It took me twenty-one years and privation from family to realise how the martial law employed by mother for my upbringing was a blessing in disguise. Mother's penchant - which sometimes flirted with obsessiveness - for immaculately done bed, sofa and wardrobes never enticed me to the extent it did to her. Nevertheless, in the process, all this was deeply ingrained into the back of mind. Now, in professional life, the Five-S lessons hence sound ridiculous.
However, this is not applicable to each and all. Master, for instance, is an utterly disorganised creature even after hailing from similar bourgeoisie. He is one of those who take the paltry alibi of nature to carpet their laziness. 'Dust is a protective cover,' Master quips every time I point at the tons of dust lying atop the TV, books, pile of newspapers, refrigerator, kitchen platform and utensils. 'Picking and placing things you need, at obscure locations, is a gargantuan futility,' is the repartee when I request to fold the mosquito net in the morning, to hang keys on the stand, place utensils in the cupboards and hanger the clothes in the wardrobes. 'Everything is within the reach of my hands,' comes the reply when I convince him that his condo is more akin to trenching ground and not beautiful.
Thankfully, Master doesn't exist at workplace. The problem, though, persists. Most of the colleagues find themselves surprised when they are unable to locate the document kept 'right here.' Each one has six drawers - four small and two big - and full full almirah to keep documents. Given that, the supply of folders and files is unlimited. Inside their PCs, the 80 GB hard drive is stuffed till the brink with documents, songs, videos and all. To use folders to segregate irrelevant documents is, however, Greek to most. When boss demands a file, most fumble with the OS search feature, which shows more irrelevant thing than relevant.
Being organised is not being pedantic. It's being efficient and at the same time, elegant too. The difference lies in the activity one does to get the work done. Are you finding or searching, is all what matters. Time invested in organising room is well encashed with a single compliment. Time is precious. Those who value it, seek for efficiency. Others, who have no qualms in wasting it, a la Master, tag efficiency as unnecessary overhead and elegance as needless extravaganza. Long back, while learning databases, I came across a conclusive statement: 'The time spent in storing the info in organised fashion is paid off handsomely, when the lookup time is insignificantly negligible.'
Alas! Not many read databases. Not many of those read, do it for understanding. And a little of those who understand, are agile enough to implement it (read Master).
Being organised is not in many peoples' capacity. Hence proved.
However, this is not applicable to each and all. Master, for instance, is an utterly disorganised creature even after hailing from similar bourgeoisie. He is one of those who take the paltry alibi of nature to carpet their laziness. 'Dust is a protective cover,' Master quips every time I point at the tons of dust lying atop the TV, books, pile of newspapers, refrigerator, kitchen platform and utensils. 'Picking and placing things you need, at obscure locations, is a gargantuan futility,' is the repartee when I request to fold the mosquito net in the morning, to hang keys on the stand, place utensils in the cupboards and hanger the clothes in the wardrobes. 'Everything is within the reach of my hands,' comes the reply when I convince him that his condo is more akin to trenching ground and not beautiful.
Thankfully, Master doesn't exist at workplace. The problem, though, persists. Most of the colleagues find themselves surprised when they are unable to locate the document kept 'right here.' Each one has six drawers - four small and two big - and full full almirah to keep documents. Given that, the supply of folders and files is unlimited. Inside their PCs, the 80 GB hard drive is stuffed till the brink with documents, songs, videos and all. To use folders to segregate irrelevant documents is, however, Greek to most. When boss demands a file, most fumble with the OS search feature, which shows more irrelevant thing than relevant.
Being organised is not being pedantic. It's being efficient and at the same time, elegant too. The difference lies in the activity one does to get the work done. Are you finding or searching, is all what matters. Time invested in organising room is well encashed with a single compliment. Time is precious. Those who value it, seek for efficiency. Others, who have no qualms in wasting it, a la Master, tag efficiency as unnecessary overhead and elegance as needless extravaganza. Long back, while learning databases, I came across a conclusive statement: 'The time spent in storing the info in organised fashion is paid off handsomely, when the lookup time is insignificantly negligible.'
Alas! Not many read databases. Not many of those read, do it for understanding. And a little of those who understand, are agile enough to implement it (read Master).
Being organised is not in many peoples' capacity. Hence proved.
