Everbody is Emulating Twitter

First Facebook tries to mimic Twitter with a redesign which I detest, loathe and abhor. It has led to a serious and significant decrease in the time I spend on the site.

Now, beloved FriendFeed has done the same. Seriously? Seriously you guys?

Agh.

Airline Efficiency

Who would have thought that Southwest would blow away United?

From someone who hasn't flown domestic much (wait- at all), my limited experience led me to believe that something labeled a discount flier would have a 'discount' experience. My bad.

United sucked. Not only does having separate class sections rub me the wrong way (though it really shouldn't- people pay for it, after all), but I can't believe how crummy the experience was. Maybe I started off the experience sour because of a 2 hour delay for nothing! (Seriously, not "nothing" in the sense of "inconsequential," but "nothing" in the sense of "absolutely no comprehensible reason whatsoever.")

Perhaps, it was having a rather large person spilling out of her seat next to me on the United flight, where her sweaty thigh started sticking to mine and making slurping noises when I pulled away that led the Southwest seats to feel more roomy. Despite that unpleasantness, I don't think that's the case: I'm not a broad guy, but I couldn't tuck my elbows in next to my side in United like I could with Southwest.

Maybe Southwest got lucky. Complimentary snacks helped. But there's a chance that I just fell in the right circumstances. United, though... United- never again.

Key Ring

My next task in simplification:
The key ring.

It is a big jangly mess. It is bulgy, awkward and pokey. Plus, it makes too much noise.

I got a locking carabiner. Now I am ditching the many components, and taking advantage of the carabiner to hold only the set I need for each excursion that takes me out of the house. I'll take a house key and a key either for the motorcycle or car.

No need to carry both vehicle keys simultaneously. No need for stupid bank key cards. No room to carry the bike lock key, the amenities key, the file cabinet key, or any stupid keychain.

I am definitely past the desire to carry a bottle opener with me. Plus, it's better style to know how to do it MacGuyver style, like with a folded bill.

Productivity Break

With my environment clear, now I need to work on habits. I have a lot of trouble focusing, and thus use my time unbelievably inefficiently. I would probably be more effective with one hand behind my back because that might slow down my rampant use of the internet as a diversion. (Feel free to comment on the irony of writing on this blog). 

Anyways, here is one last binge of internet procrastination. Here's a shout out to my favorite distractions:

Anything with Charlie, mythical or otherwise.

People duped into doing horrible things for money. Especially when Ipecac is involved. 

There's just something about a baby swearing and reducing a grown man to tears...

The Landlord

And the Crown Jewel: You get to see David Hasselhof surrounded by dachshunds, flying with a motorcycle, and taking a bite out of a large live fish. I'm hooked alright. 

Thank you, internet. 

Alright, so it was just an excuse to enjoy these again. Not that I need to justify wasting my time thoroughly savoring the movies. That's probably the root of the problem right there. 

Pockets

I think I've just realized one secret to why women often look so good. It has to do with pockets.

They don't use them. Women do not use pockets.

Consequently, it allows them to be sleek and svelte. They don't have odd protuberances creating a craggy, lumpy surface around their midsection.

Men, on the other hand, stuff all sorts of things in their pockets, and then walk around looking like idiots with oddly shaped bulges in all the wrong places. There are probably only two places women really want to see bulges, the zipper and the back pocket, and only one of those matter...

The wallet.
But even that is only figuratively. You can have a credit limit of $200 or $200,000 and the plastic isn't going to change. It stays slim and sexy and doesn't bulge.


So, simplifying my life also includes simplifying my pockets, and has the added bonus of making me look a lot nicer. It's probably pretty rare that I need my Blockbuster card at the drop of a hat, or make an emergency trip to Costco before I get a chance to stop home to pick up the card.

From now on, all I will carry in my pockets is a nice money clip with cash, and ID and a credit card. The phone and keys can be relegated to a jacket pocket. There shouldn't be anything else is so vital that I can't be bothered to have to stop home to get it if I need in that rare, semi-annual event. I can step up and use a messenger bag or blazer for my phone, keys, and anything else.

Simple pockets, sexy guy.

Simplify for 2009

Since I've started organizing my behaviors, I've realized that I need a similar simplification of my surroundings. I am starting with my wardrobe. 

The philosophy is to keep fewer pieces, but with high quality, rather than many cheap articles cluttering my life. If what I have is nice quality, and well maintained, then I can get away with wearing it more often and still look sharp. 

So I'm keeping the clothes that fit best and look great, and tossing everything else that was merely passable. Besides, I have clothes than I'm not really using, which could make a big difference to somebody else. It's all about utility. 

Step 1: Footwear

1 pair black dress shoes

1 pair brown dress shoes

1 pair sneakers

1 pair workout shoes

1 pair boots

And flip flops. Since I'm in California, I can't give those up. So that's it. That's all I need. I've wasted enough time and space holding on to spares for some indefinite crisis that might rear up in the future. No more. Give them away. One more corner of my life simplified. 

Hacking My Week by Losing Hacks

Last post I ditched the mobius route of hack hunting.
Here is what my new week looks like:

Stay Organized
Everything has its place

It doesn't matter if its tangible like my clothes (either hamper, hanger, or drawer) or intangible (to do list, reminders). I simplified as much as I could- for example there are only two places I will ever record notes; one notebook and online with Google.

In addition, things must be taken care of immediately. If I don't immediately place my clothes where they belong, they end up on the floor. Very, very quickly it snowballs into a cotton avalanche.


Have a Routine
Organize Myself

If I can keep myself organized and in my place, I hope that will help me keep other things in my life that way. Now, I still plan on leaving plenty of unstructured time available, and I don't think I will ever break down if my schedule doesn't go according to plan all the time (flexibility is important, too), but having a guideline should streamline my life.


Limit Time on Activities
Don't be an information junkie

I'll admit another compulsion: I need to feel connected to people 24/7. I think I feel left out (low self esteem & abandonment issues?) if I don't know immediately what is going on. So the frantic refreshes of Facebook and checking Google Reader every 15 seconds is out. Here are my new rules:

- Only log on to email and Facebook once per day. Period. (I do mine in the evening after dinner). If I'm needed more immediately than a 1 day turnaround can provide, calling will be easier. Which leads me to...

- Call more often. I have to get over my aversion to the telephone. Maybe I like being able to thoughtfully compose and control something like an email, which I abdicate by phone. However, it brings more immediate results and minimizes much of the ambiguity in electronic media. If I have to leave a voicemail, then I can follow up with an email as well.

- Only check blogs once per week. I waste time checking every hour, every day. Even then, if something is posted, it's disappointingly short. I like to enjoy my reading, so if there is more than one post, I'll enjoy perusing it that much more. Rarely will anything have too much material to go through after a week's wait. (Exception: News. I do that every morning, and limit myself to 30 minutes)

- TV with INTENT. I have this wonderful thing called DVR now, and I am definitely not using it to my advantage. This could be a real productivity tool. I will admit that the majority of my television habit has migrated online to Hulu, but for the ones that aren't there, I can record on DVR. Here's how it saves time:

I will sit down and turn on TV while I prepare and eat a meal. I waste time flipping through channels, inevitably settling on sub-par fare (read: MTV's Next or True Life). I think we can all agree that it's a waste of time. The worst thing is that I'll feel like my meal time and TV time have to match up. So, if I finish dinner before the show is over, I'll make nachos. Expectedly, the nachos last longer than the show, so I flip to another show to watch while I finish my nachos. Unless something particularly egregious comes on to turn me off the television, this cycle can go on for quite awhile. Doesn't sound particularly healthy, either, huh?

So, my last change is to give up channel surfing. I'll watch what I record (only the worthwhile shows- The Office, House, Southpark...) and forsake all else. Maybe I'll find time to take myself actual surfing again.