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Time Management Information |
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If Only Your Brain Was the Size Of That Of an Ant You Could Easily Implement Habits
A year and a half ago I was introduced to something called Swarming or Swarm intelligence. A big telecommunication company was actually mimicking ants to improve the performance of some of their products. Now if a big telecommunication company is modeling behavior of ants and produce better products that way, there must be something worth looking at inside the head of ants. Imagine for a moment that you are an ant. A worker ant - one of those responsible for bringing food back to the hill. You have just found something edible that you want to bring back to the hill. And before heading back you put Ant Rule #1 into action. Ant Rule #1: If you find something edible you must mark the spot with a scent before heading back. Simple rule - right? So you leave a tiny drop to "mark the spot" Once back at the hill you unload your loot and head out again to find more food. Now as an ant you really don't have the massive mental capacity necessary to remember where you found the food. Ant Rule #2 steps in. Ant Rule #2: Head in the direction of the strongest scent from an "I found food here"-marker. Simple rule - right? So you head in the direction of the strongest scent. It isn't the maker you left yourself, but apparently some of the other ants found food that was closer to the hill. Or maybe there was more food available, so more ants have visited and left more markers. Anyway, you head for the food, leave a marker, head back to the hill, and then heads back out again. But this time there is no food left at the marker, and you can't pick up the scent from other markers. Ant Rule #3 steps in. Ant Rule #3: If you don't know where food is, just start walking in a random direction. So you pick a random direction and start walking. A few minutes later you pick up the scent of an "I found food here"-marker - and you are back in business. Now, listen closely: "When I snap my fingers you are no longer an ant" SNAP! Back in the realm of the humans? - good So an ant uses only a few simple rules for bringing back food to the hill. How many rules are in play when you bring food to the house? Thousands I guess. Get up in the morning, go to work, wait for paycheck, deposit paycheck, withdraw money from bank, compare offers, go to shop, find groceries, pay for the stuff, go home... And these are only top-level rules/tasks - each of these break down into smaller and more complicated rules about how we get up in the morning, how we behave at work, how we compare offers etc. Now you can't just live a simple life like the ant - the world we live and operate in is just too complex for that. But you can easily apply Ant Rules to your daily life to make it easier. And you can even use Ant Rules to create good habits. Let's say you want to acquire good eating habits. "Good eating habits" is a very complex entity, but what if you break it down into little Ant Rules? Ant Rule #1: When given the choice: Always choose sparkling water instead of soda. Ant Rule #2: Go for a walk right after eating supper. Ant Rule #3: Eat fish on Mondays. See, each of these rules are simple enough to be implemented with ease. And they can be implemented gradually so you are not overwhelmed with "all the new stuff" in your new habit. Another beauty of the simplicity of Ant Rules is that you can teach them to anybody. How about your children? Do they leave stuff around house? And can it be a real challenge to get them to clean their *entire* room? How about an Ant Rule that says "When you enter your room you must pick up one thing from the floor and put it in its right place" Do you think you could get your kids to agree with just picking up one thing instead of cleaning up the entire room? Now, I promised to talk about swarming and swarm intelligence, but one person with a set of Ant Rules can't really be considered a swarm? So where do you find swarms of people? In your home and at your workplace. What if everybody lives by the rule of fixing just one thing when they enter a room? - how much simpler would you think it would be to keep a tidy place? And how about at work? Which Ant Rules can you think of that would fit into your workplace? - Rules that your team or co-workers could easily agree with and that would make you function more effectively as a team or make it a more pleasant place to work? Copyright © Henrik Flensborg 2003. About The Author Henrik Flensborg is the author of "Beat Procrastination - Right Now!" - a free ebook that will reveal to you why and how you have been procrastinating - and what you can do about it. Henrik also publishes the Growth Focus newsletter that will help you move forward in life and business. He also owns the website http://growth-focus.com/ where you will find this and many other articles from his newsletter.
MORE RESOURCES: How to avoid procrastination with better time management University of Colorado Boulder Student Blog: Time Management Tips and Tricks Broadway World 7 Task Management Tips to Improve Your Productivity MUO - MakeUseOf Maximizing Your Time: How to Make the Most of Your Side Gig? StartupGuys.net Look for the Helpers: How Mentorship Can Help ICs Grow Into ... Built In Austin Hate working weekends? Try a time tracker Nature.com The 5 Enemies of Effective Time Management The Good Men Project Alumni Spotlight: Pia McCusker '92, Track and Field Brandeis Athletics Surveillance technology and worker productivity Fast Company Downtown is hopping! Let's go shopping! - Mississippi's Best ... Natchez Democrat Now Is the Time To Plan For Charging Infrastructure Needs Heavy Duty Trucking IZEA WORLDWIDE, INC. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS (form 10-K) Marketscreener.com Iâve learnt time management thanks to OTT: Pooja Gor Times of India Don't Learn the Wrong Lessons from Failure HBR.org Daily Chloe Higgins appointed Elon University Student Government ... Elon News Network Senior Mallory Roughton focuses on community building both ... Lees-McRae College Holding Court Suffolk University Pal, Kelleher receive Rotary Club Hat's Off award Woburn Daily Times Bronc Basecamp seeks to build culture at SJHS The Sheridan Press Paper vs. Digital Calendars: Which Are the Best? MUO - MakeUseOf Wright City FBLA sending 33 to state competition Warren County Record McIlroy confident in game and equipment entering Masters FRANCE 24 English All women should follow time management in Ramadan The Hans India City School Board hears about College Prep class Times-Enterprise Regents approve first tuition increase in 10 years for resident ... - University of Wisconsin System Regents approve first tuition increase in 10 years for resident ... University of Wisconsin System Professional Development & Health Consulting: One-On-One ... Digital Journal How the student-run business Treasures by Tresure takes bake ... University of Virginia The Cavalier Daily Why soft skills matter for young engineers Professional Engineering Marion County earns Zero Lost Time Safety Award from TAC Risk ... Marshall News Messenger Recruiting Rundown: Balancing Spring Practice with Spring Recruitment Sports Illustrated Time management: Fundamentals that change fortunes Business Daily Repairing the rungs: New initiatives to advance women leaders in ... ABA Banking Journal Effective time management tips and benefits The Business Journals Remote public testimony secured for legislative interim Oil City News The Book for a World That Is Running Out of Time The Atlantic Retired military mom finds love for teaching through school ... Coveleaderpress Biggest takeaways from week 1 of EMEA VCT 2023 Dot Esports âIn a World Thatâs So Divided..â: MLB Legend Alex Rodriguez Makes a Heartfelt Admission on the Importance of Sports EssentiallySports Top Solutions for Transportation Management - Logistics Viewpoints Logistics Viewpoints Program Officer - TĂŒrkiye ReliefWeb Day-to-Day and Marketing Assistant Pedestrian TV Calendar Troy Record Ace the UPSC Prelims with Effective Time and Resource Management Hindustan Times Ishan's job hunter tips part one: acing your job interviews University of Alberta Students gain skills and insight at annual CHYS Boot Camp Brock University How students can better manage their time Niagara Frontier Publications Federal Judge Strikes Down Obamacare Requirement for Free ... The New York Times How women thrive in the IT space The Manila Times Productivity: Stop Drowning In Work By Taming It With Process Investor's Business Daily UAE road safety experts tell motorists not to âmisbehaveâ on roads during Ramadan Al Arabiya English Chetan Maini: The Mobility Transformer Entrepreneur Website Assistant job with MAYNOOTH UNIVERSITY | 335053 Times Higher Education |
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