So I’ve started reading Successful Time Management for Dummies. Which is something I’m horrible at. No matter how many GTD techniques I’ve tried (5 PalmOS devices over the last 13 years, whiteboards, paper lists, email reminders, alarms, etc) they simply don’t work. So there’s something not quite right there that’s much more systemic – simply applying different techniques isn’t the way to fix it.
I can’t just have my wonderful, organized, and vaguely OCD wife tell me what to do and when to do it. That would be unhealthy in like… seven different ways. I need to be able to make this systemic change on my own. Hence the Dummies book.
The very first point the book makes is that no matter what your other resources are (eg: money, looks, smarts, experience, etc) every single person on Earth has the same number of minutes in a day to accomplish things. From STMfD: “One person may be wealthier than another, but that doesn’t earn him a minute more than the poorest people on the planet.” This is, I think, promising – it means that maybe, perhaps, even I can be more productive. On a side note, this makes the In Time movie an even more interesting premise.
I have a couple of friends in Santa Cruz (Bonny Doon, actually… I think) who are freakin’ incredible at time management. Randy, while working one or two different jobs, managed to get his masters degree in not more than the usual amount of time (ie, full time student), while making time for friends, gaming, and his wife. He’s pretty much my time management hero.
One of the struggles we’re facing right now is the same thing everyone else in the doomed middle class faces. Our income isn’t increasing, but our expenses are. Even without our input – we’re not buying anything outrageous or getting crazy monthly subscriptions, but every expense we’ve always had is continually growing. I think Kelly has room to grow in her company, as long as she can get around her immediate boss, but I’m pretty much the best at what I do, in an industry that’s rapidly dying a very gruesome death.
So, is there upward mobility in the workplace? I don’t really want to become management, especially in a dying industry. I don’t really want to relegate myself to starting from scratch as a trade apprentice. (which is exactly what I should have done when I got laid off, but as they say, hindsight is 20/20) So. I would love to go back to school. Even a two-year degree in engineering could help me get the kind of work I think I’d be passionate about. But I can’t go to school.
Let me rephrase that. I’m horrible at school. My time management is shit. Oh look! Back where we started! So. I’ve set a couple goals.
Blog
I haven’t done that in ages. My last LJ post was over a year and a half ago, and that was an aggregation from Twitter. The previous “real” post was well over two years ago, and I used to write in that all the time. It’s time to start again. If I don’t have time to blog, I don’t have time for school. Therefore, homework assignment #1.
Game
I haven’t gamed in almost a year. This includes face-to-face, online, or… really anything. This is such a huge part of my identity that I really don’t feel at all complete. I’m planning on running a game at GameStorm next March, but I’ve been having trouble with finding the time to plan it, let alone run playtests. This will change. If I can’t keep to a scheduled meetup time, deadlines, and preparation, I don’t have time for school. Therefore, homework assignment #2.
Wish me luck, teh intarwebs.