Charles writing his life story, RESTly (10)

My 5th big transition --returning to Hong Kong and making career change--took place in late 1986. Thinking that I could not continue to stay in Canada in a state full of dilemmas, I flew back by myself to Hong Kong and started working in a SME at a management level, through the introduction of an old colleague. I thought that a new life could begin. But it turned out to be a narrow path again. I was forced to resign after working there for only 3 months, because I could not cope with the conflicts between three bosses and their poor management styles which contradicted to what I had learnt from the MBA course.

What followed was a few months of looking for a comparable position. In vain, I started to pick up some part-time courses to teach. Unfortunately at that stage, my wife flew back to Hong Kong with our one year old daughter from Canada and had to experience pressure, again!

Since then, I began to teach management subjects on contract terms at different universities and organisations in Hong Kong (PolyU, CityU, USU, UKU, HKMA, HKPC). Although income was moderate and unsteady, I was thankful that I could get away from the chaos of the business arena.

Out of self motivation and for career advancement, I spent the last sum of saving for pursuing a doctorate degree (DBA) organized by a British Institution (IMC, U.K.). After about 4 years of extremely hard work, I achieved this new goal in 1990. The Action Learning management approach (that I still strongly believe in) advocated by this Institution  was not much appreciated by the management academics I had worked with. By late 1990s, I received less and less teaching contracts from CityU (probably due to a mismatch between Action Learning and its academic culture) and I had to find other ways to earn income. Slowly I realized that God might not want me to get a full-time teaching post in a traditional University. 

Charles writing his life story, RESTly (9)

My 4th big transition--marriage, baptism and storms--took place in 1984. A new life began, with added blessings--meeting my first spiritual mentor Pastor Wan at Ottawa, being baptized by him, abolishing a 7-year bad habit of smoking (helped by the Holy Spirit), and marrying my wife Hannah. 

Life was full of Christian flavor. Through months of occasional chatting with me, and a course on contemporary issues, Pastor Wan had gradually changed my old values and thoughts, and building the spiritual foundation for becoming a 'salt and light' Christian. Through such polishing, God had converted me with an already complex mind into a more complex person. For example, I felt dilemma at the idea of working for a gambling business, even in its IT department, and for an organization which had a history of trafficking weapons in war times.

The sun stayed for only a short period, however; a new career storm came shortly after my marriage. For a number of months, I had felt that some behavior of my boss (facing pressure from the top, I guess) had been unethical. My dilemma to follow his instructions increased. As our conflicts had reached a certain level, I lost my job. What followed were horrible job hunting experiences that had wasted much of my time and energy. Bitterness and uncertainties regularly gave pressure to me and Hannah, as we were expecting our first baby! During the ups and downs of job hunting, for more than one year, I had taken a few odd jobs and received unemployment benefits. In such a way, I have experienced a turbulent life in Canada, a country famous for her peaceful environment!

不一樣的時間管理，爲活標竿人生 (Part 3/3)

不一樣的時間管理關鍵詞

(c) 選擇 

-(A) 和 (C) 活動是必需的 

-先石(D) 後沙(B) ! 如想要 (D) 項達標, 通常要犧牲 (B)項 

-財宝(價值)在那裏, 心在那裏! 選擇 「應行」的, 非「不錯」的

-不要「身不由己」, 要「分別為聖」! 重視神(不是人)怎樣看你
-‘Not-to-do list’ 比 ‘To-do list’ 更重要 

-要對付「大敵人」: 電視、上網、打機、美容、行街、parties、「飲茶」、閒談…! 有「價值」嗎? 是「基本」嗎? 是「沙」嗎? 

-復審「角色集」、'time wasters and savers' list, 等 

(d) 集中

-選擇後便要集中去做! 向着標桿直跑! 

-要避免「澡音」影響、迷失、隨波逐流 

-辨別做狐狸 Vs 刺蝟 

-有multitasking習慣嗎? 要改變嗎? 

(e) 紀律

-監控 (control) : 有時要說「不」! 一些習慣, 要堅决地去停! 拖延實踐、承諾是否合理? 是否逃避? 

-駕駛(steering) : 同行者、導師可提醒、鼓勵 

-有恆心, 為活標竿人生!

(f) 平衡

-配合個人管理 : 學習、角色、健康、溝通、情緒、壓力…品格 -平衝生活 : 在 PL, WL, SL

-預備時間處理突發事情, 避免壓力

-學習得息得力. 學習下放, 減輕壓力!

(g) 評估

-檢討、反省:「標桿」(石頭) 是否能實踐? 為什麼? 方法是否適合? 應否改良? ....

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