Journal Reflection: Institutional Culture

The beginning of this week was my orientation for the new job position I just started at a research institute associated with larger hospital. What was cool about this orientation was that they had all types of new hires in one orientation. Our group, which the facilitators said was a big group, included everyone from vascular surgeons to Business development specialists, and everyone in between. The majority of the orientation was focused on teaching us n00bs about the institutional culture. The culture at this institution, as they thought it, is one of respect and service. They demonstrated how it is imperative that employees display this through their behaviours. This theme was constant throughout the presentations, and throughout each exercise we had to do. Examples of these behaviours were saying my pleasure after a thank you, and always guiding a lost person to their destination. While my older colleagues did kind of make fun of the orientation, I noticed that they also performed these behaviours. The funny thing was, all of us new employees had some experience that reflected the values taught in orientation.  It is very telling that many of us were surprised that people actually practice what they preached. But even more so it says something about the institutional culture. Maybe I drank the kool-aid a little too fast, but I feel like I'm glad to be part of it.

The beginning

It was cold....yet again. I don't know why I bothered to do this cold morning shower challenge in the first place. It must have been some article I read somewhere, maybe Sylvester Stallone did it. I don't know. Anyways I wonder why I even keep it up, it's just me who knows about it, and it's not like I'm good at keeping promises to myself anyway. If that were the case, then I would call my sister every other day like I planned to.  I have to have better dialogue with myself in the morning... 

Damnnn what was that noise. I looked over to my bedroom table and there it was. "Beep beep beep". My alarm was going off finally. I swear anytime I set an alarm, I spend all night trying to anticipate it  waking up every two hours, checking all the time until the alarm actually sounds. I swear this, plus the cold shower, is like some sick self-sadistic torture thing. Again, better self dialogue. As I picked up the phone, the screen flashed with "Incoming call from.. Clement"

"Yo what's man what you sayin" - me 

"Nun man, I'm at your ends" - Clem

"Word, it's early man, and it's saturday" - me 

"Yeah man, early bird get that worm, reach downstairs in like 5" - Clem

"hahahahaha, nice try man - I'mma be down in 20, what we gonna do?" - me 

"Let's eat, then I've got an opportunity that we gotta talk about- breakfast on me" - Clem

"That ain't weak, it's the starting point"- Coach

The above video is a very interesting scene in the wire. The filmmakers and story writers captured something so real and the first time I saw it I was astounded. It describes a behaviour that I saw a lot when teaching and volunteering as a tutor. Some students out of fear or shame or sometimes even guilt will try to fail. This behaviour could manifest itself in jokes, acting out, or straight up defiance. It is important to remember that most of the time, these behaviours are a cry for help and that, if you stick with them, these students will eventually come around.

New Philosophy: Done is better than Perfect.

Shout out to my boy D-Millz for being my inspiration today.  He put some artwork up in the living room in our apartment conveying this message.  We discussed it many times, and came to the agreement that for larger projects like a talk, a thesis presentation, or even a lecture, getting that first draft done is way more important than making it good the first time. Once you have something done, only then can you fix it.

Even if you realize it's complete trash and have to start again, at least you got to that point and now know that it will be better. Nothing ever has to be perfect, and hardly anything ever is. The world itself moves on a tilted access- but it sure as hell makes that orbit. Multiple iterations is better than aiming for the one perfect draft. Aim to get the reps in!

Strangely, the practice of writing a piece everyday is kind of putting this philosophy into action. I don't necessarily care if what I wrote was the cleanest piece. However, I am not trying to write things that are poor or subpar. I am simply doing my best with the resources I have available each day.  This has caused me to be happy with what I have done, and get the words out on the page. Whatever you gotta do, get it done.

Deep Work: Book Review

I've spent a surprising amount of time of last year reading about ways to be productive (I had no internet in my apartment so books were my past-time). These books snuck up on me, and while some of the material was useful, I did find their advice and suggestions repetitive and most times totally ignorant of context. This brings me to one book in particular Deep Work.

Deep Work was a well-written and overall okay read. It was written by Cal Newport, a professor in computer science at Georgia Tech.  I am a HUGE fan of his blog: Study Hacks, and his writing style in general. We share some of the same struggles (dealing with academia) and some practices (I independently quite social media as well, and spent the past year living without internet at home). Given the our similarities and my general respect for what he has accomplished as a person and an academic, I was surprised that I did not at all find Deep Work that compelling. If asked, I would still recommend it as maybe a sporadic read, but I would not say it is a must-read or game- changing book. I will attempt to briefly explain why with this review.

The first part of the book makes the argument that Deep Work is important- he goes through a bunch of anecdotes about great thinkers and how they achieved many of their notable accomplishments through deep work. Newport then argues that working deeply is a useful skill that must be developed in knowledge workers. The first part of the book is well researched, and contains nice tidbits of insightful information.

The second part of the book is where, in my opinion, it falls apart. Newport details his four rules for deep work. They are:
#1: Work Deeply 
#2: Embrace Boredom
#3: Quit Social Media
#4: Drain the Shallows

To me what he describes here borders on preaching. Worse is that the evidence and behaviours prescribed are better described in other books and media. For example, the idea behind the neurological basis for Deep Work is way better described by Barbara Oakley in the learning how to learn course on coursera. Furthermore, some of Newport's ideas are also devoid of context, which makes them less applicable to audiences who don't enjoy too much leisure time or are not super well off financially. Also, the overall message that a more  productive life is the best type of life, and that grand accomplishments and acclaim are what we should strive for is a bit shaky. Newport addresses this in the conclusion to some extent but does not tell the reader much about the limitations and caveats of his methods and rules. 

In addition to the aforesaid larger gripes, Deep Work also justifies unprofessional academic behaviours such as not responding to professional emails. For me these were just a few things that pushed Deep Work over the deep end. 

A parable

Once upon a time, there was a student who went to a prestigious institute in a village in China. The student was from a very poor family and could not afford both living expenses and food. He rented a small dark room located on top of a restaurant and only ever ate plain rice everyday. One day, a friend from his village visited him and learned who he lived. His friend could not believe it, and asked him, "are you not sick of eating plain rice everyday?" The student replied "not really, because I have a trick". The student explained that timed his meals so that he ate his rice when the restaurant owner cooked for his customers. The smell of the food cooking below flavoured his plain rice. He explained to his friend, it was like having a different meal time.  The restaurant owner overheard the student's conversation and was furious. He was made at the fact that this student was using his smells for no cost and demanded that the student repay for all the food he has stolen.  The judge in the court was known as the fairest judge in all of China and promised to hear both of their cases. The restaurant owner angrily explained that the student was stealing food from the good people who payed at his restaurant. The student said he was not stealing but only trying to flavour his rice as he could not afford to eat anything else. After hearing their cases, the judge ruled that the student was indeed guilty of stealing. He therefore told the student to take out all of his money in order to repay what he had stole. The poor student emptied all of his money from his pockets,  the amount was so little that it only fit in one hand. As the restaurant owner approached, the judge said "hold on!" He commanded the student to pass the money from one hand to another. The student did and the money made clinking sounds as it passed from one hand to another. And then the judge said "all is repaid". The judge then dismissed the student and the restaurant owner. The owner was confused and demanded an explanation from the judge. The judge explained that the student paid for the smell of the owner's food, with the sound of his money.

Favourite Book: Around the World in 80 days

Although the answer has changed over the years, when people ask me about my favourite novel, I say Around the world in 80 days by Jules Verne. 

Here is a brief synopsis:

Phileas Fogg, a noble from London wagers his friends that it is possible to circle the world in 80 days given the new train system. The book is set in the late 1800s. Accompanied by his "valet", a frenchman name Jean Passepartout, he embarks on a journey that takes him through Europe (rather uneventfully) before passing through India. In India Phileas Fogg and Passepartout save a woman (Aouda) from a sati before they head off to Hong Kong then separately to Yokohama. Fogg, Passepartout, and Aouda then travel from Yokohama to San Francisco. In America they board the transnational railway but face some troubles including a duel and some Sioux warriors before making their way back to the UK by way of burnt steam boat.  Fogg an company are pursued by a detective, Mr Fix, who wrongfully believes Mr. Fogg is nothing more than a robber. Fogg’s unwavering character, demeanour, and honourable pursuits make for interesting dialogues between every character he encounters. His personality is unlike any I have ever read about, and lends itself well to the novel. Fogg makes a tiny miscalculation, and eventually wins the wager.

A few lessons I took away from this book were: 

 - You have to pay the price to get where you want to go. 

 - People will help you if you remain steadfast in your pursuits
 - In the pursuit of your goals, never forget your duty


Some Key Quotes:

“The unforeseen does not exist”

“A well used minimum suffices for everything”

“Are you a man of heart?” “Sometimes, when I have the time”

“No one heard this safe reflection- no one even acknowledged it’s justice”