Savvy Women

That is the question. Before I provide you with my answer to that query, I’d like to announce a major discovery.

A couple of days ago, I found this really cool blog called Rocketboom. The site describes itself as “a daily international news program based in New York City” that provides “a wide range of information and commentary from top news stories to contemporary internet culture.” Having had a good look at the site, I’d say that’s a fairly accurate description. They did leave out two important points, though. One, they failed to mention that the site features videos. And two, they forgot the part about how much fun the blog is.

This week’s Rocketboom video offering is Ellie Rountree’s “6 Gadgets to Help You Multi-task in Comfort.” Having watched it a couple of times now, I’ve come to the conclusion that I really like the “multi-tasking chair” and the Sony Sountina speaker system. (Sorry for that spoiler.)

Now, to get back to the question I posed in my opening. I asked it because I wanted you to think about multi-tasking. I know that the sort of lives we live demand that we do learn how to do it, but frankly, I’m philosophically against multi-tasking, as a practice.

Those who argue that we should turn multi-tasking into an art form are really saying that we should squeeze every ounce of productivity out of ourselves and never let a single moment go to waste. Actually, I think that sounds unhealthy and would, on the contrary, advocate that everyone get a little better at loafing (or kicking back or decompressing or however you want to say it) without feeling guilty about not always being at peak efficiency. After all, humans are not machines, and we shouldn’t try to imitate them.

Plus, too many of us are already spread too thin. What we don’t need to do is behave in ways that cause us to “fragment” or “dilute” even more than we already have. Rather than doing five things at once (and probably not doing any of those masterfully), we need to learn to focus and concentrate.

Gosh, I’m probably sounding like some kind of Buddhist or something.

I just love this video! It’s a wonderful example of creative thinking and problem solving in action.

Creativity and creative problem solving are two of my favorite blog subjects. For those of you who are similarly interested in these closely related topics, I’ve blogged about them here and here. The video is a case study in how a person can solve a problem, no matter how big, when a creative approach is used. In Angela Logan’s case, she is faced with the problem of needing to raise money to save her Teaneck, New Jersey, home from foreclosure. Her method of overcoming this challenge is one that everyone can learn from.

Firstly, I noticed that Angela very quickly identified a talent that she had and used it to great effect. She knew how to bake delicious cakes, and so she used this ability to raise funds. Watching Angela go to work in her kitchen reminds me of the time when I was in graduate school and similarly needed to augment my income. I had a job as a teaching assistant, but that didn’t really pay enough for me to live on, so I had to find a second job. This problem was made more difficult by the fact that I was so busy with my studies that I didn’t really have much time or energy to devote to such an undertaking. I knew, though, that I’ve always been a pretty good conversationalist and that I had some background as a teacher of English as a Second Language, so I decided to hire myself out to international students who wanted to work on perfecting their speaking abilities in English. All I had to do was sit and talk with nonnative speakers for an hour at a time and was paid quite well for doing so. Thus, the first step in creative problem solving is finding a tool that feels comfortable in one’s hand and then putting it to good use.

Secondly, Angela did not allow herself to feel overwhelmed by the difficulty facing her. Her problem was indeed large and thus daunting, but she was not daunted by it. That’s because she focused on the ” little picture.” She broke her problem down into small, manageable bits and pieces. This is made clear in the video when she set her first goal: to sell one hundred cakes in ten days. Reaching this provided her with the confidence she needed to set a second, larger objective. With each accomplishment, she built momentum, acquired confidence, and put a new piece of the puzzle in place. Rather than looking at the whole forest, she strategically decided to focus her vision on the individual trees that make up that forest.

Thirdly, Angela did not allow her pride to get in the way of her creative thinking. She asked those who are close to her to buy her first one hundred cakes, but she admits that it was difficult for her to do this. As an educator, I find that many students make the mistake of failing to ask for help when they have difficulties with the work I’ve asked them to do. Actually, I can understand this reluctance, on the part of some, because I am the sort of person who hates to admit that I am incapable of doing something wholly on my own. I suppose I feel I have to be self-sufficient in all things. Thinking this way, though, is a mistake and perhaps even a character flaw. Reaching out for help is not a sign of weakness. On the contrary, it is a way of becoming enriched and empowered, two very good things to be. Not reaching out for help, because one finds it embarrassing to do so, is like allowing one’s thinking to be clouded by emotionality.

By the way, my favorite book on creative thinking and problem solving is Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats, a really good read.

Take care until next week.

Troy Headrick
The American University in Cairo
Maadi, Cairo, Egypt
contact@savvy-women-magazine.com

I’ll be honest. When I first watched this must-see video about female empowerment, I became very emotional, especially as it became more and more about Sima Calkin and the story she had to tell.

Now, as I’m sitting here wondering where I should go with this blog after my opening paragraph, I’ve had a sudden inspiration. I’ve just remembered an old friend, someone I’ve known for a long time, a professional artist buddy, who once made a very bold proclamation during a conversation we were having about art and creativity and the like. In the middle of our talk, my friend asserted, “Art saves lives!”

After watching this video, I now think the same thing could be said about beauty and those (hairdressers and make-up artists and such) who help others become more beautiful. Beauty, like art, can save lives. All the evidence one would ever need to have to support such a claim can be found in Kabul Beauty School–Afghanistan.

From an aesthetic standpoint, my favorite part of the video comes in the opening minutes. The film begins in Kabul. There are numerous shots of people moving about on the capital city’s crowded and dirty streets. Many of those people are women who are clad in atrocious blue burkas. There is a soundtrack of traditional Afghan music playing in the background. Then, without warning, the scene changes. The viewer is now suddenly transported to a NYC fashion show, and there are images of female models, all wearing the very latest (i.e. not blue burkas) by the world’s great designers. These gorgeous women, some wearing very little (i.e. not blue burkas) are walking, in that bouncy way that models walk, up and down the catwalk. The music is different too. It’s now something very electronic and trendy. The juxtaposition of the streets of Kabul with this scene from a fashion show in The Big Apple is jarring. Those two places are literally (and figuratively) worlds apart. But, as the viewer is soon to learn, they are about to come together.

From an emotional standpoint, my favorite part of the video comes toward the end when Sima goes looking for her girlhood home and finds it. She breaks down as she goes inside the abandoned place and remembers what it had been like before she’d fled Afghanistan twenty-three years earlier.

While giving an interview prior to leaving for Afghanistan, Sima says something that’s very telling. She admits that she originally had misgivings about returning to her homeland. She wondered (I’m paraphrasing) what she had to offer. After all, she wasn’t a doctor, nor was she a nurse; she was only a hairdresser. What sort of contribution could a mere beautician make in her war-torn country? As the viewer comes to find out, the answer to this question is: quite a large contribution, actually.

I hope I don’t sound too preachy here, but there is a lesson in this for all of us. We can all make a contribution. We shouldn’t sell ourselves short.

Final comment: It’s an uplifting video that shows what can be done when a bunch of American women (some originally from Afghanistan) decide to help some of their sisters in a part of the world that is so often so misunderstood.