15 points
The Failure by xkitnx
January 24th, 2007 9:52 PM
the task: no questions asked.
i was a fool to think i could do this, especially given my daily tasks. however, i am a fool that did have some fun.
12:20 am: decide to do task. write a big no on my hand to remind me, and write my starting time. i thought the starting time would just serve as a reminder and a motivator. little did i know what would happen.
8 am: just realized i had a conversation and wasnt even thinking about the task. had to mull over what was said, and realized it had questions. crossed out my previous time, wrote current time.
9:25 am: as soon as the opportunity arose, i engaged in another conversation and again, only realized what i had done after the fact. crossed out previous time, wrote down current time.
10:48 am: about to head up to a meeting that i had forgotten about when i decided to do this task. an information gathering meeting. and had just engaged in more question punctuated conversation. thought i might as well write the time the meeting would end on my hand at that moment. crossed out previous time, wrote current.
11:45 am: totally gave up on trying during the meeting. decided i would continue after the meeting. resolve wearing thin. crossed out previous, wrote current.
12:07 pm: in the middle of another conversation, i wrote this time down. shortly after, i gave up. i would be with people for the rest of the day. there was no possible way i could do this.
after i decided to end this task, my friend said "what if you asked only questions, instead of asking no questions?" and i said "yes, what if?" and off we went. that lasted for a good solid 10 minutes. then we decided it was too difficult.
during the conversation, a point was raised:
friend: "isnt this more fun than not asking questions?"
me: "but, if you have someone to do it with i think it could be just as much fun, dont you?"
seems my will and wits are not what i thought they were. the resolve was there, but my kneejerk reactions took a-hold of me. the conversations are killer. when i had time to just sit and think, i would think about how i could phrase things i would normally say as a question. it mostly consisted of me saying "tell me.." before what i wanted to know. but i only used it about 2x.
all in all, this made me appreciate the way we interact, and the way we gather information. perhaps i should try it on a day that is not so fraught with interaction. and work my way up. its all about the consciousness of your actions, dont you think?
i was a fool to think i could do this, especially given my daily tasks. however, i am a fool that did have some fun.
12:20 am: decide to do task. write a big no on my hand to remind me, and write my starting time. i thought the starting time would just serve as a reminder and a motivator. little did i know what would happen.
8 am: just realized i had a conversation and wasnt even thinking about the task. had to mull over what was said, and realized it had questions. crossed out my previous time, wrote current time.
9:25 am: as soon as the opportunity arose, i engaged in another conversation and again, only realized what i had done after the fact. crossed out previous time, wrote down current time.
10:48 am: about to head up to a meeting that i had forgotten about when i decided to do this task. an information gathering meeting. and had just engaged in more question punctuated conversation. thought i might as well write the time the meeting would end on my hand at that moment. crossed out previous time, wrote current.
11:45 am: totally gave up on trying during the meeting. decided i would continue after the meeting. resolve wearing thin. crossed out previous, wrote current.
12:07 pm: in the middle of another conversation, i wrote this time down. shortly after, i gave up. i would be with people for the rest of the day. there was no possible way i could do this.
after i decided to end this task, my friend said "what if you asked only questions, instead of asking no questions?" and i said "yes, what if?" and off we went. that lasted for a good solid 10 minutes. then we decided it was too difficult.
during the conversation, a point was raised:
friend: "isnt this more fun than not asking questions?"
me: "but, if you have someone to do it with i think it could be just as much fun, dont you?"
seems my will and wits are not what i thought they were. the resolve was there, but my kneejerk reactions took a-hold of me. the conversations are killer. when i had time to just sit and think, i would think about how i could phrase things i would normally say as a question. it mostly consisted of me saying "tell me.." before what i wanted to know. but i only used it about 2x.
all in all, this made me appreciate the way we interact, and the way we gather information. perhaps i should try it on a day that is not so fraught with interaction. and work my way up. its all about the consciousness of your actions, dont you think?
