Now, on to the topic of hand: what the hell did I do this month?
At the first of the year, rather than do the usual year-long goal setting that usually only gets about a quarter done and just serves to haunt me, I decided to make it more of a monthly/weekly thing.
January's goal was to simplify my life. Everyone knows that I lead a relatively simple life to start with, so that was probably just the wrong way to word it. Really, it was to remove obstacles in my personal life. If there are things I want to get done this year (and in the rest of my life), I need to remove from my life the things getting in my way. Loose the things I don't need/want to do.
My time is valuable to me. A good book suggested that I quantify it. How valuable is my time? It makes answering questions like "doing x will save me 2 hours a week--is it worth it?" easier to answer. I found a little calculator online that gave me a number. Yeah, it's probably bogus since nobody pays me for my off-time, but it's somewhere to start.
What I actually got around to was a bit modest. Loosing a quarter of the month to a toothache didn't help. And most of the changes were small and wouldn't interest most people here on the bloop. (and some of them seem a bit *too* anal--even for me) But two of them will surely get you all calling me a giant nerd:
1) I call her Rosie. Adam turned me on to this bit of simplicity. For less than 1/2 the price of a new one, I was able to stop vacuuming. I just push a button and Rosie cleans up the floors in the entire house and then re-docks herself to charge. It's just that little bit less cleaning that I have to do every week. She'll pay for herself in less than a year.
2) This was a little harder to do. I gave up cable TV.Several times every week, I'd turn on the TV and, not having anything good on the DVR, I'd flip through the channels and find something I wasn't that interested in, but I'd watch it anyway. Then I'd realize that I'd wasted the entire night watching crap I didn't even like that much. So, after several conversations with Adam trying to decide on the best solution, I replaced the cable box with an Apple TV. Now, with a click of the remote, I've got all my music / playlists / podcasts / pictures instantly. And I can subscribe to a couple of TV shows I really want to watch through iTunes.
So, I don't feel guilty for wasting time watching crap on TV and I'll be actually saving money in a few months.
I also think I figured out why I don't get more reading done. I put in a very small change, and that made a world of difference. I think I've read more this month than I have for the previous six.
So, the steps I've taken have been small, but they seem to be making a real impact on my life already. More than anything, I'm sure it's because I'm more consciously aware of what I'm doing, but I feel more focused and ready to tackle things than ever.
4 comments:
Heh. Part of me has wanted a Roomba (probably seeing them too often on Woot.com) - especially when I see the dust-bunnies made of mostly my hair under the couch. I see some mixed reviews though - keep us posted on how well it works out.
The Cable situation I can foresee in the future as well - I watch stuff through Netflix, and some time-wasting on the Discovery Channel.
You're right--the reviews are what kept me from looking at it for quite a while. Then I read a blog post that put it in a different perspective. The Roomba does a mostly acceptable job each pass. But since you can just push a button and it cleans, it usually runs much more often than anyone actually vacuums, so the cumulative effect is a much cleaner floor over the long-term.
We can get you a corgi and you would just deal with a hairy floor. : )
I don't just sit infront of the tv. I watch my dvr shows, thanks for finally getting him talked into one, and then I watch home shows. Flip This House, shows on TLC or HGTV. For me I am learning things so its never a waste. I would much rather surf or read then just sit in front of the tv.
i'm intrigued by the apple tv in lieu of cable thing. I've been thinking about ways to kill the cable co. lately. Also, I might actually want to read that book. I suddenly find myself without a lot of time and want to maximize it.
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