—

There you are!

I’ve gotten you a summary of the 7 habits of highly ineffective people of this country.

And here are some last notes for you to take home…

More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads.
One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness.
The other, to total extinction.
Let us pray wisdom to choose correctly.

- Woody Allen

We are all free to choose to create our world – to choose between self construction or destruction.

By learning to organize your time daily for learning something new, or doing work to benefiting your environment, you will learn to live a more fulfilled life. Thanks for listening and I trust that you have learn something off from my blarberings!

May you live a life of passion and fulfillment!