Names

In the past few years I have notice a habit of mine whenever I enter into a leadership position. One of the first things I do is find out the names of the people I do not know. Next, I make sure that everyone I do know knows the name of the new person as well. Why? Well, I think there is a certain significance in names and speaking them aloud that most of us have not realized.

Lots of people know my name, but when I think about it, very few of them actually say it. Most days my name is just used as an attention grabber. If my boss says my name, I know she has a job for me to do.
Strangely enough though, when most people call me out by name... it makes me feel special... significant. When I was in high school there was one girl that, even though I did not know her all that well, would always say "Hi Stephanie!" as she passed me in the hall. Something about how she always cared enough to not only say hi every time she saw me, but also care enough to remember my name always had me leaving happier.

So when I get back into that leadership position, I figure it doesn't take a lot of effort and still somehow is very effective in showing how I care just by remembering people's names.

What To Do If Pavlov Has Turned Against You

In high school I would always procrastinate on my english papers, leaving them until the very last second. That sounds normal, right? Every kid does that! Unfortunately, I inherited from my father the need to make all of my work the VERY best I can possibly make it. The night before any paper would be due was, therefore, a long one. So I ended up sort of creating a paper-writing tradition of wake-me-up music and all-nighters glued to a glowing screen.

This is the only way I can write a decent paper now. I try to start my work early, but when the sun is out my writing abilities vampiric-ly whisk away and out of sight. If I sit down at my computer in the middle of the day with the intentions of "writing my paper," somehow I will end up on facebook, blogging (Can you guess what I should be doing right now?), or checking my email. When I realize that has failed, sometimes I try to move to hardcopy, hoping this will be more productive; distractions still find me. I'll clean my room, inhale all the snacks I can find (this reminds me of a spongebob episode...), and even do other homework. Only when darkness seeps into my workspace and the deadline is fast approaching, does my prowess return to narcissistically take it's moment of glory.

How to be proactive when I get assigned my next english paper:
Option 1 - During the day, I should finish extra homework, clean my room, and take a long nap to prepare for the evening ahead of me. Then, once the sun is down, I can enter into the atmosphere that I trained myself to write in.
Option 2 - Trick myself. Pull down the blinds in my room and make myself think that my essay is due the next day.