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.