I have been wanting to record the events of a week in this way for a long time, but I haven't started writing yet. Today, I officially wrote the first issue because I opened my diary for this year. I haven't written a diary for four months. The last diary was in May, recording the news of the death of Zuo Erduo that I learned about on Twitter. Seeing those words reminded me of his discussions in the group, and I felt a sense of loss. The frequency of writing handwritten diaries has become lower and the content recorded has become simpler. So why not write once a week to record what I have seen and heard during the week, so I don't have to worry about the content not being rich and fulfilling.
There is an article titled "Chit-Chat Collection" in my blog. The publication time is irregular, and the content is similar to what I am writing in the weekly report. It integrates some miscellaneous topics for discussion. I wanted to continue using this title, but life is not just about chit-chat.
After a long time of conception, I thought about how to arrange the content of the weekly report. Currently, the one I like to read the most is the weekly report written by @Pseudoyu, which has been updated for more than a year, although it may have become a biweekly report or even a monthly report recently, it still looks good. Each weekly report has 2-3 topics, which can be seen as 2-3 blog articles when separated. Finally, it will record the learning, input, and output of the week. For now, I will imitate this format first and adjust it according to the actual situation later.
Start of School#
September 2nd and 3rd were the weekend and the time to return to school. On the morning of the 3rd, I needed to go to the textbook department to pick up the textbooks for the new semester. I returned to school on the evening of the 2nd, and as soon as I entered the dormitory, it felt like I entered a messy "dog's nest". Suitcases, basins, buckets, clothes, and delivery boxes were all placed in the room, especially one of my roommates.
He is recognized as the most careless, unhygienic, and untidy person in the dormitory. I have seen him not brushing his teeth or washing his face in the morning since the first year. He applies moisturizer and sprays perfume on his face as soon as he wakes up. He stuffs socks in the drawer and throws socks on the table. He doesn't change the bed sheets, duvet covers, and pillowcases for a semester (there has been some improvement until the third year, he changes them once a semester, and I usually change them every half a month if I am diligent, and once a month if the weather is bad). There is something even more serious. A bucket of dirty clothes can be left in the dormitory for a week without washing. Once, he washed them but forgot to hang them up, and after another week, the clothes that were washed but not hung up became smelly again. Now there is still a bucket of dirty clothes that he changed ten days ago in the dormitory, and I haven't seen him take a shower either.
Encountering such a person is quite speechless. I have reminded him many times, but there has been no change.
I have heard from senior students in the past two years that there used to be a school bus, but it was canceled for a while due to the epidemic. This time, I saw the school bus operating again when school started. It has a similar appearance to a sightseeing bus and can accommodate more than 10 people. The ticket price is 1 yuan, and it goes from the south gate to the cafeteria, which is quite far away. However, the bus speed is slow, so it's nice not to have to walk under the sun in the hot summer.
Pomodoro Technique#
On the first day of class, the teacher recommended several books, including "The Pomodoro Technique" by Francesco Cirillo, who is also the inventor of the Pomodoro Technique. I have heard of it before but have not actually used it, and I don't have a deep understanding of it. So I spent a few days reading this book.
The content is not much, mainly about how the Pomodoro Technique works in individuals and teams. My initial understanding of the Pomodoro Technique was a timing tool, setting a 25-minute alarm clock, working or studying during this time, taking a 5-minute break after 25 minutes, and then setting the alarm clock and continuing to work. After reading the book, I had a revolutionary understanding of the Pomodoro Technique.
It is indeed a timing tool, but its purpose is not only timing but also to improve the efficiency of individuals and teams. By calculating how many Pomodoro units of time are needed to complete a task, you can predict the amount of Pomodoro time needed for similar tasks in the future. At the same time, the book also mentions an important aspect—focus. How to maintain focus mainly involves reducing distractions, including internal and external distractions, which can be gradually reduced through the Pomodoro Technique, thus achieving focus during work.
The tool is simple, and the method is easy to understand. There is a sentence in the book that makes a lot of sense:
Many time management methods fail because they add another layer of complexity to complex tasks.
This reminds me of note-taking software. Are note-taking software with low learning costs and easy-to-use interfaces more popular?
New Domain Name#
Changing the domain name was the biggest change in my blog this week. It is described in detail in "Hi, Yinji!". It doesn't have much impact on me. The main reason is that the new domain name is more pleasing to the eye than the previous one. As for search engines and the like, I don't care much.
@Chen Cangjie and @Han Yu both said, "You finally got rid of zuofei.net." I realized that I made the right decision. It's better than the previous name spelled out in full followed by .com.
At the same time, it happened that on the evening of September 7th, I was still hesitating whether to register. Under the influence of @Han Yu and @Chen Cangjie, I decided to register. The next day, Google Domains closed the registration and transfer channels, only allowing renewal or transfer of existing domain names. The low-priced domain names in the Turkish region no longer exist. However, I am very curious about what the Chinese blogging community will be like in ten years and what changes there will be among familiar bloggers.
Interesting Things and Objects#
- He Cai Tou's "Another Tag Filled": He Cai Tou said that his tag" 槽边往事 2"has filled up with 1000 articles and will soon start using a new tag" 槽边往事 3". From 2 to 3, it took less than a year and a half to write 1000 articles, an average of 2-3 articles per day. Although He Cai Tou said in the article that he is against persistence, these 1000 articles are not the result of persistence, but I think it is another kind of persistence in a sense. Without goals or external motivation, relying on habits or love in one's heart, it is also a kind of persistence. It's like writing a blog, never thinking about how many articles or how many years you have to write, writing for 5 years, 10 years, or even longer in habits and love.
- Paolo Amoroso's Journal "Why your blog still needs RSS": Why does our blog still need RSS? This can be a way to test readers. RSS is one of the few choices for blog authors to establish direct communication channels with readers. Even if there are few people subscribing to your blog, those few RSS subscribers are more active and valuable than the many social media users who do not read or click on links. Regardless of whether search engines can search for articles, RSS users can always get the latest content, which is the loyal readers.
- TV series "Towards the Republic": I saw someone recommend this TV series on Twitter. There are no resources in China, but the complete series is available on YouTube. I watched the first episode a few days ago, and the beginning was particularly interesting. The people below were reporting military and political matters, and Li Zhongtang was still eating with vegetables in his chopsticks, not paying much attention. But when he heard that there was a problem with the parrot for Empress Dowager Cixi, he immediately stopped eating and fell into deep thought.
- On September 9th, I achieved a small achievement of "going to McDonald's alone". I used to eat KFC and Tasty more because they are close to the school, just a turn left and a turn right. Now McDonald's, KFC, and Tasty have become very popular with coupons and promotions. My impression of them when I was young was that they were expensive, and my parents never took me to eat them. Now there are discounted sets, Crazy Thursday, and other activities, and I feel much cheaper than before. But I have to say that I think KFC is better than McDonald's.
- On September 10th, doing housework and organizing things gave me a very fulfilling and satisfying feeling. After tidying up the messy desktop and room, they became clean, tidy, and orderly, and my heart became calm, and a sense of accomplishment naturally arose. I tidied up the dormitory a little bit in the morning, but there are too many things, so I have to tidy them up slowly. The inner calmness is also increasing little by little.
These are the contents of this week. I hope to review my every week in a relaxed and calm manner, and I hope that friends who subscribe to my blog can read my sharing calmly and continue to love their lives. Life is not just about chit-chat.
Thanks to @Pseudoyu for sharing the cover image template. The background image is a wallpaper from the Huawei Mate60 series.