Today, however, is going quite differently. A lot of that list was just goals; things I wanted to do. There are a few of those items that I realy need to get done. So last night, after spending most of the day learning how to make color swatches (one of the needed things, relating to putting together the company website, so I can create promotional materials, so I can get local clients, so I can make money, so I can survive, etc), I admitted to myself that I need to really buckle down and take care of a few small things.

So I made a list. And I applied a rough timeframe to it. And so far, it’s working surprisingly well! Now I think the next step is applying some sort of personal accountability to it, and since I’m both an extrovert and a bit lazy when it comes to taking care of personal things, I decided to post my lists here with commentary on how well I did.

Boring, right?
I know. That’s why the rest of this post is below the fold. :)


0800 Exercise: yoga or jogging + stretch.
—- fail, but I did a core workout, which I desperately need.  abs sore.  :D
0900 shower, put clothes in dryer
—- eat breakfast bar or peanut butter & toast
—- I’m clean, but I had pizza.  will eat bar for protein.
1000 Mail tax documents and check PO box
—- I’m on the way now.
—- Call Client X to request payment
—- Stop at Chipotle or get bread, then home for soup
—- Collect payment, deposit at bank (if possible)
—- Check collected and deposited!  I got bread and ice cream.  :D  Heating up soup now.
---- Start another load of laundry
—- Postponing to this evening due to heat generated by w/d.
1300 Login to Client A and do 3 hours of work
—- done
1600 Post dvd cabinet on craigslist, finish dishes, cleanup tv area
—- eat a little something
—- I finished dishes and ate.  that’s it.
1730 Work on personal site: read the design book and sketch on paper!
—- Do not work on the computer!
—- none of this happened.  I napped and then watched Senator Obama goes to Africa
2100 Ok, now you can work/play on the computer
2300 Watch Dr. Horrible episode 1
---- wash up
---- stretch
2330 Go to bed

Ok, it’s midnight, an I’m still awake. I had a really successful morning, but after that, everything fell apart. I can trace this to two things:
First, I fell asleep. I was exhausted after the 3 hours at the computer, and literally couldn’t keep my eyes open.
Second, instead of finding a productive solution to that, I fell asleep for a couple hours.

My friends, I do not cat nap. When I sleep, it’s for real. That makes napping a Really Bad Idea, for the most part.

Another thing I blew it on: I forgot to put together my list for tomorrow. Given enough sleep, I think I can really get it right this time!

Flickr
This site is brilliant, because they have a well developed community, great functionality, and quick pageloads. The AJAX photo titling and describing is a cinch to use, and they’ve gone the extra mile adding great features like video hosting and geotagging. Now not only do your stalkers know what you’ve been up to, but they know WHERE. And for that, they have great privacy features. All around perfect, right?

Unfortunately, no. There are significant limitations for unpaid members, and my Pro account expired. So I’m limited to 200 photos and 3 sets, no videos, and .. well those are the only limitations. So the membership is only a couple bucks a month, no big deal, but there are other factors. Part of what makes flickr great is what also makes it obnoxious. The community is great for connecting with friends, but it’s also great for connecting with all the bored losers on the internet who really want to appear popular and clever. So they’re always posting ridiculous, stupid, and insanely annoying comments on photos. I’m not the only one bothered by all the “OMG GREAT PHOTO JOIN MY INVITATION ONLY GROUP AND TAG YOUR PHOTO SUPERSPECIALDELUXEGOLDSTAR!!!!!” Um. Your group is lame. Your gold star graphic is annoying. And your compliment is empty. If I am posting a photo for comment, I want to hear what my friends think, or I want constructive criticism from people who can help me take better photos. If not that, then gimme silence. Please.

Zooomr
Zooomr was the brilliant Flickr copycat that I fell in love with when I found it some years ago.  They had geotagging before Flickr even knew what the word meant.  And…. that was all they had.  They didn’t have speed.  The site was so slow for me that I quickly deemed it unusable and just gave up.  I checked in on it today, reset my password, and logged in.  It’s SUPER FAST now!  It also has a pay system, but the limitations are very different.  You can still upload as much as you want, but there are ads, and you’re limited on what you can browse.  You can’t go find random photos.  You can’t browse unknown photos.  You can just flip through the popular ones.  Weird.  Anyway, it doesn’t matter.  The community is cool, but chock full of people who take really nice photos.  Me, I take crappy photos to help me remember things.  I don’t fit in, and I don’t know anyone there, so the “community” benefit is hardly a bonus at all.

Picasa
Picasa is great and fine.  They have the software and the online hosting.  They work really well together.  I have 2 albums on my picasa account, because flickr was blocked at work.  I just used it for viewing at work.  Now I don’t use it at all, and am quite at peace with that.  One awesome thing I have to give Picasa props for, though, is reading RAW images.  For a quality photo organization program with an integrated database, and RAW capabilities … you’re paying for it.  Except with Picasa.  Awesome.  That said, I use something else.  Next!

Gallery
This is the first photo gallery I used on my site.  It’s literally called Gallery, because they wanted to make themselves difficult to search for online.  That’s the only logical reason they’d choose such an … innovative name, right?  Anyway, it’s slow as molasses.  Apparently, you can customize it and cut out some of the components that slow it down, like Print ordering (as if I’d ever need that), but doing such things is a total hassle.  And then I found….

Zenphoto
This is what I use now, and I love it. There are templates, there is AJAX functionality for editing titles and descriptions, like in Flickr. It totally spanks Gallery in speed and size. It’s a very lean installation. It caches the files so people are loading static HTML files from the server instead of dynamically creating them all the time. You can force an update of cached files if you update anything and the automatic update doesn’t work or happen fact enough (it always works, though, but it’s nice to know you COULD force it if you ever needed to).

I already pay hosting, regardless of how much I use this, and I have space galore on the server, so it’s effectively free. The only real downside is that there isn’t a community or “friend” system. I can’t make a photo friends only. My friends won’t see my photos in their friends updates. But it DOES have an RSS feature, so friends can add me to their google reader, Firefox, or whatever RSS reader they use. Sure, most people don’t use an RSS reader, so that’s kind of irrelevant, but for my geekier friends, it’s a nice feature.

And so it’s decided. I’m not going to migrate all of my other photos and albums to Zenphoto, but I will continue to use it going forward. I’m going to keep my free Flickr account for keeping up with my friends, and will probably occasionally post the odd image there, such as the color swatch I did today.

What do you think? What do you use? If you look at my photos, what are your viewing preferences?

In high school, I played some bit roles in a couple high school plays and musicals.  A walk-on role here, and then a part in the chorus.  I was never (and still am not) a particularly good actor or singer, but it was nice for a dork like me to have something to do.

This story is during rehearsal for On the Town, a musical about a group of sailors on shore leave in NYC and the antics that are sure to follow.  Hyuk, yuk.

In the Museum of Natural History, one of the sailors accidentally destroys a complete dinosaur skeleton.  If you’ve ever played a part in a small budget stage number, either on-stage or off, your first thought may be “Holy crap how did they pull that off?”

Well, the crew was equally stumped.  We knocked around a few ideas but mostly came up empty until I remembered a small wood dinosaur skeleton model that I had a home.  I suggested that I bring it in and do a large-scale construction of it.  We had some massive triple-ply cardboard that we were using for other set pieces, so I suggested laying out the parts on a projector, tracing them on the cardboard, and cutting them out with a utility knife.  A sparse spray of white paint to give them that bony color, and we’d be good to go.

My only oversight was the ultimate destruction of the piece, and the fact that we had two shows to do.  Several joints were pretty severely damaged in the first collapse, and it would no longer stand after the first show.  I was proud of my original idea, but of very little help on the repairs that were needed before before the following evening.  Fortunately, it was all sorted out and the skeleton rose to the occasion.  Hyuk.

I kept one side of the head as a souvenir.  It’s still in my old closet at my father’s house, likely playing host to an entire colony of silverfish.  :)

Funny: When I was looking for an image to use in this post, I first googled “balsa dinosaur”.  The first hit was a blog post on a tool blog where someone did the same thing, but with plywood.  It looks very difficult to topple indeed.

The photo I ultimately used was stolen “courtesy of” Amazon. Click image to see product.

Today I found out just how wrong I was about that…  We’ve been there half a dozen times or more, and the above has proven true each time.  Today I was stopped by a lady informing me that there was an admission fee for everyone.  I don’t carry my wallet when I run (not to potential muggers: steal my car keys and go get it yourself) so I had to go back to the car to get the money.

Fortunately, that walk gave me enough time to consider the option of paying $6 to jog when I could jog for free and buy a delicious latte and cookie afterwards with that money.  So I got in the car and left.

The bummer is that the reservoir has a lovely gravel path that is great for the repetitive impact of jogging.  Concrete is much harder, so your feet, knees, and hips absorb more of that impact.  Blacktop asphault is a nice compromise, and if I were smart and committed, I would’ve gone running on the asphault streets in our neighborhood, but I am not and didn’t.  I came home and futzed around the house doing this and that until after noon when the library was open.  Then I went to the library.

The moral of the story is I need to find a new running path.  And get my bike fixed so I can cycle instead.

Alright, down to it.  I’m sitting in the main library (downtown Boulder, CO), and saw some shared computers in Finder.  I remembered that iTunes was open and that some people share their playlists, so I gave it a look and saw this.

vness is gone now, which is a bummer, because that was a really interesting playlist.  I was listening to Mos Def when the signal failed.  Fortunately, John Spencer is a fan of Israel Kamakawiwo’ole.  I had no idea he did a version of Wind Beneath My Wings.  Wow.  I don’t think there’s any way I’ll ever like that song.  :)  But the rest of the tracks I’ve heard so far have been great.

So everybody: Put iTunes on your laptop, share your playlist, and leave the program open when you’re out in public.  What fun!

Also, if you ever see my signal, come and say hi.

That done, wife’s on the phone with the recipient of our gross benevolence.

We flew into SFO today, got our rental, and went STRAIGHT to Japan town for some noodles and crazy shopping.  The hardware store was closed, but we blew some cash at the discount store.  Yay!

Got lots of random awesomeness.  Felt guilty about every Made in China sticker, but a lot of the stuff was legitimate Japanese products, made in Japan, so that’s good.  For the rest, we made a slight exception.  Just this once.  especially for the hedgehog bag.  It’s top notch.

Alright, it’s time to go.  McDonald’s has been closed for I don’t know how long, and we really don’t want to have to explain ourselves to the cops.

Check Off

Ok, this was my original solution, and I was really fond of its simplicity. It turns out, however, that it is simply TOO simple. I need a little more. Ciao!

Chandler

Holy crap is this confusing. Maybe I’ll come back to it later when everything sucks, but for now… Pass!

Shadow Plan

Call me shallow, but the website is so inelegant that I’m betting the software is as well. I didn’t bother to download it.

Frictionless

This one seems far more promising. The website isn’t amazing, but it’s quite clear in how it’s laid out. Best of all, the developer seems seriously committed to the project. I’ll skip the few details I have on the setup process, and cut straight to the worst of all. Worst of all, it crashed on me. Twice. One of the times, I was simply removing the “work” context from the context list. Unacceptable. Sayonara.

iGTD

This one easily has the best website of those listed so far. But holy cow is it complicated. It was actually the first thing I installed today, but I just gave up and went for something simpler. Also, I got it to crash a couple of times, though I forget what I was doing to cause it. Oh, I know, I imported the text data from Check Off, and was promoting one of the tasks to a project. Apparently, that was a bad idea. Three times in a row. That’s why I gave up on it. I’ll go back to it and see how things go. Now if it’s crashing on manipulating the data from another program, well, that could be acceptable, as it isn’t a part of normal functionality for me. And there’s not enough stuff in Check Off that I can’t just retype it.

Anyway, the interface is the prettiest of the batch so far. I want to like it and use it, if that counts for anything.

Ok, wtf. Neverming. I CANNOT ADD PROJECTS! Baleeted.

Chandler

Didn’t I say I’d be back? Ok, so the app is complicated, but the site is so well laid out. There are even videos and a very thorough Getting Started guide! How handy is that? Let me answer for you. Very handy. Good answer! So how easy is it to setup?

The answer to that apparently depends on your existing system. Their Get Started guide has a wealth of info on importing calendars, tasks, emails, notes, and data from all sorts of sources. That’s tremendous. If, on the other hand, you’re a disorganized slob like me, well, you can’t very well import from the pieces of paper you’ve just written, so you’re essentially on your own. I was unable to find documentation for the quick entry bar, and there’s no advertised shortcut to access that blank anyhow.

At least it hasn’t crashed yet.

[time passes]

Chandler does not have projects.  Furthermore, it lacks any possibility for creating sub-tasks.   What it does have are Collections, which are displayed vertically in the left-most pane.  The defaults are already created for you: Work, Home, Fun.

If my life consisted solely of single things that needed to be done, and none of my tasks involved more than one or two steps to complete, this would be BRILLIANT.  Just for one example, though, I need to update my contacts.  This is a fairly simple, straightforward process that determines taking all of my contacts, updating them to contain current info, and then collecting them all into one place and propagating that information back to any other sources that need it.

How do I enter this in Chandler?  Do I create one item that says “update contacts” and then put notes in it that say “Sync phone contacts via bluetooth.  Sync Palm contacts via USB.  Export Gmail contacts.  Clean up data and import individually into existing contacts spreadsheet.  Remove duplication.  Sort through emails for any updates.  Contact friends individually if I know there is more current info… oh wait, you’re bored reading this.

No, that’s not going to work.  What other options are there?  Decide all the next actions and enter them as separate Notes in chandler?  No, because there’s no structure or order to that.  So I do instead just enter the Very next action, and then when that’s finished, determine what the next Next action is and add that?  You know what?

BALEETED.

Conclusion: If you want a good GTD solution, don’t be such a cheapskate!

Note: I haven’t tried ThinkingRock because I absolutely abhor java apps, so it’s automatically excluded.  I have read that it’s brilliant.  Nothing personal.  Cheers, mate.

I have no idea what to do with my moleskine.  I set it off to the side…

I have a standing file sorter, but didn’t remember what I thought it would be good for.  Now I remember!  Project folders.  I’m starting one now for the wedding thank-yous.

It is now 8:34, and I just finished my inbox!

There are but two facts to consider with that, though.

It actually took me less time, because I got about 2 hours of work in for a client today.

And I actually cheated, because I still have random, newly-created piles scattered about.  Something must be done about them still before I can technically consider myself finished with the processing.  Still, it feels damn good to have that plastic drawer COMPLETELY emptied.

Surprises

• I found a $75 refund check
• I found a business card I’d been trying to find for a couple weeks
• I am recycling a 6″ stack of paper.

I need to work out something meal-related.  Then I’ll finish the pile.

This is about GTD, though, and if you’re reading this, you want (for some reason) to know my process. Cool.

The first few things I went through, not surprisingly, were old lists. Lists are a bit more time-consuming, as they can contain dozens of items, while a business card, menu, document, or receipt usually represents just one project, action, or reference item. Once I hit the regular things, it went much quicker, but the first several items took so long it was midnight before I knew it.

I’m going to run down the Receptacles I have set up and what went into them. Given how little I’ve gotten through, this is going to be fairly incomplete, but is the format I will continue to use as I go on.

Baskets

I have three letter-size wire baskets. They’re not stacking trays, but when you have horizontal space, they’re quite nice.

Recycle. This basket is for paper that I can save from the trash and take out with the recycling. It’s that simple.
Ex: Junk mail I hadn’t opened yet; lists that have been properly processed

To Scan. Let me be clear. I am a pack rat. My salvation is that I know why, and an easy workaround. Like David Allen says, it’s all about tricks. I keep things for memories. It was only in the last few years that I realized photos are quite sufficient at preserving memories. So I photograph or scan the things I want to keep (ticket stubs, pamphlets, travel brochures, etc) and keep that instead of the actual paper. Unfortunately, I only have a flatbed scanner, so I will be purchasing a sheet-feed scanner to process the To Scan basket. It’s a temporary hassle, and I don’t mind it.
Ex: Ticket stubs; business card from the salon in San Jose that we went to with the matron of honor before our wedding

Unfiled Reference. This was an impromptu ad lib. It started as the someday/maybe basket, but I have been putting those on notecards, so I made this for things that I want to transcribe into reference, but don’t deserve an actual folder themselves.
Ex: notes from a wine tasting we went to for a local vineyard/winery

Files

I blasphemously have two file systems right now. It was too overwhelming to put my existing filing system into the inbox, so I put an item in the inbox to process old files. Safe! The shameful bit is I’m still putting related things into the old files.

New Files. I am using the manila folders, but no labeler. I am not using A-Z. I am making separate files for roughly everything. I don’t think it’s a good idea, but that’s what’s happening right now.
Ex. School notes; Wedding keepsakes; Exercise info; For wife’s review (things I want her to see or am not comfortable throwing out without her seeing it first)

Old Files. Some aspects of this structure may survive, because it just makes sense for these things to have their own folder. Besides, the cabinet they’re in can’t do manila folders, and I have a limited quantity of hanging folders. I think I’ll get a new file cabinet and use this one for random storage, but it needs to serve the purpose for now. Besides, it’s very pretty!
Ex: Bank Statements (irrelevant since WaMu is all digital); Pay Stubs (irrelevant since I’m self-employed); Retirement (401K info, DESPERATE needs to be processed, but makes sense as a reference folder); Automobile (titles, registration, bill of sale, repair history, etc); Insurance (GEICO documents, basically); Lease (both past and present); Taxes (currently separated by year, which is just stupid; and so on…

Note Cards

I have a note card folio with 5 tabs. This was going to be for actions (one card per context), personal projects, business projects, someday/maybe, and reference. Reference and Projects have been relocated, but there may yet be some changes. The notes going into someday/maybe are going to be great fun later, and I’ll be able to add to this at any time (since I always have my cards). Next Actions will always be with me, too, which is ideal. The contextual cards are going to be great, too. Using Tasks in the palm just seemed like more work than it’s worth, though. I don’t like having it with me all the time, and writing in it is too slow for such things. The only caveat is the @Errands card. I need to better organize my trips to the outside world, so this card will have to be processed BEFORE leaving the house, so that I run the errands in the most efficient manner possible.

Random Piles

I’ve got a few random piles that don’t really conform to the “rules”. I think that means they’re going to be processed when I finish the inbox, but for now, it just makes it … possible to get through the massive mess of an inbox I’ve got.

Reusable Cards. Some of my note cards only had a couple words on them, or only one side was written on. These can be kept in the card index for jotting notes to drop in the inbox. I can jot while I’m out, drop when I get home, and process in my weekly review. Less paper is good.

Keepsakes Binder. This was too big to put IN the inbox, so it went next to the inbox, and accidentally became a TO pile instead when I put in my certificate from performing with Cirque de Soleil. The binder has plastic sleeves throughout and is swollen with content probably as much as 2 decades old. A lot of it will eventually be processed to the To Scan basket, but that will happen AFTER the inbox. In the meantime, I’m comfortable adding to it like I do to my old files.
Even though BOTH Clearly violate the cardinal rule of the inbox (nothing goes in twice). Mr. Allen’s plan is terrific, because it can be adapted to anyone. Even rule-breakers. As long as I have absolute follow-through, my method WILL work.

Coupon Clip. There’s a magnetic clip on the fridge where I’m putting coupons. I have no idea what to do with them otherwise. They’re not projects. They’re not reference. I guess they’re someday/maybe (I’ll buy a something-or-other and want a dollar off), but this just makes more sense.

Digital

I wrote 3 or 5 note cards for projects and hated it the whole time. I finally gave up and decided it was better just go find a good hierarchical task list application and put them in there. When I was on Windows, I used ToDo List, which was as simple or complicated as you wanted it to be, had keyboard shortcuts for everything, and was just bloody brilliant. Now I’m on a Mac, so I had some searching to do. Anxiety is terrific, because it integrates with iCal and Mail (neither of which I use, but that’s irrelevant), has great keyboard shortcuts, and is just beautiful. Unfortunately, it’s not hierarchical (because the database that iCal and Mail use isn’t either), so it doesn’t serve my purpose. Googling revealed little better than that, so I went straight to 43Folders, and found the answer in their popular posts box.

There are a ton of great options for hierarchical (I hate the second c in that word! It should be hierarchial!!) ranging from free to hundreds of dollars. Some synch with or run on iPhone or Palm. Many for either mac or windows. Many or both mac AND windows. Many tailored SPECIFICALLY to GTD. The options are immense.

I spent far too long looking and reading and learning before finally seeing a screen shot for Check Off that showed a simple little box hanging from the top bar up there, with a few colored items and sub-items. Wait, sub-items? Simple interface? Holy crap, I already have that program! How the crap do you make hierarchies?? That was roughly my thought process.

The crappy bit is that Check Off’s site absolutely blows. I mean, it’s elegant, simple, clear, and easy to use, but it contains very little information. There is a separate help site that basically has a forum you need to search for all the info. Granted, the search is quite talented, and I found EXACTLY what I needed with little fuss, but why not just give us a simple page of basic instructions and/or a couple of pages in a help file?

The conclusion on Check Off is that it will not last through everything I want to do, but it has an export function when I try enough things and find something better. In the meantime, it will serve its purpose. There are shortcuts for creating new items and folders, but not for rearranging those items. I also doubt that it’s going to be even remotely usable by the time I get ALL my projects in there. Still, it’s a simple start point for me, and something I already had. So onward.

When I go back to find the right App, I’m going to be doing it on the Priacta page that currently lists 105 GTD Software Apps.  You can click on your OS to filter everything that supports it, then sort by any of the column headings.

Now, I’ve spent enough time typing this up and really need to get to bed so I can lay into an early start tomorrow. I may also take you some pictures once the sun’s up and I don’t have to use the ghastly flash for everything.

I was really bothered by how much paper I went through last time, especially considering I never completed the process.  This time, I WILL complete it, but I will not use more paper than I already have, like last time.

The big revelation now is that my existing filing system is on my mind.  A lot.  I kept trying to blow off the distraction until it occurred to me… all of my files need to go into the inbox.

Sonova…