What I learned this week: 04.25.16-04.29.16

• Amid the stress and sometimes chaos of a breaking story, I often silently repeat my newsroom mantra: One problem at a time. As it turns out, humans are really awful at multitasking. This article from the New York Times calls into question why we ever thought it was a desirable skill. And yes, I was able to read it without any distractions.
• Also from the New York Times, in addition to his more well-known literary/poetic exploits, Walt Whitman was also quite the proponent of fitness and self-help. He, of course, put his Whitman-esque spin on things.
• A professor at Princeton University published a CV of his failures. Apparently, it's the most well-read thing he's ever published. The Associated Press reports: "The list ends with a 'Meta-Failure' that the CV has received 'way more attention' than Haushofer's entire body of academic work."
• Tim Ferriss has come up with a better way to do everything, including taking notes.
• Never underestimate the power of momentum. Even something as difficult as writing consistently can become habit with enough repetition, I'm discovering.

I have no cause to complain.

Try and go a day without complaining. It's almost impossible. Whether you verbalize it or keep it internal, complaints worm their way to the surface, poisoning thoughts and attitudes.

I've been trying -- with mixed results -- to complain less. It's difficult to stifle the whiny voice that pipes up at the first sign of discomfort, or the slightest hint of insult. Taking it a step further, when I hear that voice start to chime in, I try to turn whatever it's saying around and find something positive behind it. This mental exercise is taken from this video by Jocko Willink. Watch it. It will get your blood pumping.

If for no other reason, I've prioritized eliminating complaints because complaining is not a constructive enterprise. From my experience, it produces only more negative thoughts and feelings. It further sours outlooks and dispositions. It's also contagious. I've seen it bring down an entire office. It is an ineffective use of time and effort.

If time is the ultimate commodity, and complaining is not a constructive enterprise, then why bother complaining? I have too much to do, and I'm sure you do, too.

Why there's never any excuse to be bored.

I wasn't focused on a project that I was working on today. Thoughts were drifting in and out of focus to the point where they were starting to sound like a detuned radio -- all static. I began to cycle through the same three apps on my smartphone, which is a telling symptom of boredom.

My family took a lot of road trips when we were kids. The drive to Michigan was the most trying. There was the distance to contend with, and there wasn't much to see in the way of scenery, just gray interstate asphalt and soybean fields. I filled the distance with my imagination -- stories I concocted about the things I saw, the people we met along the way, the names of towns that flickered by on roadside signs, or the dreams I had in the early morning hours as the asphalt whirred beneath the tires of the Jeep. I don't remember being bored.

I live in a house filled with books. I have an endless well of information at my fingertips. And I have a to-do list that needs to be attacked. But above all of this, I have my imagination. And for that reason alone, there is never a good excuse to be bored.

Passing the guard.

Something was off today. Jiu Jitsu was a battle this morning, but not the kind I would have preferred.

The early Wednesday class is usually small, and I tend to be the lowest-ranking belt there. That means I usually get a good workout (read: smashed), and I usually get a lot of coaching. This morning, the lesson on passing half guard was difficult for me to apprehend. The coaching was there. The workout was not.

Guard passing is one of my weakest parts of my game. I prefer to work from guard. It's easier to handle training partners who are often bigger, and I can use my Go Go Gadget Arms and Legs to make or close space. I blame my inability to pass on my build, but the truth is, it's weak because of my lack of attention.

I usually leave the mats exhausted and sore. The only thing sore this morning was my ego. There was no physical battle. The only fight going on was me beating myself up. While I get a ton of satisfaction out of leaving it all on the mat, this measured approach, emphasizing technique and focusing on what I suck at, is the path I need to follow. It seems obvious to say, but I'm not going to get better just practicing what I'm good at. 

How often have I fallen into this trap? I can rattle off a short list of things I gave up on without giving them a fair shot: math, art, learning music theory and improving my swimming technique. There must be others.

Noted. I'll be more vigilant.

Reading -- or not reading -- the signs.

Of all the self-help driven blogs on the internet, you found yourself here -- arguably the least helpful. This blog isn't here to tell you what to do. 

I'm reminded of a sign that hangs in my friend's house that reads, "If you wish to live wisely, ignore sayings including this one." This same friend just dropped 60 pounds with CrossFit, a ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting. You can almost think of this blog, or any other like it, in the same way as that sign. Read it. Don't read it. The medium is irrelevant. The message, too. It only has meaning if you act. Clearly, my friend gets it.

If you want to change, if you want to improve, if you want to push yourself, if you want to take on something difficult, it's on you. 

And for those of you who want it, here's a workout I came up with this morning. Perform each combination, followed by each exercise from top to bottom with as little rest in between as possible. Use a manageable weight, or just body weight.

Or don't. That's up to you, too.