Effort needed to Put Effort vs Effort needed to make good decisions

 

Effort Needed to Put Effort vs. Effort Needed to Make Good Decisions

Human life is a constant negotiation between action and choice. On one hand, effort is required to put in the work—completing tasks, meeting deadlines, following routines, and persisting in the face of challenges. On the other hand, effort is equally essential in making good decisions—choosing priorities, evaluating alternatives, and shaping long-term outcomes. Interestingly, while both types of effort are important, their nature is different. Physical or mental energy goes into the first, but clarity, discipline, and foresight go into the second.

Effort to Put Effort

This is the energy required to simply begin and continue a task. For example, a student studying for an exam must resist distractions, sit down with the book, and concentrate on reading. A professional preparing a report must fight procrastination and dedicate time to writing. This kind of effort is often linked to willpower. It is demanding, but it is largely mechanical once initiated—once the work is started, momentum takes over.

Effort to Make Good Decisions

In contrast, making good decisions requires deliberate thinking, weighing pros and cons, considering consequences, and resisting impulsive choices. Decision-making is not always about volume of effort but about quality of effort. A poor decision, no matter how much effort follows, can waste time and resources. For instance, working hard on the wrong project or pursuing the wrong strategy can lead to frustration and failure. Thus, the effort invested in decision-making multiplies the effectiveness of the effort invested in execution.

The Role of Routine and Time Management

This is where routines and time management become powerful tools. When we build effective routines, we reduce the mental effort required for starting and completing tasks. Repetition turns effort into habit—waking up early, scheduling focused work periods, or setting aside time for exercise becomes automatic. Similarly, good time management minimizes wasted energy. By planning ahead, batching tasks, and allocating time for high-priority activities, we free up mental bandwidth.

This reduction in “effort to put effort” has a compounding effect: it preserves our decision-making energy. Research in psychology shows that willpower and decision-making are like muscles—they tire with overuse. If we spend the day forcing ourselves through scattered, unplanned work, we arrive at important choices mentally exhausted, prone to mistakes or impulsive shortcuts. But if routines handle the repetitive tasks and time management keeps us organized, we conserve our mental effort for the decisions that truly matter.

Channeling Effort Toward Better Decisions

Ultimately, success lies not just in working hard but in working wisely. A person who channels their effort into making better decisions sets a direction that magnifies the value of every subsequent action. By minimizing wasted energy on trivial choices (through routines) and avoiding the chaos of poor planning (through time management), we ensure that our best mental resources are available when we need them most. Good decisions lead to meaningful progress, and meaningful progress inspires consistent effort, creating a positive cycle.

Putting effort into tasks is necessary, but putting effort into decisions is transformative. Routines and time management reduce the burden of execution, leaving us with greater capacity to think, choose, and lead ourselves toward better outcomes.

My Dad - Balkrishna Kelkar

Growing up many times I have wonder what an Enigma my dad is !! He was many people in one. A guy who was fun to play and in the next moment he could be furious on some silly mistake or action. A man who showed some amazing fan following at work but sometimes felt like a stranger within home.

I grew up observing my dad very keenly, as his mood many times dictated the entire environment of our house.I was the guy who was entrusted the task of asking tricky permission like "Can I watch Chitrahaar(a TV show on Doordarshan)?" - Yes, asking for TV permission was a task :)

As I grew up I started understanding multiple layers that my dad possessed. In the process of understanding him, I unknowingly understood many sides of human behavior. The coolest thing of my dad is, that he allowed my to grow from his Son to his Friend. And now he is arguably my best friend.

Now, I have grown up and I still find it unreal about what he has achieved in his whole journey of Life. The amount of different experience and scenarios he has faced seems unreal to me in many ways. The courage and determination that he showed at different phases of life is incomparable.

Humans have dark side to them, but I prefer looking at the brighter ones, specially for my Loved ones.

My dad, being an stubborn and proud kid was a difficult nut to crack for my grandparents. Resulting in early experience of working outside and starting to earn money in restaurants in small village of Udupi,Karnataka. As he became a Teen, he came to the City of Pune, along with his Uncle.

He was a boy walking on the dambar (coal) roads for the first time, unaware that having footware was important until he had to face the Chatkas of Road,heated by of scroaching Sun of Pune. From getting his first Chappals to getting getting his First Car - he had a long journey ahead in this city.

For money he started working in restaurants and college mess. He does tell that he worked at B.J. Medical college and there he had seen renouned marathi Actor then Student Dr. Mohan Aghashe. My dad still recollects Dr. Mohan Agashe was a vibrant student and famous one in the college. I still admire my dad's ability to recognize and appreciate talent, when he was just in his younger days.

That gave me an understanding, that my dad was always a keen learner. He absorbed qualities from people around him, had the ability to see  bigger dreams. Thats should be the only reason, why he still continued to keep learning, be it a college tutor or any professional he met. He always tried to learn things from them. For a kid who started his education in Karnataka, to come in Pune - land of Marathi and survive, it needs tremendous amount of grit.

It still amazes me how he managed to teach me English Grammar in my 3rd Standard, that helped me get 85 marks (I still can't fathom that fact).

As my dad grew up, he did many other jobs for restaurants. Also he was crazy about driving. From Driving rented Cycle for an entire day, so that he could maximize his opportunity (paisa vasool we say) to Driving a Truck with two gears. He has driven anything that could move.  His craze for driving is still young at age of 65 :)

My dad had some crazy goals, coming from a village that had only language like Kannada and Tulu, he came to Pune. Learnt different languages like Marathi and Hindi. And eventually completed his graduation from Open unversity (IGNOU) with language of English... that is crazy!!!

I see many educated people still giving the reason of language barrier, blaming their early education in non-English language. And here I see a man, without caring for reason just going out and doing things, that a normal-fearful guy would hardly attempt.

His thirst for knowledge always amazed me. While I was in my Primary school, I could see my dad going to Computer class (APTECH). This curiosity led him to placed. 

There was a time where he got introduced to Excel and he asked me questions like how to copy and paste value. And suddenly there came a time whenhe taught me how to use a lookup in Excel. Thats a REAL leap of progress!

I always wonder, had he born in a age of free knowledge, what kind of Life graph he would have... Making me feel enamored when I think about my Dad. 

Dadu - I love you!!!!

- Shailendra

7th Aug 2020

Sushant Singh Rajput always Exuberated Hope and Possibility

Why going away of Sushant Singh Rajput matters so much....

Being a movie buff, I always looked up to interviews of Bright actors and tried to see if they have bright personalities in real life.
Over the period seven to eight years, I was impressed by the way Shahrukh has new things to say in every interview. A quality not many possess.
Being an adherent fan of Hrithik, I did see many of his interviews and by 2017 I felt he started sounding redundant. Until 2019, were his interviews came from a space which is not projecting an image but just a carefree expression of his thoughts. And that was refreshing and Inspiring.

Over the same period I did stumble upon the life of Sushant Singh Rajput.
I need to agree that I am still not a big Fan of his Acting Skills. And I feel he has lot more to explore (I am still talking as if he is alive).
After watching his last movie Kedarnath, it did not create a sense of Awe. That's possibly why i did not take to twitter and send a note to SSR.
But I never felt obligated to make him feel better by any disappointment.
This was due to my FAITH in him as a personality. The way he saw LIFE in general.

He was a man who was too wise for his Age, too Intelligent for his profession.
A man who could relate the number of Skills required to Survive this world.
A man who had the courage to put out his Dreams on Public portal and WILL to achieve them.
A man who had ability to experience life atleast ten times more than what a normal person would even think of.

Seeing his life, which was more about Exploring, Creating, Learning, Helping, Loving, Sharing and Caring. I always saw him more than a Actor.
I always used to tell my friends, "Man I am not sure how good an actor he will be. But as a person he will be achieving so many things. I want to see what he would have accomplished by age of 60 years"

Everytime I used to see Sushant's Post or interview, it used to challenge me and excite me with the possibilities that Life has in store.

In Sushant's initial interview, he had mentioned his Love for Acting.
"If I don't get to act in Movies, then I will do Television. If not, then I will do Theatre.
Even if that is not possible I will put out a tent and teach kids about Acting."
His pure form of love towards his craft made me realize his Spark for life.

He had a beautiful attitude towards Life, which showed a Path to many others.

So the news of June 14th 2020 - About his Suicide.
Do I want to believe it? Can I ever convince myself that he himself wanted to destroy his biggest project "LIFE"?
No. I don't think I would ever want to believe that he succumbed to some external pressure.
I would never like to credit any entity of this world to be so powerful that it could create such a amazing personality to crush.
Personally, I will always remember Sushant as a personality that Exuberated Hope and Possibility.

- Shailendra
06/30/2020

Why there are no Public libraries in India?

Why there are no Public libraries in India?

I have been hearing many stories of determination and will, when great people in India studied "under the street lights".
Yes, I admire the determination of those greats and the inspired minds that happen to crush the difficulties and get enlightened by knowledge in the books.

Its been more than 70 years and still a Hindi movie like "Super 30" shows a student studying under street light and we still have the same admiration for the determination and the willingness of the student to learn.

Isn't it shameful that more than two generations are listening to similar kind of examples.
Its sad, that still a young mind has to struggle to find the right content that will be useful for his studies.

"Sarv shiksha abhiyaan" - I have heard this a lot. Yes, it sounds optimistic and a platfom that gives opportunities.
But considering the Education industry and the high prices of schools, I feel that the ability to percolate education in India will still remain a dream.
Still the curious minds of kids, will remained deprived of answers, even though they have the ability to grind and find answers.

Being in US for couple of years in United States, I have always admired their Infrastructure. This Infrastructure includes one basic thing for each area i.e. "Public Library"

Public library - an area where local residents can have

• free access to books of all kinds. If a book is unavailable, these library have the system to loan it from other libraries
• Free Internet 
• Space to have group discussions
• Space where a adult can teach a child

Then I think, if this "Public Library" becomes a normal thing in each town of India. It will be a good learning space for each kid who desires to explore his field of interest.

What would be advantages of this public library :
1. Students wont have to invest in costly books to gain knowledge
2. Dependency on the School libraries will diminish, indirectly a kid wont be deprived of the opportunity to gain knowledge just because he cant afford a costly school.
3. Adults who wish to teach kids, get a space where they can teach.
4. Kids gets a safe and conducive environment to discuss their common interests and explore with other kids.
5. The culture of reading will get developed in a healthy manner.
6. Majorly, no student needs to study under a "Street Light"

If this concept of Public Library seems so useful, then why is this not implemented under "Sarv shiksh abhiyaan"?
Is it the Education industry that is aiming of increasing their revenue by multiple folds every year?
Is it the Rich people who are afraid of giving all kids an opportunity to grow?

In this age, where Information is so readily available. Its important to have sources, which can be considered as good source of Information.
I believe "Public Libraries" can do this.

I hope to see that one day, having a Public Library and using the Public Library becomes a culture in India.

A 'Magnificent' moment

June 15th 2019, Morning 11 hrs.
As I am on my way to acting class, a stop comes up on the Magnificent mile (Chicago). A street as per it's name is magnificent in all senses. It's mesmerizing to view the entire panashe and elegance of this place.
As the bus waits on a signal, I find a cute family of four. Husband was closer to this daughter of around 8 years. She was delighted to see the small fence guarding beautiful tulips.
The sweet girl was interested in fence as compared to the flowers... Can't help my stereotypical mentality.
As she urged and expressed her desire to walk on the thin fence, her father extended his hand. She grabbed his hand immediately and taking its support hopped on the side of this black fence. The glitter on her face was perfect moment to be captured. She then started to take one step at a time and started to test her balancing ability.
With her dad being around she never ceases of any confidence and kept marching towards the next step fearlessly. Her dad in a subtle manner was available for her support, also trying to give her confidence by leaving her on her own. As she continued to take next steps her confidence and smile roused and was brimming.. and her father watching her sour !!
A simple way that make us realize how soothing this dad daughter relation is.. it's just the matter of believing in each other.

A memory close to my heart

What a day that was, the trailer of most anticipated movie of year 2006 had dropped in. Dhoom 2 starring Hrithik Roshan.
I had glimpse of few moves of hrithik  and that made me and engineering college friends crazy. As soon as the movie released, I  rushed into the movie theater  and  witnessed the epics moves on big screen. An experience you hardly fathom. I came out being in Awe of Hrithiks moves on title track  Dhoom2.

For couple of months I remained in awe of those moves.
Until the annual day season started, known  for sports and students performing to famous bollywood songs.
I happened to stumble upon the DVD of dhoom2. Guess what, I  started to see that dance performance on loop, wondering how the hell does he perform a simple shoulder move in such stylish way...
I tried, but it seemed funny. Then I observed, and tried to replicate in front of my best friend - The mirror. Soon to my surprise I cracked that move !! What a joy that was...
I thought let's go for the next step... God damn, it was mighty difficult. And I required 1 entire week to crack that one. Just realizing i had cracked one of the most trickiest steps of the entire of choreography.
I continued learning its next steps.
During that time, my biggest critic my sister happened to see me practice.
Surprisingly, instead of demeaning me, she told it's good do it on annual day stage. This small piece of appreciation ignited the part of me telling... Let's give a try and let's audition.

I enrolled my name for dance audition and kept practicing along with my football practice.

The day of audition arrived. It was a tricky schedule.
I had a football match followed by my dance audition.
The football match was a high intensity game, exhausting me completely.
After the match i reached for dance audition, time to show my cool moves .
I started with a bang delighting the spectators and judges specially Mr Gaikwad the main judge.
But suddenly i was out of breath and could not complete by performance. Judges even though impressed were not convinced. Asked me to appear for another round of audition and kept me on waiting list.

Tad sad i went back and practiced waiting for next round of auditions, but that never happened and finally the day before Annual day I got the news that my dance act of only 2 mins 30 seconds was cancelled and did not find a place in schedule.
I was completely disheartened.

With a perplexed mind I woke up next morning, and reach college. The news of my act getting cancelled  travelled without my knowledge. It was 11 am , when my friend Ravi came to me and took me to Mr Gaikwad the organizer. And convinced him to give me a slot of 2 minutes 30 seconds.. it was 7 pm to 7:03 pm. Man... I just got my act on the schedule.

I was happy and nervous at same time.. from then onwards i kept rehearsing with the assurance of performance.

Finally it was 6:45 pm, 15 minutes to go.. i was in the backstage. Nervousness was at its peak. When My friend Ankur came and told.. Dude you will be fine, don't worry about the nasty crowd, you enjoy your dance.
As the final moments approached, my name got announced. And as I proceeded towards stage, i could see Ravi, Aniket, JD cheering for me. As I went on stage i watched a sea of people covered in bit darkness cheering on top of their voice and familiar voice of my friend Adsul shouting... Arree Shailyaaa.. i could feel the adrenaline rush. And then crowd went silent and music starts.

Then I had the best 2 minutes 30 seconds of my life.

Owning those 2 min 30 seconds alone in front of a crowd of around One thousand... Wow what a feeling that it.. a dream that I happened to achieve.

Mumbai the city with speed

Every time I visit the city of Mumbai. I feel amazed by many dimesions this city has. Everytime I leave this city and head to my City, I realize that next Destination won't have the ability to move with such a fantastic speed. The speed I always envy of and hope to have it in my city Pune.

Mumabi - whenever I hear this word. I imagine a city which introduced me to Local train and showed it Real potential.
Mumbai represents speed, dense population, plenty of Jobs.
Seeing the people move so fast, it seems that there is no space for slowing down, being depressed and stopping. Here whatever the situation be  people wake up and show up.
It seems everyone is running a Grand show known "Life" and want to make it Bigger and better. There no space for complacency.
Moving ahead is the only way of life here.
A never stopping city. That beats faster and faster every day. Hope it keeps inspiring many life and cities - atleast with its aspect of Speed and Energy.
Overall this city makes most of the 24 hours it has in a day.