Plan it Like a Military Operation
I am on a campus with many people participating in a training operation for military aviation. I am the pilot in a team that has a very specific mission to perform. We are to extract a small package from the ground as part of the operation.
It is the night before the big event and we are getting together in our teams. I meet my two team members outside on the lawn with many people coming and going. We agree to meet later and finalize our plans.
I am walking around trying to find a good spot to meet and have some ideas based on earlier explorations, including into some places that are likely off limits. I am going through winding hallways, back doors and small nooks to find a place. I realize I don't know where my team members arte. I am now rushing all over trying to find the others. I see all the other grounds settling into their planning sessions. I begin to panic and feel like crying. I realize the irony in crying at military operation.
I wake, upset and disappointed. I reflect for a moment and try and reenter the dream. I realize that I can plan the whole operation myself. Including detailed scripts for each participant. Hopefully the others are doing the same. When we find each other we can compare the plans and make last minute corrections.
I wake the second time with a renewed sense or hope based on organization. "Plan it Like a Military Operation."
Notes: The immediate idea that comes to mind is to put a time on each todo item on my list. Hard to get around. Shit! Being in a large institutional setting and not doing well is a common theme for me. Nice to see a happy ending. I was not able to fully rejoin the dream but greatly benefited from opening myself to the dream's agenda/theme.
What does the dream want? For me to get things done.
After tiny bit of research...from an article on What the Military Can Teach Us About Productivity
1. Make Your Bed
2. Be More Stoic
(The point is that “sometimes, no matter how well you prepare, or how well you perform, you still end up as a sugar cookie*… if you want to change the world, get over being a sugar cookie, and keep moving forward”.)
3. Find Your Battle Rhythm
4. Tackle Small Tasks Right Now (Less than 5 minutes)
5. Keep Going (A circus was two hours of additional calisthenics, designed to wear you down, to break your spirit, to force you to quit. During the training period everyone went to the Circus. The interesting thing, however, was that those students who were routinely invited to the Circus became stronger and faster: The pain of the Circus built inner strength and physical resiliency.)
After tiny bit of research...from an article on What the Military Can Teach Us About Productivity
1. Make Your Bed
2. Be More Stoic
(The point is that “sometimes, no matter how well you prepare, or how well you perform, you still end up as a sugar cookie*… if you want to change the world, get over being a sugar cookie, and keep moving forward”.)
3. Find Your Battle Rhythm
4. Tackle Small Tasks Right Now (Less than 5 minutes)
5. Keep Going (A circus was two hours of additional calisthenics, designed to wear you down, to break your spirit, to force you to quit. During the training period everyone went to the Circus. The interesting thing, however, was that those students who were routinely invited to the Circus became stronger and faster: The pain of the Circus built inner strength and physical resiliency.)
Increasing Your Productivity
(The military’s approach to productivity: To turn up and do the work, no matter what,)* For failing uniform inspection, the student had to run fully clothed into the surf zone. Then, wet from head to toe, roll around on the beach until every part of your body was covered with sand… you stayed in the uniform the rest of the day: cold, wet, and sandy. The effect was known as sugar cookie.
