@Marta--The image of a schedule for today was grabbed from iCal running on my Mac. It works pretty well for scheduling things that are actually scheduled, but it doesn't really support a GTD-style "next actions" list very well.
@Guest--Yes, I'm about halfway through Spook Country, which is awesome--William Gibson at his best. The story is a perfect, intricate creation, with every little throw-away line turning out to be connected to things later on. Reading it doesn't make me despair of my own fiction.... At least, that's what I keep telling myself.
The gtd-style next actions list worked really well as an IT professional but completely fell apart when I became a PhD student.
I do try to keep next actions on a list for all the shorter stuff; that way when I have some time but less energy I can work through those. But much of the work of an academic just can't be easily broken down into next actions. Writing a journal article, like writing a novel, requires research, writing, fiddling, repeat until its done and there really aren't steps.
What I have taken to doing is blocking out time for my PhD work in general; some chunks are long (for brainstorming and really digging into a thorny problem) while others are short (for tackling paperwork and such) and they are scattered throughout the week. Here's a post I wrote on it.
One thing i would suggest - I use google calendar and one specific technique is to separate my "hard landscape" (appointments, places I have to be, etc) from my "soft landscape" (blocks of time I set aside for specific tasks but which can move as the day progresses). This keeps me from running into the problem mentioned above of getting done early and wasting time or not being done yet but forcing myself to move on. The soft landscape is more malleable....
I'm with you. I always get reverse culture shock when I get back to the states after being abroad. The stores here are enough to make your eyes cross when you've been hard pressed to find more than one brand of shampoo on the road. Welcome back to the States, Sarah!
I started using GTD a couple of months ago. It's helped me a ton and I really like the whole philosophy behind it. The only problem for me is that my next action list is so long, it kind of creates procrastination by itself. I'm thinking about finding a way to divide it up more without losing the location categorizations.
I use a combination of schedules and time blocks. My favorite productivity tool is a digital kitchen timer. The timer keeps me focused, motivated and targeted on the individual task at hand.
Identify your daily, weekly and monthly activities, set a time limit for each one, and start the digital timer in countdown mode. Save your favorite activities for last to serve as your reward for staying on task.
I've written a post outlining the specifics and included an example using my blogging activities:
I use a combination of schedules and time blocks. My favorite productivity tool is a digital kitchen timer. The timer keeps me focused, motivated and targeted on the individual task at hand.
Identify your daily, weekly and monthly activities, set a time limit for each one, and start the digital timer in countdown mode. Save your favorite activities for last to serve as your reward for staying on task.
I've written a post outlining the specifics and included an example using my blogging activities:
What program did you use in the photo above? What are some of the better time mgmt programs out there? I use Google calendar to keep track of most tasks and RTM for to-dos.
Skimming cash off a small business is very common. I've been in more than one shop where the owner would run the register himself in the late evening and just leave the cash drawer open, figuring the total and making change in his head. I don't know, but I assume that they're not planning to declare any of those transactions for tax purposes.
Rather than trying to invest that cash, I think it would be best to invest the other cash--the part that you are paying taxes on. The cash that gets skimmed should just go into your pocket to be spent on your daily needs. Of course, you still need to take enough of the declared cash out of the business to support your lifestyle, but the cash you skim can provide a nice little boost to your standard of living without coming to the attention of the tax man.
An important downside to this is that it makes your business look like it's doing less well than it is. That's all well and good when it's the tax man who's looking, but it sucks if the guy who's looking is someone you'd like to sell your business to, or get a loan from. Resist the temptation to keep track of how much you're skimming and definitely refrain from telling someone (such as a potential buyer) how much money you're skimming. Pretending to be a buyer is a favorite tactic of the tax man. If you want to sell the business, just stop skimming cash. Over the next month or two, your business will show a nice uptrend in its business, which should make it more attractive to potential buyers.
I don't know where the $3,000 figure came from. I think taking any of the cash that you skim and putting it into the banking system (i.e. doing anything except just spending it on the necessities of life) is asking for trouble. Of course that limits the amount that you can skim.
Perhaps better to just pay your taxes. Saves no end of trouble in the long run.
I do the same thing. Seriously. It makes the experience last longer and you feel way more full. It's a lot better than wolfing it down with a huge fork. .
my experience has a bit of a twist. someone i know serves food on very small plates. i usually eat more there because i almost always have a second helping, something that i don't do at home, where we have normal-size plates.
Yes: "scheduling a meeting with myself" to block off a few hours to focus on a major project where the next actions aren't clear--that's exactly what I'm doing. But I'm doing it so regularly, I'm afraid I'm losing some of the benefit of GTD. And yet, I can't seem to do a good job of figuring out what the "next action" for writing a novel is. Occasionally I can say the next thing is to "write the scene where the hero does X," but more often I'm in the mode of "fiddle around with that stuff until it feels right, then see what seems to be the next thing to do." I can do that--it's working okay--but I'm hoping someone out there can say, "Oh! I used to do that, but now I'm doing this and it's working much better." I'm hoping someone can tell me what "this" is for them.
I used to schedule my time out by the hour, but I found that I would waste time because projects seem to fill the time alloted to them. For example, if I alloted 1 hour for task A, but it only took me 20 minutes, I would read blogs, sit around, and not do anything until my next appointment came up, 40 minutes later. Then I felt stressed because I wasted so much time. If task A took more than 1 hour, I because stressed because I felt behind.
I use GTD now and try to keep tasks to 20 minutes. I'll schedule a "meeting" with myself for larger projects to block off a few hours.
Thanks for the positive comments. I had always thought I was just not aggressive enough with Mr. X so I was pleased to learn that his approach was at odds not just with me but with sound tactics, though I am certain his methods served him well in other negotiations. You are so right Philip when you say that walking away is valid in many negotiation circumstances but it is often overlooked; if the communications/negotiations continue (for whatever reason including ongoing requests from the positional party), then standing firm is next and at that point, seems to be more readily accepted by Mr. X and company.
I'll put in another plug for my amortization schedule: DIY Acceleration, which is a free download right here at Wise Bread. It's in Excel and allows you to create an original schedule (how your mortgage was designed to be paid off), a $100/month acceleration schedule, and what I called a real-life schedule based on random extra payments made over the life of the loan. If anyone needs any help in using the spreadsheet, let me know.
I've tried similar things... And it only lasts so long for me until it just wears off. I'm not sure why. I used to use Google Calendar and even had it text me everything when the time came but it got annoying and I had to stop it. Then I completely stopped using it altogether. It's weird too because I also have a nice PDA from work that I can use for time management but I don't know... Maybe I need some more motivation for that.
I've never heard of the speaker you mentioned. I'll have to check him out. Good job making what could be a complicated point very succinct and applicable. Thanks.
What if u have an honest cash business but don't want to pay full taxes on it, say only on 50% of the take yet don't want to have to hide all of it. Can you but land or real estate with cashiers checks or money orders and then feel some security against inflation?
And as far as deposits, are u saying that as long as my daily deposits are under $3,000 then I can put my money into savings and or checking accounts and watch it grow or transfer it to stocks and bonds without having to worry about the irs looking into it?
I have seen other mentions of MMA, but not sure if anyone has used this program. Seems to be more educational than "calculator". That is my understanding as it sits anyway.
We have DSL without a landline. It really depends on your location.
I find that I spend/waste more if I only shop once a week at the grocery store, as I tend to overcompensate on the produce. I shop at least every other day, if not daily, and stick to a list of what I need. I plan meals around what is leftover in the fridge and really only pick up the rest of the meal, keeping our food budget within reason.
@Marta--The image of a schedule for today was grabbed from iCal running on my Mac. It works pretty well for scheduling things that are actually scheduled, but it doesn't really support a GTD-style "next actions" list very well.
@Guest--Yes, I'm about halfway through Spook Country, which is awesome--William Gibson at his best. The story is a perfect, intricate creation, with every little throw-away line turning out to be connected to things later on. Reading it doesn't make me despair of my own fiction.... At least, that's what I keep telling myself.
It really did work out WAY better. We are now hooked on this new pre-boiling technique. It was like eating a whole different snack!
Great to hear that it worked out better for ya, Myscha!
...don't have seconds?
Sit, finish your beverage, and let the food get to your stomach. No more seconds!
The gtd-style next actions list worked really well as an IT professional but completely fell apart when I became a PhD student.
I do try to keep next actions on a list for all the shorter stuff; that way when I have some time but less energy I can work through those. But much of the work of an academic just can't be easily broken down into next actions. Writing a journal article, like writing a novel, requires research, writing, fiddling, repeat until its done and there really aren't steps.
What I have taken to doing is blocking out time for my PhD work in general; some chunks are long (for brainstorming and really digging into a thorny problem) while others are short (for tackling paperwork and such) and they are scattered throughout the week. Here's a post I wrote on it.
One thing i would suggest - I use google calendar and one specific technique is to separate my "hard landscape" (appointments, places I have to be, etc) from my "soft landscape" (blocks of time I set aside for specific tasks but which can move as the day progresses). This keeps me from running into the problem mentioned above of getting done early and wasting time or not being done yet but forcing myself to move on. The soft landscape is more malleable....
I'm with you. I always get reverse culture shock when I get back to the states after being abroad. The stores here are enough to make your eyes cross when you've been hard pressed to find more than one brand of shampoo on the road. Welcome back to the States, Sarah!
Is that Spook Country or is it some other Gibson? What is your take on the work of whatever Gibson it is?
I started using GTD a couple of months ago. It's helped me a ton and I really like the whole philosophy behind it. The only problem for me is that my next action list is so long, it kind of creates procrastination by itself. I'm thinking about finding a way to divide it up more without losing the location categorizations.
I use a combination of schedules and time blocks. My favorite productivity tool is a digital kitchen timer. The timer keeps me focused, motivated and targeted on the individual task at hand.
Identify your daily, weekly and monthly activities, set a time limit for each one, and start the digital timer in countdown mode. Save your favorite activities for last to serve as your reward for staying on task.
I've written a post outlining the specifics and included an example using my blogging activities:
"Productivity Tip: How to use a digital timer to get things done"
at
http://millionairemommynextdoor.blogspot.com/2007/09/productivity-tip-ho...
I use a combination of schedules and time blocks. My favorite productivity tool is a digital kitchen timer. The timer keeps me focused, motivated and targeted on the individual task at hand.
Identify your daily, weekly and monthly activities, set a time limit for each one, and start the digital timer in countdown mode. Save your favorite activities for last to serve as your reward for staying on task.
I've written a post outlining the specifics and included an example using my blogging activities:
"Productivity Tip: How to use a digital timer to get things done"
at
http://millionairemommynextdoor.blogspot.com/2007/09/productivity-tip-ho...
What program did you use in the photo above? What are some of the better time mgmt programs out there? I use Google calendar to keep track of most tasks and RTM for to-dos.
Often times on Amazon, you can price-watch an item.
http://lifehacker.com/software/featured-firefox-extension/track-amazon-f...
Skimming cash off a small business is very common. I've been in more than one shop where the owner would run the register himself in the late evening and just leave the cash drawer open, figuring the total and making change in his head. I don't know, but I assume that they're not planning to declare any of those transactions for tax purposes.
Rather than trying to invest that cash, I think it would be best to invest the other cash--the part that you are paying taxes on. The cash that gets skimmed should just go into your pocket to be spent on your daily needs. Of course, you still need to take enough of the declared cash out of the business to support your lifestyle, but the cash you skim can provide a nice little boost to your standard of living without coming to the attention of the tax man.
An important downside to this is that it makes your business look like it's doing less well than it is. That's all well and good when it's the tax man who's looking, but it sucks if the guy who's looking is someone you'd like to sell your business to, or get a loan from. Resist the temptation to keep track of how much you're skimming and definitely refrain from telling someone (such as a potential buyer) how much money you're skimming. Pretending to be a buyer is a favorite tactic of the tax man. If you want to sell the business, just stop skimming cash. Over the next month or two, your business will show a nice uptrend in its business, which should make it more attractive to potential buyers.
I don't know where the $3,000 figure came from. I think taking any of the cash that you skim and putting it into the banking system (i.e. doing anything except just spending it on the necessities of life) is asking for trouble. Of course that limits the amount that you can skim.
Perhaps better to just pay your taxes. Saves no end of trouble in the long run.
I do the same thing. Seriously. It makes the experience last longer and you feel way more full. It's a lot better than wolfing it down with a huge fork. .
I've been using a teaspoon to eat my cake, and everyone thinks I'm nuts
my experience has a bit of a twist. someone i know serves food on very small plates. i usually eat more there because i almost always have a second helping, something that i don't do at home, where we have normal-size plates.
Yes: "scheduling a meeting with myself" to block off a few hours to focus on a major project where the next actions aren't clear--that's exactly what I'm doing. But I'm doing it so regularly, I'm afraid I'm losing some of the benefit of GTD. And yet, I can't seem to do a good job of figuring out what the "next action" for writing a novel is. Occasionally I can say the next thing is to "write the scene where the hero does X," but more often I'm in the mode of "fiddle around with that stuff until it feels right, then see what seems to be the next thing to do." I can do that--it's working okay--but I'm hoping someone out there can say, "Oh! I used to do that, but now I'm doing this and it's working much better." I'm hoping someone can tell me what "this" is for them.
I used to schedule my time out by the hour, but I found that I would waste time because projects seem to fill the time alloted to them. For example, if I alloted 1 hour for task A, but it only took me 20 minutes, I would read blogs, sit around, and not do anything until my next appointment came up, 40 minutes later. Then I felt stressed because I wasted so much time. If task A took more than 1 hour, I because stressed because I felt behind.
I use GTD now and try to keep tasks to 20 minutes. I'll schedule a "meeting" with myself for larger projects to block off a few hours.
Thanks for the positive comments. I had always thought I was just not aggressive enough with Mr. X so I was pleased to learn that his approach was at odds not just with me but with sound tactics, though I am certain his methods served him well in other negotiations. You are so right Philip when you say that walking away is valid in many negotiation circumstances but it is often overlooked; if the communications/negotiations continue (for whatever reason including ongoing requests from the positional party), then standing firm is next and at that point, seems to be more readily accepted by Mr. X and company.
I'll put in another plug for my amortization schedule: DIY Acceleration, which is a free download right here at Wise Bread. It's in Excel and allows you to create an original schedule (how your mortgage was designed to be paid off), a $100/month acceleration schedule, and what I called a real-life schedule based on random extra payments made over the life of the loan. If anyone needs any help in using the spreadsheet, let me know.
I've tried similar things... And it only lasts so long for me until it just wears off. I'm not sure why. I used to use Google Calendar and even had it text me everything when the time came but it got annoying and I had to stop it. Then I completely stopped using it altogether. It's weird too because I also have a nice PDA from work that I can use for time management but I don't know... Maybe I need some more motivation for that.
Bas
BuildAndSucceed.com
I've never heard of the speaker you mentioned. I'll have to check him out. Good job making what could be a complicated point very succinct and applicable. Thanks.
What if u have an honest cash business but don't want to pay full taxes on it, say only on 50% of the take yet don't want to have to hide all of it. Can you but land or real estate with cashiers checks or money orders and then feel some security against inflation?
And as far as deposits, are u saying that as long as my daily deposits are under $3,000 then I can put my money into savings and or checking accounts and watch it grow or transfer it to stocks and bonds without having to worry about the irs looking into it?
Does anyone have a comparison or experience with either UFF or this MAP program? The MAP is at http://www.mortgage-acceleration.com/
I have seen other mentions of MMA, but not sure if anyone has used this program. Seems to be more educational than "calculator". That is my understanding as it sits anyway.
We have DSL without a landline. It really depends on your location.
I find that I spend/waste more if I only shop once a week at the grocery store, as I tend to overcompensate on the produce. I shop at least every other day, if not daily, and stick to a list of what I need. I plan meals around what is leftover in the fridge and really only pick up the rest of the meal, keeping our food budget within reason.