What do you need to do better research?”
“More time.
This was a conversation between my History of Math professor and her research sponsors. She mentioned this during a lesson about Euler. We were talking about how Euler was involved in a lot of Math.
Regardless of what you’re studying, there is a very good chance that Euler had something to do with it. Even though he was not very wealthy, he had a modest upbringing where he had a lot of free time, which he used to think about math problems. As soon as he showed the ability to solve complex problems, he started receiving royal patronage to support his studies.
The most important takeaway, however, is that he had the time to think about and work on problems.
The reason I highlight this is that this reminds me:
Even if I have the best of everything—the best mentors, best resources, best study table setup, best computer, best books—if I don’t make the time for studying and practicing the material, it’s useless.
This is precisely the situation I am in.
Over the years, I have accumulated a very powerful computer, good gear, a good setup, amazing courses, and great books on everything I want to do, but there is one major problem: I have not made the time to engage in them.
Even if the focus were to shift from things I should be doing to building hobbies, if I don’t actively make the time to spend on my hobbies, I won’t get any good at it. Well, without dedicated time, I might not do it at all.
Making time to do the things that you want to or need to do is the key. Just as the sky is blue is a fact, our time being limited is too. We can only do so many things. The making of time also involves eliminating other things that you don’t want to do.
That is going to be my focus moving forward. I will see you next week.
Warmly,
Suraj