Sorry... NO!!!

Everytime we are getting close to Holidays, things are always going crazy.

On the last weeks of the year it's time to make some reality checks and I hope to try and fix the last things.

In the "time management secrets", having a clear idea of:

1) where you want to go
2) when you want to arrive
3) how to go there
4) where we should check the developments
5) which are the results you expect

is crucial to define the priorities and therefore to identify WHAT is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY to do and WHEN.

Writing down, better, handwriting down your targets is generally the best thing to do.

Handwrite is something that has been forgotten but implies some activities that allow your mind to properly concentrate.

All the preparation phase, taking pencil and paper and starting from the white paper obliges you to make an effort to imagine the complete picture.

When you start writing down, you must create the story, follow the Whole process and finally read it again.

And then... you can judge if your plan is ok based on...

 

 

And then, once you have a GOOD, HANDWRITTEN, SIMPLE AND WELL DESCRIBED PLAN what will happen?

Now another point comes out. It's like in the videogames.
When you destroy a monster, the next one is always more difficult.

Impelementation is now the point.
And implementation needs:

1) TIME
2) FOCUS
3) RESILIENCE

I think, or better, I HOPE that your working life is like mine.
I start the day knowing what I should do and then routine things happen. The famous activities URGENT NOT STRATEGIC.
You can infact divide the activities in

-URGENT STRATEGIC
-URGENT NOT STRATEGIC
-NON URGENT NON STRATEGIC
-NON URGENT BUT STRATEGIC

Having said that everybody should run away from the activities non urgent non strategic and focus on the strategic ones, the urgency always wins.

And also the human nature goes that direction as the "sense of satisfaction" that you have when you solve an urgent problem is one of the things that make yourself feeling happy.

But is this what you SHOULD do?
Maybe not
But this is what everybody ask you to do... quickly please.
Now we enter into "delegation" discussions that are probably too long to be dealt here.
The real point here is that we must start saying NO.

There are even discussions on how to make it. THIS IS one of them.

This is also another link http://lifehacker.com/a-scientific-guide-to-saying-no where it is explained how and why.

This is a difficult task. Not a question to be impolite. Just a question to TIMELY AND EFFECTIVLY reach your targets.

Have a nice week end with the SANTAKLAUS running in Pedavena. Warm up!

 

As time goes by

Saturday morning is MY morning.
I am using it to try and do things I like among which there's also writing on my Blog.

I had a chat this morning with a friend. We were complaining about the fact that in the three months we will be travelling a lot and we will not have time to do our things. To try and get a life.

Try to be happy.

This is the point. And trying to be happy, for you and also for people that are with you, is quite difficult.
And this is not a question of being selfish. Being happy is not equal to selfish and the things that really count for you will only benefit of this.
To be happy though, you must have time to dedicate to things you like. To yourself, to your family to your passions.

You will never make ANYBODY HAPPY if your not happy yourself. And the point is to try and fix things that are going against this.

But the time is always the constraint.

I am a strong supporter of priorities and choices. Probably this is a direct consequence of my technical and engineering background. Quite schematic.

But not being able to decide the priorities, and consequently what must be done first and what after, will take you away from your target.
Stop being driven by the events. Put yourself in the driver seat.

This is a big change for most of us.
Being in the driver seat is a difficult target though.
You must decide what to do and what NOT to do. You must learn to say NO.
You must take the responsibility to that and to make somebody upset.

But what's the other choice?
Well... The other choice is that YOU WILL BE UPSET.

Time management is therefore a sort of initial step to try and be happier.

Choose what to do and what to be.

Set your Targets. Work to get them... and GO THERE.

DO IT

I like a lot this manifesto

This does not refer to Work only. This refer to everything.
The base is always the same though.

DECIDE WHAT YOU WANT TO BE

Enjoy your week end
 

GET OFFGRID

I personally think that the best way to save the resources is not to use them.

There are infact very few resources that are considered inexhaustible (will not run out in foreseeable future) – these are solar radiation, geothermal energy (that must be managed with care though), and air (though access to clean air may not be). The vast majority of resources are exhaustible, which means they have a finite quantity, and can be depleted if managed improperly.

The only solution is to use them when it is REALLY NECESSARY and to increase our overall efficiency.

I like the increased sense of "recycling" that is growing more and more in Italy and I am proud of Belluno, the province where I live, being the best Province in Italy.
However, even though the recycling is good, the energy required to re-use the products (glass, plastics, paper) is relatively high and the quality of the recycled component is normally low.

As it is a mountain area though, we have a lot to improve. We are still using a lot of wood and biomasses in general to heat our houses. But too many of them have a poor insulation.

Improving the Energy class from the typical values today (Primary energy required of about 250-300kWh/m2) to much efficient values (150 kWh/m2 can be achieved by insulating and changing the heating and domestic hot water system with a heat pump) would help reducing even the consumption of these biomasses and gas.

Going back to the discussion about decentralization that I made on my on of my recent Posts There always the sun.

The reduction of the requirements and the possibility to relocate the production of heating, electrical energy and every other need close to the area where it will be used will help improving the overall distibution efficiency.

A great idea, that seems coming out from an 80s post nuclear war scenario but is quite suitable to meet the above targets, is the OFFGRID BOX.

This container includes all the components to be self sufficient, or almost self sufficient, for:
1) Electricity
2) Domestic Hot water
3) Water

A DELOCALIZATION concept brought to the maximum level.

Check this video and see how it looks like.

Maybe not the solution to all the problems but a good start.
From Italy...

A Greataly idea!

Have a nice week end

 

 

 

The art of Candles

One of the ideas I had when I started my Blog was to use it as a possibility for the Italian Companies to show their presentation.

The first Company that has given me its presentation is the "Cereria Pernici" based in Bergamo.
It is a great pleasure for me to introduce this company that is mixing the typical Italian Style and Handicraft.

The factory was established in 1892 and has a story entirely familiar.

New shapes and colours, perfumes and fragrances are studied each year in the workshop in Bergamo (Italy) and the family, the heir of a more than centennial tradition, oversees all the phases of the production with utmost attention and care.
"Cereria Pernici" uses only high quality materials in the respect of the same tradition of excellence the founder taught them to pursue.

Thier candles are all handmade and produced with a long manufacturing process. Some imperceptible differences made by these particular procedures enrich our products and they are a precious guarantee of uniqueness for the consumer.

The pride to possess these creations, unique and precious, enchants our customers, spread in more than 60 countries all around the world and it is the asset that our family entrusts to our affectionate customers since 1892.

There are several different product lines that can be see at http://www.pernici.it/index.php?lang=en including a senses' path that Elena Pernici wanted to create and dedicate to body care, mind well-being and restoring massage gentleness.

Should you want to contact them, check the web or leave a message on this Blog.

Have a nice week




There's always the sun

It is known to everybody. Questa è la terra del sole! This is the land of sun, as an old song says.

And sun, with wind and water, has allowed Italy to reach a good percentage of renewable energy production.

In total 13,6% was deriving from hydroelectric and 10% from Geothermal, Photovoltaic and Wind.

 

 

The Photovoltaic percentage is growing and, even though I always thought this was not going to be an option for the production of energy, it looks like I was wrong. The fact is that I grew up with some prejudices.

1) a sustainable technology is the one that does not need financial help

2) a good energy source is what is available when you need it

3) a good energy source can be stored

In reality photovoltaic is not ticking any of these boxes.

 

The first one is probably the quicker to achieve but mainly because the oil extraction is becoming more expensive and less efficient, the oil price is leveled relatively high and the solar cells are produced in a low cost country that, maybe, is giving some help to become the main (I wanted to say the sole) manufactorer.

But who cares... Machiavelli said "the end justifies the means" and our target is to increase the renewable energy production.

Target achieved.

Now some other challenges open before us.

1) we still need to increase the energy efficiency of our system. Starting from the houses (in western Europe 70% of the buildings are built before 1980) and going to the transports.

2) we need to find a way to store the solar energy.

I know about new batteries for PV being developed.

Is there anybody having some information?

I always thought that fuel cells could have been the solution. Store solar energy by generating Hydrogen. I am probably too optimistic though.

This is the key issue. Solving this limit will further boost the solar generation and will also change completely the energy production strategy. Decentralization. Istead of having power plants serving big areas, we will have local plants serving cities, towns, blocks. Less transport losses. Better control.

Clearly we will not be able to generate this

 

 

 

but it will be sufficient for a more sustainable development.

But then, another big challenge starts.

What are we doing with the current powerplants?

 

We are already facing this as, due to the crisis and to the unexpected quick raise of the renewable, the italian thermal power plants are woriking below the "phisiological level". This level is the one that allows to be repaid whithin the budgeted period and therefore to repay who has financed the structure.

 

Less need, less energy, less money.

 

The solution that has been put forward is simple... Let us put the burden on the enrgy bill as an extra tax. So in our bills we should pay for the Nuclear powerplants that have been discontinued, to sustain the renewable energy and also to sustain the non renewable that have been replaced by the renewable sustained by ourselves. Isn't that silly?

What about turning our life from being oil driven to be electricity driven?

What about replacing the gas burners with heatpumps? What about increase the electric transport?

Maybe someone will tell me "yes, but you have signed contracts saying that you must buy a certain minimum quantity of oil and gas". Maybe. Maybe not. But in this case we need to plan for our future. Possibily more sustainable.

 

Have a nice week end. Hopefully with a lot of sun