Just inTime()
While waiting for my late flight to Oakland and on the flight itself, I spent time blitzing through the Time Management book I picked up at LISA last week. I think meeting the author of the book helped inspire confidence in the ideas he has presented in his book. I’m about halfway through this 210 page book, and I’ve already started to implement some of his suggestions in my daily life.
The problem with being a system admin, and in my personal life as well, is that I have a flood of projects I need or want to do, family matters that have to be attended to, yet still manage to keep a social life. My apartment is a mess, I’m unorganized, and it isn’t a problem that I’ve spent much time fixing. Routine is something I try to keep, but during the next few weeks of shopping for gifts, holiday parties, and family get-togethers, I’m likely to fall apart.
So far I’ve adopted establishing a routine. The first is to start using my PDA, the Treo 600. Yes, I use it as a phone, but I almost never use the calendar or todo list. I’m going to get Missing Sync so I can keep a mirror-copy of what I keep on my Mac when it comes to scheduling. Second, I’m going to put events in the calendar as soon as I commit to them, and also check to make sure I haven’t double booked.
I’ve already constructed a todo list, based on what needs to be done today, what can be deferred, and what can be done over time. Did everyone notice I called them back today? I made and kept an “A” todo list. I might actually get to bed at a reasonable hour tonight; I set a warning alarm to tell me to snap out of my online daze about bed time.
The ultimate plan is to unload all the ideas in my head as soon as they occur. If I need to write about it, I’ll write it down and get it out of my head. Instead of keeping my schedule in the precious little space left in my frontal lobe, I’ll put it in the PDA. I’ll track my short term and life goals as todos that have to be moved from day to day. I’ll schedule time to read, research, and stave off zoning out. The Treo can do all the hard work, and being synced to my computer will keep data from being lost. Failing that, I’ll get a PAA: Personal Analog Assistant. Otherwise known as a datebook.