I’m going to promote a product now: the Swisstech Utilikey
I use a Swisstech Utilikey
Additionally, they are backed by a really nice warranty. I broke one of the blades on the Phillips screwdriver and Swisstech replaced the Utilikey for free.
They make a good gift, too. I gave one to my Dad, who is a real hard man for whom to shop.
So there you go. Head on over and get one.
-Peter
Over-prioritizing. That’s what I call it when I stare at my list and agonize over what is the most important thing. To be fair, it is important to prioritize your to do list. But don’t spend more time on the list than you spend on the items in it. One thing I like about the GTD system is that you don’t put things back in the inbox. Until hard-landscape items come up (appointments and meetings) you work on the next thing. All of the next things are treated as equal priority. Prioritizing next things can be a full time job, even above doing next things.
If it’s an official Next Thing, then it made it through your weekly review. It must be important. If it’s important, it doesn’t need to be the most important thing to be done next. It just needs to be done. In that spirit, I’ll keep this brief.
-Peter
Coffee is a major way I stay “motivated” (read: higher energy than a jack russel terrier). I mentioned my rampant caffeine addiction in an earlier post. It’s not the only legal recreational stimulant anymore. According to some interesting news published at Nature a lot of scientists are using some fun new substances on the prescription market.
I’m not one to pass judgment. For the time being, I’m going to stick with sleep, runs and a bit of caffeine. OK, more than a bit of caffeine. If things change, who knows. Maybe I’ll find that I need something extra and an understanding physician to make it happen.
In the mean time, I’m going to give you the run down on how to make good coffee. There’s lots of information over at the old rec.food.drink.coffee usegroup FAQs page (the wealth of info stored in the old usegroups FAQs is pretty amazing). But the long and short is this: it doesn’t matter how good your coffee is if you have a dirty coffee maker. That’s step 1. Clean your coffee maker. Once that’s done, consider your water. Step 2 is, if need to filter your water, filter your water. Don’t buy bottled water. Step 3 is to buy some decent coffee. Don’t overspend. Make sure the grind is right for your machine.
-Peter
Exercise is a major way I stay motivated. When I was in high school I ran with the cross country team. When I was younger than that, I ran with my Dad. All told, including the intermittent months off, I imagine I’ve run an average of about 6 miles a week since 1995. Fitness guru? Maintaining my appeal for for my girlfriend? Well, that is an issue… but self motivation is important, too. During the weeks when I run, I feel like I’m more awake. On a day that I run, no matter what else happens, I have one string positive in the accounting of the day.
Of course, if you’re having trouble motivating yourself, it will be hard to motivate yourself to run. But as step 1 to a higher ‘energy level,’ you could do a lot worse than a 20 minute jog… or a walk for that matter.
Have a look around for some good shoes. I happen to like Saucony shoes for my wide feet.
Other than that, just make it part of your routine. Substitute walking to the grocery store form time to time. Carrying two bags for a mile is a nice little workout.
-Peter
I like to organize my time using low-tech tools. I got off on the “Chandler Project” software for a while. I talked about that in a previous post. It was my one excursion from paper-based organizing, and it was OK, but ultimately frustrating.
The hardest side effect of moving to a digital organization scheme was that I tended to ‘orbit’ my computer to make sure I was not forgetting something. I like computers, so that was quite natural, but it added more distractions (there’s a reminder? Ooh – I wonder what’s on the internets!).
My preferred organizer is actually a combination of my own interpretation of Covey’s planner and my favorite Moleskine. The Moleskine is really my favorite part. They come in packs of three, the paper really takes the ink, and it means I always have a place to write any idea. I print out a weekly day planner in a size that will fit, folded, in the middle. I keep a page set aside for the week’s ‘bucket’ in which I write all the reminders that come to mind. Just in case my phone runs out of batteries, I have a lit of important numbers. Between that, a little pen, a pocket knife and and key chain light, I’m amazingly well prepared without carrying around much at all. The Moleskine even has a little pocket for receipts and such.
-Peter
Dr. Peter B Allen - Lab Blog 