Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Russia

One of my favorite pastimes while in class was reading a geography textbook. These days I often waste time reading such articles in new sites or wikipedia for a not-so-short break from papers. The culture, new people, countries and history always make me marvel and realize my ignorance. Here are some facts on Russia I found while reading some news.

"Russia has the largest known natural gas reserves in the world and is the world's second largest oil producer after Saudi Arabia. Oil and gas accounted for about 60% of Russia's exports in 2005."

"Alcoholism is a major problem. Recent research published in the British medical magazine The Lancet reported half of all deaths in working-age men in Russia are caused by excessive drinking."

"Russia has what the World Health Organization describes as the biggest Aids epidemic in Europe, mainly from a rise in injected drug use that followed the social and economic upheavals of the 1990s."





source: BBC

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Time management

For years, or more accurately always, I have been struggling to manage my time well, and tried to achieve many things, yet haven't accomplished as much as I wished. Looking back, it's so typical that I can almost identify routines. I can't excuse myself on the pretext of lack of experience, age or too much workload. I feel it's high time to break up from the bad tradition. Here are some thoughts.

1. Aim high, but be realistic.
I plan much and if I plan to do something in 3 month and it feels like a loose plan. But after a year, I find I've done almost nothing. Even if it takes a year, it's much better than nothing. Take unexpected stuffs into consideration and give your plan a break.

2. Set the time frame.
We become extremely productive right before some kind of deadline. I have the whole time for doing something, but I keep postponing it until I can't put off anymore. If you think you can do it anytime, you don't do it. You need to hold on to the time frame. This way, you can make what you dislike or you feel as a burden go.

3. Keep motivating yourself by consistently checking the plan.
If you look at the plan only while you're planning, how can you carry it on? Keep yourself motivated and stick to your original plan.

Friday, November 23, 2007

Let's do this

Okay, this is my first post.
Hello World~
Oh shit. I just revealed what I'm doing...