About 3 months ago I was really looking forward to upgrading my iBook to a MacBook Pro. I was really feeling the sluggishness of my old computer and was really getting frustrated with it. I was spending a lot of my time on photo edits and photoshop is not the lightest program out there.
The only thing that stopped me from running out and buying one was the rumor mill keeps whispering about a new update to the apple laptops coming this fall. I decided to wait.
But then my laptop died. I took it to the apple store and got a quote for around $325 to fix it. I had the money, but if I was soon to get a new one, why not wait? So I spent 2 weeks without a computer. I got by with borrowing a friends from time to time, but that soon got frustrating. Especially since I was beginning to learn Objective C and Cocoa. I needed my own computer. I decided to borrow my mom’s iMac.
It has been ages since I have had a desktop so I wasn’t used to being stuck in one place. So this began my desktop experiment.
It has been over 2 months since I get the iMac and I have found that having a desktop is not that bad. They are more powerful out of the box then a laptop and they are relatively less expencive. And I didn’t even mind being stuck at home. Well, at least at first. But now I’m getting antsy. I miss the freedom the laptop gave me. I miss taking it to coffeeshops to work. I still spend time at coffeeshops, but that means my computer work is beginning to pile up and I’m running out if non-computer work.
So I’m beginning to think about a laptop again. I will, of course, wait till Apple releases the new ones in the fall, but I may break down and get my laptop fixed in the mean time.
And when I do get a new laptop, I will have a decision to make:
- do I get a MacBook Pro or get an air?
The air is much less powerful but is a whole lot lighter and easier to carry around. I have learned over the past month that I can gain access to a powerful computer when I need one. And I’m also hoping to keep the iMac. So do I really need the portable power?I’m not sure I do.
What my laptop needs to do:
- run Xcode and all related development programs.
- surf the web
- run keynote presentations.
All other things are much lighter in resource use, so if can do those things, It can do everything I need it to.
Now if only the iPhone would do those things.
July 5th, 2008
1:00 am
Links
Here are 5 of the best articles that I have read in the past week:
1. The Unsurpassable Productivity List: A Handy Guide to Getting Important Things Done (Zen Habits) - This is a post by Zen Habits introducing newcomers to their blog. It is a great summary post with links to many great tips.
2. 30 Articles that Will Help You Simplify Your Life (Mark and Angel Hack Life) - Similar to the previous one, this post has links to many articles on simplifying your life. There is a TON of info in this article. It’s well worth checking out.
3. 7 Steps to Completing Your Projects on Time (Dumb Little Man) - This is a good article for anyone with multiple projects to deal with. These tips will definitely help me with my projects.
4. Top Tips for Working at Home (Home Office Warrior) - This article is the result of the author asking all of his contacts for tips on working at home. This list is very detailed.
5. How To Visualize Your Success (Pick The Brain) - A good article on visualization and using that to gain success. This is an idea that I personally believe to be very effective. If you haven’t tried it before, read this article and give it a try.
This is a follow up to my Elementary Productivity Planner post.
If you put the Elementary Productivity Planner in place, you may still find that you’re having trouble accomplishing the tasks because you don’t have them well defined. That is where the Elementary Productivity Planner part 2 come in.
A Look At What We Have
Using the EP Planner we have set up a work schedule that allows us to work towards all of our goals and dreams on a regular basis. The result looks like this. 
Enter “Getting Things Done”
If you haven’t read David Allen’s book, I highly recommend going out and getting a copy. One essential point in GTD is the idea of the “Next Action.” When you make a to-do list, do you put general tasks on it, like “work on business plan”? Allen suggests that instead of doing that, we should instead think through each item until you get it down to the very next thing you can do on that task. For the Business Plan example, your next action might be “write a description of the physical property.” This is a manageable task, which makes me much more likely to do something than just “work on plan.” This next action list will make your Elementary Productivity Planner much more useful.
Setting Up Your Next Action List
You already have a list of all your projects, which you used to fill in the EPP. Now, go down that list and number each project.
Start a list for your next actions using the number of the goal to categorize an action. Be sure that your task is actionable and small enough to be an accomplishment in one sitting. If it isn’t, rework or break down the task until it is.
Also, place a context at the front of the entry (after the number) in the form @context. This will help you know quickly if you are able to perform an action at any given time.
Using the List
The next action list breaks down tasks so you have no question what to do next in a given goal. Here’s how to use the list with your EP Planner:
- Do all 2 minute tasks - Are there any next actions that will take less than two minutes? Get those done!
- Write the Next Action as soon as you complete one - This keeps your project rolling.
- If you can’t act on a goal, it’s usually because you are waiting on something - If this is the case, use @wait before the item you are waiting on and put it in your list. I usually underline the @wait, so it’s very clear.
- All goals should be represented on the Next Actions list at all times - They could either be a Next Action or an @wait item.
- Use the EP Planner’s schedule to pick a task - Start with the next action for the top item for today in the EP Planner. Once you complete that task, you can move on to next action for the second goal on the list. I always get the top item completed daily, if at all possible, as that means I am moving towards my goals.
If you missed the EP Planner post, click here to find out how to download a copy of the planner.
My obsession with productivity started way back in elementary school. One of my favorite past times as an eight-year-old was to do workbooks. Usually I would pretend to be teaching the material to a stuffed animal, but the real joy was in the workbook. I just loved answering the questions and filling in the blanks.
But a time came when I had too many workbooks going all at once and the act of choosing a workbook took as much time as actually working. I got rather frustrated with them and my indecisive nature, so I made up a way to eliminate the choice. First, I made a spreadsheet with the days of the week across the top and put seven rows below them (even though I had six workbooks to choose from). It looked something like this:
I then chose a workbook for each day of the week (I put my favorite one in twice to fill up all the days). Then I filled in all the rows by moving each entry down and to the left one spot, wrapping as needed. The result ending up looking something like this:
Some features of this included:
- Everything getting equal exposure
- Once a task is the main task, you won’t see it for a while
Now, moving up 14 years to the present, I’m looking to adapt this technique to my own life. The first obvious difference is number of tasks. Back then, I had six things I could do. Now, I have 11 goals and housekeeping tasks. That’s 12 things to fit into seven days.
This is easily solved by grouping tasks and assigning one task group all even numbers and the other task group all odd numbers. Because there are seven days in a week, the task will alternate. I leave my two most important tasks ungrouped. I created a separate table to help me with this:
Another problem I have is that some days I have more work time than others. For instance, I work at an office on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I take this into consideration when assigning tasks to days. Smaller and easier tasks are assigned to work days.
Getting Things Done - Each day I have to complete something towards my main goal of the day. This keeps things moving. But once I start getting tired of the first item, I just move onto the next one. The cycle continues until I use up all my time.
The benefits of this system, as elementary as it is, are enormous for anyone working without hard deadlines like me. It makes me work towards all my goals, not just my favorite ones.
In order to make this simple to implement, I created an Elementary Productivity Planner form. Here is what it looks like (both blank and filled in):
Want a copy of the Elementary Productivity Planner? It comes with a sample and a blank version.
PDF: Download Here
Numbers: Download Here
I hope to offer an Excel version soon.
June 29th, 2008
1:00 am
Links
Here are 5 of the best articles that I have read in the past week:
1. Create a personal productivity app using Wordpress and Twitter (Hack Your Day) - An interesting idea about using two technologies for something that is totally different from what they were meant for. It also sounds like a very useful idea. I’ve been having some trouble with the twitter plugin for Wordpress (I think the problem lies in the twitter API being limited due to Twitter problems), but as soon as it starts working again, I’m planning to set this up and give it a try.
2. 10 Ways to Save 10 Minutes Daily (Marc and Angel Hack Life) - A list that contains some very good tips. I really need to work on number 10: Productively Use Waiting Time!
3. Numbered Folders: the easiest way to keep track of works-in-progress (Academic Productivity) - This is an intriguing idea for anyone who has lots of project ideas. It’s like a folder version of GTD’s idea capture and process. The only down side for me is that I do a lot of work on paper… but I still may give this is try.
4. 5 Tips to Accomplish Low Priority Tasks (Hack Your Day) - This is something I really need! I have many low priority tasks clogging up my productivity line, as I’d expect many of you do too. Daniel gives some really good tips on how to tackle them.
5. How LaTeX Helps Me Write a Paper Without Microsoft Word (The Productive Student) - As a dedicated Apple fanatic, I hate Microsoft Word. But even if you like Word, using LaTeX can really help you focus on writing instead of how your paper looks or how many pages you have written. After reading this post, I finally set up LaTeX and am now using it to write a novel. If you’re hesitating because of the resemblance to programming, don’t worry. There really isn’t that much you have to write beyond your paper; Most of it is generated for you. Check it out!
As you see in a future post, I had to grow into my productivity. It wasn’t something that I just got suddenly. After implementing a system, it took small steps. Here are five small things you can do to increase your productivity and begin to grow into your own system.
1. List Your Goals - It all started with a list of 11 goals that I wrote for my summer. Some were big and some were pretty small, but all of them were doable. Having something to work towards made me much more productive right off the bat.
2. Keep a Journal - A journal is not only good for self-reflection, it is also good for tracking how productive you are. The first step to going anywhere is knowing where you are. I write first thing in the morning and the last thing before bed. It centers me and helps me create my day.
3. Make a Next Action List - Go through those goals and write down the very next thing you needed to do on that goal. When it is time to work you’ll just need to select something off this list.
4. Buy a Binder Planner - Get a planner that goes in a binder. I recommend Franklin Covey for inserts because their pages are wider than some of them. It doesn’t matter in what size you use (I use the compact size), just so long as your pages can move around. Buy dividers and note paper and set up a divider for each goal. Now you have a central place for goal notes and your schedule (and possibly your own journal).
5. Learn Scripting - On a Mac, learn AppleScript. Script out some normal routines you do on your computer everyday, like a morning web-checking routine. You’ll be amazed at the time saved.
