Initial thoughts about “Getting Things Done.”

Kevin3 Comments

Earlier this year it seemed like I was reading about David Allen’s book Getting Things Done all over the place on the internet. Most of the time it was on Twitter where people would shorten it to GTD. So I decided to take the plunge and buy the book. That was about two months ago.

The ironic thing was that I couldn’t get myself motivated to read it. I read the first few pages on the first day I had it, then the first chapter or so over the next week, but after that it just sat on my nightstand for about a month. You could say I was procrastinating about reading a book about productivity. If that’s not irony I don’t know the definition of the word.

I finally was able to get through the book, which I just finished today, but it took checking out the audiobook on CD from the public library. I must say that now that I’ve got through the book this way I think it’s the way to go. Starting with the audiobook got me through it rather quickly.

I think I was getting stuck reading the book because David Allen does a really good job of illustrating his points with simple charts that break down his ideas in a very easy, compelling design. That made me really want to do what he was writing about right away, but there is quite a bit of depth to his system, so it’s best to get through the whole book before you really dive in. Now that I’ve gotten to the end of the book I think it will be easier to skim through the printed edition so that I can remember some key points.

Here are the initial takeaways that I had:

  • Write EVERYTHING down. This could be in a notebook you carry with you, moleskin, index cards, or in electronic form. Whenever you have a thought about something you need to do you need to write down that thought and put it into a trusted system/process. He describes this phase of GTD as collection. The main point is that if you’re going to experience stress-free productivity you have to get everything out of your head that you don’t need to be doing at that given moment in time. If it’s in your brain it will distract you.
  • Decide is any piece of information/communication you receive is actionable. There are some things that come into our everyday lives that do not require us to do anything. This could be spam emails, junk snail mail, or a host of other bits of info. This is what he calls the process phase. Once you have it out of your head you have to decide what to do with it. You don’t have to do it right away, but you must make a decision about whether or not you will have to do something about it at any given point in the future. He had a really practical point in this step. He suggests that if an action will take less than two minutes to complete you should do it right then. This has proven very helpful to me. Some things that I’ve had on my task list have been very simple tasks that really didn’t need to be sitting there. I just had to get it done.
  • Decide what the NEXT ACTION is for any project. The next action is always a very specific, tangible task that is required to push the desired outcome toward completion. For example, if your project (or desired outcome) is pick a new curriculum for a class or group that you’re teaching, you would not write “pick new curriculum” down in your task list. This is not really possible as the next action most of the time. You would likely have to first do things like “brainstorm topics to cover with group,” or “check with boss about curriculum budget,” or “look up Rob Bell’s most recent Nooma videos.” After that you would then be able to actually “pick new curriculum.” Most of these next action steps seem intuitive, but I think that I’ve gotten stuck working on projects because I wrote down the desire outcome first without writing down the real, physical, tangible steps to get there.

There’s a whole lot more that I could write about, but I first need to review the printed book and then figure out which areas I need to understand more. Plus I haven’t really enacted most of his ideas. I’m guessing that will take me at least a few months, but I plan on blogging about the process as I go along.

For what it’s worth I think the book is worth checking out if you’re a working adult. There are a lot of very practical bits of advice.

See also:
– Getting started with “Getting Things Done”
– What is GTD?
– Wikipedia article: Getting Things Done

Stuff I like: LibraryThing.com

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I’m a book junkie. I’ve bought way too many books in my life. I read a lot of them, but some of them I just read a few chapters and then get bored with it. Part of my problem is that I didn’t have a good system in place to keep track of books. That is until recently

A little over a month ago I discovered the website librarything.com. It’s basically a web-based cataloging system for your books. It’s very easy to add books to your library. You simply type in some of the information (title, author, ISBN, etc.) and the site searched Amazon.com, the Library of Congress, or a host of other databases to pull information about the book. It’s very easy and convenient.

To make it even easier you can scan the bar-code of the book and it will automatically add that book to your library. They even sell a cheap bar-code scanner on the site (the failed CueCat from the late 90s). I bought one and was able to catalog over 500 books in a matter of hours. It was great!

My next goal is to get the small groups curriculum of the church catalogged so that I can give leaders a place to go when they are looking for ideas on what to teach their groups. I’ll post a link to that when I make it live.

For now you can check out my library here.

Stuff I Like: WalkJogRun.net

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I just got back from a run tonight that was frustrating. I wasn’t frustrated with my performance, but with my lack of direction. About 20 minutes into the run I realized that I was turned around and at that point I knew that I wasn’t sure how far my run was going to end up being. That’s about when I almost stopped running just to walk the rest of the way. I did walk for about 4-5 minutes, but got moving again when I realized that my body had the capacity to keep going, but my mind wanted to give up because of the frustration.

You see, I like to know how far my runs are going to be before I go. The tool that I like to use is WalkJogRun.net. It’s basically a Google Maps mash-up that lets you plot the route your are going to run/walk based on all the turns you’re going to take. Basically it’s the modern day version of driving around the neighborhood with your car to see how many miles a route is.

The cool part about the service, other than it being free, is that it uses the hybrid view, which lets you see both street names and landmarks. I’ve really enjoyed using it to make up new runs for me to go on. It’s kept me from getting bored with the same old run every day.

Oh, and when I got home, after I cleaned up, I logged back on to see how far I ended up running. It was 3.25 miles, which was .25 further than I planned to go, but not an excessive distance.

Web Business Model: Jott.com update.

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One of my favorite web services, jott.com, which I recently blogged about has come out of beta and has unveiled their pricing plans. I don’t feel like going into the details of their prices, but the basic concept that they have is that there is a free service (ad-supported), a low-price for some basic functionality, and a premium plan with extra features.

This business model seems to be the norm for web startups. Launch as a private beta, build a following of users who fall in love with the service, then come out of beta with different price points. I’m not sure how good of a model it is, but it’s fairly popular so it probably works.

As for me I haven’t decided yet if I’m going to pay for the service. It’s been convenient, but I haven’t been paying yet.

Motivation: Finding the desire to workout when I really don’t want to do it.

Kevin2 Comments

It happens to almost all of us. We’re going about our everyday lives with not a care in the world, but it all changes. What prompts it, though, is different: hitting a milestone year of life, taking a good long look in the mirror and not liking what we’re seeing, getting winded from a short walk up a hill, or a number of other reasons. What I’m talking about is the workout bug striking.

That’s right. Many of us decide that it’s time to get in shape. So we join a gym, start running, sign up for a sports league, or just start eating right. I’ve done it before and the motivation lasts for about 10 days and then, POOF, it’s gone. Whatever reason or motivation that started the workout bug has passed and I go back to my old habits.

That hasn’t happened to me this time. I’ve been working out consistently (strength training 3x a week and running 3-4x a week) for over six weeks now. On top of that I am still motivated to keep going. That’s not to say that I actually want to work out or run every time I do it. I just got back from a three mile run tonight that I was coming up with every excuse I could possibly think of as to why I didn’t need to go. But I went anyway.

Looking back over the past six weeks I’ve thought of a few things that I’ve done differently this time around that have kept me going.

  1. I set goals that were big enough to be audacious, but within reason so they seemed reachable. The first thing I decided was that I needed specific, measurable goals that I could aim for to keep me going when the “you should quit” birds start singing in my ears. The first one was to run a half marathon in under two hours and fifteen minutes. That seemed HUGE when I got started but still within reason to keep me from quitting. I also decided that I should get my weight down to under 200 pounds by the time I run the half marathon (December 14). I was 220 when I got started and I’m already halfway there. I have a feeling the next ten pounds will be harder to lose than the first, though, which will make me want to try even harder.
  2. I got a workout buddy that was in a similar fitness level. This one was huge too. I asked a friend of mine from church if he wanted to workout at the gym with me. I’ve done this before, but the person I chose, who happened to be the preacher, was so far above me in the physical fitness arena that it just wasn’t fun. I slowed him down and he pushed me too hard. The friend I’m working out with now and I do just about the same weight on all the exercises we do, so it’s not a competition and I don’t feel embarrased to go to the gym with him. The other thing that it’s done is held me accountable. We typically workout at 6:30 am, which I would NEVER do on my own. I can, however, get up out of bed because I know if I don’t I will be letting someone else down, not just myself.
  3. I had a daughter. I don’t really recommend having a child simply to get motivated to workout, but it really does change things. I realize that she will be depending on me to be part of her life for a LONG time and I want to be able to enjoy EVERY last possible activity. Being in better shape will make those experiences much more memorable and enjoyable.
  4. I started listening to music while I ran. This may not work for everyone, but it has helped me. I didn’t do it the first week or so that I was running, but I have for the past month. The way it has helped me has been two-fold. First, music has a physiological affect on us. Certain songs will give a boost of adrenaline and studies have shown that music played at a higher tempo (120-140bpm) cause us to run along with that same beat. Many of the songs that I hear give me an extra jolt of adrenaline exactly when I need it. The other thing it has done is drowned out the sound of me huffing and puffing. Again, you might not be distracted by this, but it really discouraged me when I would get winded so early in my runs. I would typically stop running and just walk for a while. Now I keep going even though I’m tired.
  5. I tracked my progress religiously. This really helped me a lot the other day. I got done with a run and I really wasn’t happy with my time. When I went to write it down and compare it with a similar run from a few weeks ago I saw that I actually ran at a faster pace! This made me EXTREMELY happy. It’s hard to trust your feelings in regards to your progress, but when you can see the objective numbers it can be encouraging or it can show you that you’ve had false confidence in your progress, which could serve as a motivator too.

Those are some of the things I’ve done. Do you have any tips on staying motivated to workout?

See also:
Minimalist Fitness: How to Get In Lean Shape With Little or No Equipment
Fitness is a Journey. Bring a Map.

Stuff I Like: Mint.com

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I’ve never been a fan of spending a long time tracking my money. I have not balanced my checkbook in over five years, but I have not once bounced a check or overdrawn my account. Most of this is due to the fact that I’ve been using Quicken for a while.

But I even got tired of using Quicken. My bank doesn’t play well with Quicken, so anytime I wanted to update it I would have to manually download the transactions and import them. I would typically do this for a couple months, but then get tired of doing that. I really needed something automated.

Mint.com has filled that role for me. It’s a free service that makes money through partner ads that are designed to help you get a better interest rate for your savings accounts or credit cards. It’s an incredibly easy service to use that automatically updates all of your accounts that have web access and then gives you a financial snapshot of your money.

I’ve been using it for a few months now and have been very satisfied. If you’re paranoid about online security you’ll probably avoid it, but I’ve read enough reviews from reliable sources to know it’s a legit service. Check it out.

See also: Why Mint works

Olympics online video = boring

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NBC made it a major point of emphasis to brag about how many hours of live coverage they would be having on all of their broadcast channels and online. This year they’re streaming more coverage of the Olympics than they ever have. It’s paying off for them, too, with Michael Phelps bringing in HUGE ratings with his amazing performances in the pool.

I was really excited about the olympics this year for two reason. First, I’ve been getting into running for the past six weeks, so I wanted to watch the track & field events. And second, I was excited about the massive amounts of hours of live coverage available online. I thought that I would be primarily watching the Olympics online this year. I was wrong.

I tried to get into the online coverage. I check out their webstie quite a bit, but every time I have it has not been impressive. Most of the time the live footage is just the stuff happening before or after the comptetion is happening. All in all I maybe have seen three minutes online.

I must applaud NBC for the efforts, though. They are utilizing technology to expand their audience and I imagine that they’ll have even better options for watching online at the next Olympics.

Idea for saving money

Kevin1 Comment

Earlier this year I went through Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University. He outlines his plan for setting up a budget, eliminating debt, building an emergency savings fund, saving for the future, and much more. Ever since then I’ve been paying a lot closer attention to how I spend money and looking for ways to cut spending.

One idea that I had today came as I was writing some checks to pay bills. This is not a normal routine for me, because I typically pay my bills with online bill paying through my bank. The checks that my wife and I use have pictures of our dogs on them, and since we don’t write many checks any more they are a few years old and thus the picture is old. This gave me the thought that I ought to order new checks with pictures of our baby on them.

But this set me back. I realized that the reason I wanted a new picture on the checks was because of the warm feelings that come whenever I look at a picture of Emory. But I’m talking about spending money and paying bills, and I should feel good about that? I don’t think so! I want to save my money and use it the things I want to, not the things I have to.

I also thought about one the very first credit cards I got when I was in college. I applied for a card at a baseball game and got one with the Texas Rangers logo on it. Being the sports fan that I am I felt good about supporting my team and had a little bit of pride every time I whipped it out to swipe a purchse. This was not a good idea. I soon was spending too much money, but even worse I was having these good feelings every time I was doing it!

My idea is simply this. Instead of getting a fancy, personalized credit card or checkbook that reflects your personality, get the ugliest card and checks that you can find. If you’re embarassed to show people them you’ll probably spend less money. This is similar to Dave Ramsey’s idea of paying cash. It hurts emotionally more to give people cold, hard cash because of how tangible of an amount it is.

If you have any ideas like this please share them in the comments.

Feeling like a dad

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One of the things that I thought would change once I became a dad was that I would feel different. I always assumed that since my world was about to get turned upsidedown that life would feel different at a very fundament level, that I wouldn’t ever feel like the person I was before Emory was born. Over two months into this new phase of my life I realize now that it’s not true. I’m still who I am and feel, for the most part, like the same person.

That’s not to say that my life is not different, but I guess I’ve always thought that fatherhood would touch the core of my emotions in a way that I would be reshaped into a new and different person. The feeling that I have about being a dad I can best describe as feeling right. I do, however, still feel like I am the same person.

I guess that what being a parent is starting to do, though, is to reveal more fully who I really am. I know that my weak areas (selfishness, laziness, etc.) are more obvious to me now. I also think that my strong areas rise more to the surface, too.

Maybe the reason for this “true self” that I feel like I’m becoming has to do with the fact that I’m more fully living out God’s command on my life. God told the original inhabitants of the earth, Adam and Eve, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28). I’m starting to “fill the earth” with my offspring.

Maybe this, also, was partly was Jesus was alluding to when he said “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). It shouldn’t be a suprise at all that when I live out and obey God’s commands my life will be more rewarding.

Stuff I Like: Delicious.com

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There are many times that I come across a website or article online that I find useful and want to be able to find it again later. Early on in my web-surfing days I would simply bookmark it using the built-in tool of Internet Explorer or Firefox. But for the past years I’ve been using the web-based “social-bookmarking” service called delicious.com (formerly del.icio.us).

The initial thing that appealed to me with delicious was the fact that I could easily access my bookmarks from whatever computer (with web access, of course) I was using. This proved to be very valuable, as I was splitting time between my work desktop, personal laptop, and home desktop. Firefox and Internet Explorer have addons to the browser that easily integrates my bookmarks and essentially replaces the built-in bookmarks feature.

Two other features of delicous that I now find useful, but didn’t really utilize at first, are tagging and notes. Tagging a bookmark is entering a one-word description of the link or site that your saving. You can tag a stie with multiple tags, too. What this does is it gives you an easy way to remember something relevant about the site you’re saving and allows you to categorize your bookmarks together, so you can get to multiple related sites quickly. Notes let you write out general ideas about that site or anything else you want to remember. A common usage of this feature is by bloggers who want to start working on a new post, but don’t want to write out the whole thing right then.

What I’ve recently started to find very useful about the site is the social aspect. While I usually go to Google when I want to find something there are times that I want to know what other people are using or finding on a topic. Google tends to give the best, most relevant links based on your searches, but you really don’t know until you go to the link. Delicious, on the other hand, shows you how many people have saved a particular link. You know for certain that a particular site is popular based on how many tags it has.

To get started all you have to do is go on over to the site, start a new account, and then start saving links. You can also import your saved bookmarks/favorites from your local browser, so you’ll be able to get started very quickly. Check out my bookmarks while you’re at it.

See also: Yahoo gives Delicious more speed, fewer punctuation marks