3 ms·

My advice would be to get in the habit of making an accomplishment every day. Little success every day, not matter what it is, will get you out of the rut. I a

by DenisM 14y ago

My advice would be to get in the habit of making an accomplishment every day. Little success every day, not matter what it is, will get you out of the rut. I am reading 2% of War and Peace every day. Made it to 75% by now, and every day that I read the book I have something to look back to. Contemplative reading has second order effects as well - I feel I can concentrate better, which is very helpful given that the internet has taught our minds to jump all over the place like a monkey. I set aside an hour in the evening and do nothing but read. Try it. If nothing else you will have read a great book. And then you will become acquainted with one of the books key characters l'Russe Bezuhoff, who seems to have had all of the same doubts that you do, only exactly 200 years earlier. :)

hawkal 14y ago
Wow I need to get my head in your space. I tend to view completion as the achievement, not progress. This leads to single victories amidst a million defeats. An attitude not conducive to happiness. I'll definitely make a large effort to celebrate/recognize the small victories. Separately, I am 14% through War and Peace, and still don't know who I am supposed to care about. Does that come later or have I missed something?
- DenisM 14y ago
  I think it's very important to set apart entire hour and make sure nothing intrudes. Having spent a solid block of time on an important purpose feels like an achievement, but if I get interrupted I feel I feel as if I did neither thing well, a waste of time and mental energy. Once again, I stress the important of guaranteed reserved block of time. As to the book itself, I am the most intrigued by very detailed descriptions of the character flaws of various people. Each person in the book serves to demonstrated a certain set of weakness of the character, framed in a suitable circumstance. In each one I recognize myself (and sometimes people around me), and this creates a strange feeling - on one hand it's somewhat disturbing and disgusting when laid so baren in front of me, on the other hand it's a relief to know I am not the only one to feel or do X/Y/Z. It's also humbling to know all these things were there 200 years ago... So, in that sense I care about all of books characters. :) Another thing is that you're probably overwhelmed by the sheer number of characters in the book, I know that I was. Concentrated reading makes it easier to remember most people, so that helps a bit. However when it's time to re-read the book I will probably take a piece of paper and write all characters and their relationships down. Writing things down while reading a book is something I think I will need to learn to do also for other books, as well as for reasons other than following the plot development.
thatusertwo 14y ago
Thanks, this is good advice - life is a series of small wins and loses.

by DenisM 14y ago

hawkal 14y ago

Wow I need to get my head in your space. I tend to view completion as the achievement, not progress. This leads to single victories amidst a million defeats. An attitude not conducive to happiness. I'll definitely make a large effort to celebrate/recognize the small victories. Separately, I am 14% through War and Peace, and still don't know who I am supposed to care about. Does that come later or have I missed something?

DenisM 14y ago
I think it's very important to set apart entire hour and make sure nothing intrudes. Having spent a solid block of time on an important purpose feels like an achievement, but if I get interrupted I feel I feel as if I did neither thing well, a waste of time and mental energy. Once again, I stress the important of guaranteed reserved block of time. As to the book itself, I am the most intrigued by very detailed descriptions of the character flaws of various people. Each person in the book serves to demonstrated a certain set of weakness of the character, framed in a suitable circumstance. In each one I recognize myself (and sometimes people around me), and this creates a strange feeling - on one hand it's somewhat disturbing and disgusting when laid so baren in front of me, on the other hand it's a relief to know I am not the only one to feel or do X/Y/Z. It's also humbling to know all these things were there 200 years ago... So, in that sense I care about all of books characters. :) Another thing is that you're probably overwhelmed by the sheer number of characters in the book, I know that I was. Concentrated reading makes it easier to remember most people, so that helps a bit. However when it's time to re-read the book I will probably take a piece of paper and write all characters and their relationships down. Writing things down while reading a book is something I think I will need to learn to do also for other books, as well as for reasons other than following the plot development.

thatusertwo 14y ago

Thanks, this is good advice - life is a series of small wins and loses.