Aging

Father's health is deteriorating quickly. At the age  of 79 now, he is not able to walk.

Just about 6 months ago, we were trying to stop him from riding his motorcycle. At that time he could hardly balance himself on the bike. We  went through the phase of putting up stern resistance to his request. At that time, we weren't just having strong opinion - he already had 3 accidents in which he fell from the bike.

In the recent weeks, he has not been able to walk even 30m from the road side the his favorite coffee shop. Furthermore, his coffee shop mates no longer able to engage in meaningful conversations with him because he was not able to understand their questions, therefore giving them wrong answers.

Yesterday he injured his head again and got 4 stitches from the hospital. After spending a night in the hospital on Chinese New Year day, he came back just now. Refusing to admit his loss of strength, he attempted to bath by himself. He ended up fell on the floor again. This time slightly injured the same place where he got his stitches, luckily not serious.

Unable to control his bladder, he often urinate on the floor and cause quite some inconvenience to everyone. We has spent many week convincing him using adult diapers would help everyone. But to no avail.

Whenever he tried to walk and unsuccessful, he always ask us, "Why like that, huh?"

Only until today, he is more receptive to the idea of diaper and wheelchair.

It seems like regardless of illness, old age and death, most of us has to go through denial before finally agreeing to face the inevitable.

He will have to live through this difficult period of the last few years of his time. In the mean time, we will have to learning about the spirit of filial piety, the how-tos of taking care of an old person.

Work and Study? Do a 'GTD'

Most people do part-time MBA. And it is nothing wrong with that. MBA are usually designed for industry-inclined folks, not for scholarly academicians.

Even MBAs are designed for working folks, it is still a big challenge to most of us. I have seen enough working people give up pursuing their MBA not long after the embark on the journey.

Work alone is bad enough, especially for those who work in tough workplaces. Switching our brains between study and work on daily basis accelerate our aging process.

One of the key skills needed to cope is to become more productive. But how to get our productivity up? Learn from the guru, of course.

There is a three-letter word GTD that represent a whole field of interest - Getting Things Done. It came out of David Allen's book "Getting Things Done":

From the moment we wake up until the time we go to bed, most of us have an overwhelming number of things to do everyday, at home, at school, at work. We have to go at a hurried pace just to get everything done, and sometimes we feel that we have too much to handle and our lives are getting out of our control. We get home tired, stressed out and worried about the things we failed to do and all the other things that we have yet to do the next day.
“Getting Things Done” by David Allen describes an “incredibly practical process that can help busy people regain control of their lives”, become more relaxed, and still get everything done. He provides systems, tools, insights, and tips on how to accomplish more with less effort, be happier and more successful individuals.

You don't need to rush to buy the book, yet. First, grab (download) a free copy of Productivity Magazine here. David Allen is interviewed in the first free edition.

Get a feel of this GTD movement, and take it from there. Put in some effort, you will be able to cope with your work+study life.