Procrastinators and Planners

A procrastinator will sleep his full hours and then will wake up for a coffee while watching the doves dangle on sagging electrical lines. He will gather his presentation for his speaking engagement in the last 30 minutes. After all, he only needed half an hour of preparation.

A planner will take the night to assemble his speech and materials. He will practice and anticipate possible circumstances to attempt control over the impending situation. Once all is polished, he will then rest and calm himself as everything is well-managed.

Is one strategy better than the other?

There is greatness in procrastination. The National Sleep Foundation argues that the workplace loses $18 billion worth of productivity due to sleepiness. A period of relaxation is requisite to optimal functionality of our own selves. Doing after resting is productive.

Social psychologists Dianne Tice and Roy Baurmeister studied how procrastinations affected college students. Those who procrastinated experience higher stress levels than those who didn’t. The time off balances the deadline scare.

But the door is slammed on procrastinators many times. Researcher Piers Steel called procrastination an “irrational delay”. They are called lazy, dumb and barren lads. Yet the world has known procrastinating achievers in the names of Leonardo da Vinci, St. Augustine, Bill Clinton and Abraham Lincoln.

Many have advocated planning. It is focused on achieving what needs to be done. It is more efficient as they use the time to gather resources for delivering the best output from sedate deliberation. They are the now-doers and no waiting in between.

There are also disadvantages of planning. Even after spending as much time needed for perfect planning, the unpredictable will come and errors will occur. If the planner can’t adapt to that, he’s done. But if everything happened according to the plan, the outcome is near perfect. Achieving planners include Confucius, Steve Jobs, Henry Ford and Benjamin Franklin.

Essentially, procrastination is leisure first before play; planning is work first before leisure. If the balance between leisure and work is not satisfied, there is a chronic problem. If the procrastinators waited too long for the best time, it will never come. If the planners tried to isolate every factor of the situation, he won’t be successful.

Anything could happen in procrastinating and planning. Both tactics have produced world influencers while the other edge damaged some who strategized badly. It comes down to what fits the person.

Are you a professional procrastinator or planner?

Modern Virgin Marys

We know what’s special about the blessed Mary. She conceived Jesus while maintaining her virginity. It seemed impossible and thus, miraculous. But women nowadays can do the same – skipping sexual intercourse and still have a baby growing in their belly.

People who had problems conceiving will resort to the In vitro fertilisation (which costs $12,400 per cycle). This process will extract the egg cell from the mother and sperms from the father. Specialists will then fertilize it in the laboratory and inject it to a woman’s uterus. There’s no sex involved.

Women have never worked more than they are working now. They occupy 46.9% of America’s workforce. The balance is expected to shift more towards the ladies since 68% more women earn a bachelor’s degree than men. With their focus on their careers, they have less time for family.

Their problem is their body clock. Fertility declines at early 30’s and the risk of miscarriage is at 20%. More complications arise as they pass the age 35, with increased pregnancy risks and after birth problems such as a 1 in 350 chance of the child having Down syndrome.

They counter their body’s declining facility by extracting healthy egg in their prime age of 20s. They’ll freeze it and store it in a bank for use in the future. Women can do what they want to do without fear of their expiration.

Would you choose profession over family?

9 Intelligences Make Everybody a Genius

If you’re an athlete, you’re probably dumb. If you’re a chef, you probably don’t have any other talent. But if you scored A+ in tests, you’re intelligent. You’re looked upon. It meant potential for greatness. This is how the world used to think.

Yet, IQ is a myth. Publicized research from University of Western Ontario could not find an area in the brain that accounts for IQ. There is no such thing as a measure of general intelligence. And not everybody is even exposed on the different types of intelligence.

Developmental psychologist Dr. Howard Gardner enumerates nine types of intelligence.

Linguistic Intelligence. These people utilize the power of words. They apply the complexity of combinations and meanings to express their statements.
Writers, comedians and salesmen share this intelligence.

Spatial Intelligence. These people have multi-dimensional imaginations. They appreciate a picture of any kind, including a map.
Surgeons, photographers, and makeup artists share this intelligence.

Musical Intelligence. These people understand music more than the average. These are the lads who can create or recreate music from scratch.
Singers, DJs and violinists share this intelligence.

Logical-Mathematical Intelligence. These people are the pattern, abstract and numbers embracers. They have the propensity to solve any mystery.
Scientists, pharmacists and chess players share this intelligence.

Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence. These people have the skill to coordinate their mind and motion perfectly. They’d rather pace, build and balance.
Athletes, magician and carpenters share this intelligence.

Interpersonal Intelligence. These people thrive with people. They interact, relate and understand them effectively.
Politicians, teachers and travel agents share this intelligence.

Intrapersonal Intelligence. These people are highly aware of their self. They recognize their own shortcomings and strengths, own their feelings and plans for their own directions. Entrepreneurs, researchers and freelancers share this intelligence.

Naturalist intelligence. These people are sensitive to natural forms. They value the wandering predators to the hovering clouds.
Botanists, chefs and farmers share this intelligence.

Existential Intelligence. These people reflects deep on human existence. They ask about life, death and the path.
Philosophers, psychologists and priests share this intelligence.

Comparison between people’s intelligent isn’t right. I can’t say I’m smarter than LeBron James because while I can beat James in algebraic problems, he’ll shatter me in a one-on-one basketball battle. And I can’t say that a chef is nothing more than a cook because I’m not the best person to experiment on food – a chef is the Einstein in that area.

This theory of intelligences proved that everybody is a genius in their own ways.

What are your intelligences?

What’s Up with Scientific Nomenclature?

If the doctor says you are infected with orthomyxoviridae virus, would you freak out? If the doctor walks out after giving you prescription, you would probably rummage for your phone and search for it. You would then learn that orthomyxoviridae is a family of influenza virus. It meant you have flu.

The scientific community has their own language. It is complicated, hard to pronounce and often threatening.

Scientific nomenclature is continually expanding its dictionary. In the latest update of DSMV-5, a bible of psychological disorders, Gender Identity Disorder was renamed as Gender Dysphoria. Although the purpose was to update the book to the latest information and to stray away from confusing transgender people as disordered, it seems like they’re itching to convert simple nomenclature to sophisticated terms.

Scientific nomenclature is for standardization of names. One breed of dog may look similar to another but a feature could render them different species. An owl may be called a different name in Russia. Organisms have varying common names per region. Scientific naming ensures that species are properly classified and international scientists can relate to each other.

Scientific names use Latin. It is a dead language; and unlike the languages we still speak today, it will not change. It is the world’s language when scientific discoveries exploded. And it is the root of many languages in the world, making the scientific names descriptive.

Like Latin terminologies are not confusing enough for normal people, the scientific language can be updated and have synonyms. The bobcats we know is once known as Felis rufus, and then changed to Lynx rufus. All bats whose generic name is Nycteris may also be named Lasiurus; thus Lasiurus borealis is a synonym of Nycteris borealis.

Maybe scientists feel good on sounding smart.

Do you bother to pronounce the scientific names right?

Begging as a Day Job: How Much Does It Pay?

While the red traffic light is a lapse time for us, it’s a go time for beggars. They model their cardboard with scribbles that say homeless. Each car is a potential client for their business so they won’t miss their chance to promote their proposal. And then you’ll see that the car in front of you is sold, handing out a five. The beggar then fished his pocket, drew out his thick fold of dollars and added the five on top.

It could be faster to break your $100 bill to smaller denominations with beggars than in banks.

You can also see them in sidewalks and overpasses. Some of them are bold enough to write why lie? I like beer. I bet your job is not as easy as sitting, drinking beer while collecting money.

This seems to be a lucrative venture. How much does it pay to be a professional beggar?

Director of the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing Michael S. Scott wrote that $20 – $50 is the median daily income of beggars and it could be as high as $300. This is true for “affluent beggars” Jason Pancoast and Elizabeth Johnson as $300 is their good day but $800 is an all-time high. They earn $30,000 – $40,000 annually asking for change.

It depends on how committed you are in begging as a career. Doing this like an eight hour job will reap decent dollars, but extending the hours will of course add up income. Location is also a crucial factor as you don’t want to position yourself in a poor neighborhood. Instead, you’ll do well in a business center of the city. It depends hugely on how pitiful you looked. I’ve seen a blond girl with red lipstick claiming to be homeless on the street. It may or may not be true but my change will go to the baying bald man with battered clothing and a baby on arms in the brumal night.

A professional beggar can read researches on who are likely to pass on their free money. Between 50% to 60% of college students contribute to the beggar’s income. Men like to impress their dates so a couple is a giver. Visitors like conventioneers and tourists are “already psychologically prepared to spend money”. Diners and shoppers are reminded on the contrast of their wealth and the beggar’s poverty.

Even institutions hire people to beg for donations. A university pays 10% of all the money solicited to the fundraiser. Michael O’Mahoney, head of SickKids Foundation, earned $624,103 in salary and benefits before his exit. Appealing to people’s heart to give and help is a serious business.

Since begging becomes a life rather than a job, there are inescapable issues. Beggars are looked down, even lower than just being poor and unemployed. At times, they receive violence from people who are intimidated by their presence. They also share the streets environment with the muggers and co-beggars who may fight over territory.

How much money do you give to beggars?

Hiring the New Best Friend

You will find all the skills employers wanted for hire in the job description. They prefer the graduates with years of experience. They like expertise on specified areas. They give advantages to multi-linguals.

You respond to them with your meticulously crafted cover letter. You edit and update your resume to meet the description of the person they’re looking for. This may be enough to land you a scheduled interview.

But the main deciding factor is whether they see you bonding with them. A study issued in the American Sociological Review revealed that cultural fit is the most crucial criterion employers are watching out in the job interview process. The candidate is evaluated based on his/her harmony with the “leisure pursuits, background, and self-presentation of the existing employees.”

It is enough to have the baseline qualifications and skills. The best person for the job is the best fit for the company. It is the congruence of the candidate’s personality and the corporate culture.

Evaluators are “predominately white, Ivy League-educated, upper-middle or upper class men and women”, said Sociologist Dr Lauren Rivera. Determining the usual pursuits of the interviewer’s background will help the candidates figure out their interests. Mirroring similarities will highlight a cultural fit.

Now that we know what kind of people they’d hire, they should include the following characteristics in the job description: likes hiking, fermented refreshments and Jimmy Fallon. They want to feel good when you’re around.

Do you bond with your employer?

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