Robot Therapy
+ The Fienberg Method for Personal Achievement
One afternoon this week I was completely sapped of all forms of energy. Yet I had responsibilities to take care of. Lying in bed for the remainder of the afternoon was not an option.
So I did what I imagine many people are doing these days: I asked ChatGPT to ask me questions about how I’m feeling. I had it ask me questions about how creative I’m feeling, or if I’m in a more analytical state.
Together, we figured out that the type of work didn’t matter, I just had a general anxious feeling and that being in a quiet environment was not helping.
It was sunny out which was possibly one of the reasons for this unsettled state.
So with that awareness in hand, it seemed that the best thing I could do was to pick up my laptop and go to a patio and finish the day at the cafe nearby.
I got everything done that I needed to and I wasn’t left with a feeling of guilt for letting people down because I needed to lie down for a while.
Three Ideas from My Notebooks
1. The kitchen collects clutter like no other place in the home. The only way I can deal with this is by setting a timer for ten minutes and doing a “kitchen refresh”. I start in one area and work my way around the two surfaces until mostly everything is put away and then the counters get a spritz of my own mint vinegar cleaning spray.
2. Before folding laundry, the best thing you can do is to sort it into types of clothing. Otherwise it’s a big jumble of shmatas and it’s unappealing to tackle. The sooner you can deal with it after the clothes are dry, the higher your chances of preventing a pile of clothes on aisle
3. When you’re out and about and you get a new idea for something that has to get done, use Siri/Google to create a reminder for you. Then that reminder has to get added to the right list later on by taking the time to sort through the pink slips that have collected on your virtual desk.
All of the ideas going back to May 2023 are located in The Ideas Index:
The Fienberg Method: Taylor Swift Deep Dive
I am helping niece Phoebe get her guitar gear ready for camp. I am trying to prep her on how to be useful as a musician. If you can play songs that people want to sing to, you will be approved.
Society is tough: When you are slow to communicate your value, people dismiss you and then you have to work on getting their attention all over again. Do your homework and be prepared to wow people.
Campfire music is a lot of chord strumming, but the guitarist keeps the rhythm. They are pretty much the conductor, the metronome and the backing band all in one shot.
So this challenge is a good place to start The Fienberg Method for skill acquisition and personal development. I want to build the Khan Academy of music.
If you don’t watch these videos, the main takeaway is as follows: Understand what the final result that needs to be achieved is. Then work towards making that happen.
As I do this deep dive into Stay Stay Stay by Taylor Swift, the process of learning the chords and the rhythm is secondary to the goal of being able to pick up the guitar and whip this song out with only a few seconds notice.
If someone hands you a guitar at a campfire, how fast will you be able to call out Stay Stay Stay and get it going?
In order to achieve this goal, everyone must start with a few songs and work to get them licked. There is no glory in being able to play 100 songs poorly.
Learn your first few songs properly and the skill will radiate into the other songs that you learn afterwards.
Video 2 I will put right here because it has Taylor Swift sounds in it which might get flagged on YouTube shortly.
We’ll start off with adopting the professional mindset, no matter what stage of music you’re in. Then we need to get a feel for this song and listen to the melody.
YouTube link here.
Thanks for reading today, and have a great week ahead 🧡🥯🧡
Elliott