Trust & Productivity

One of the things that is critical in GTD is trusting your system.  You have to really believe in your collection systems, or you won't use them.  When that breaks down, the system breaks down.  You have to know something will be in the right folder, or on your calendar, because if you lose faith, you will quit using it.

I'm having a faith issue with a different collection point - my freezer.  Once again, we are out power, so far for  about 36 hours and counting.  Although I live in a fairly urban/suburban area, I also live on a tree-lined street in southern New England, and the weather can be harsh.  In the past several years we've lost all of our cold food more than once, and it's heart breaking.  I haven't gotten too far into OAMC (once-a-month cooking) and this is precisely why.  I can't trust that we will have consistent power to keep too much in the freezer!

I'm not sure how to bridge this gap, short of buying a generator.  Although I can do my best to keep things full with ice and not open the freezer when the power is off, I don't really feel like potentially exposing myself or my family to contaminated food.

Ideas on how do learn to trust my freezer?  See this from a different perspective?

Laptop Lunchbox

I love my Laptop Lunchbox.  Packing a lunch can save you lots of money, ZenHabits posits as much as $3,000 per year.  Although I understand why some folks need to go out to purchase lunch (socialization, anti-socialization, lunch meetings, etc) I prefer packing my own when I can.

The Laptop Lunchbox system is sort of American Bento.  It's a box with interchangeable compartments, that divide the space up into 1 large and 2 small or 2 medium and 2 small spaces (although you can get creative about that).  There is also a designated spot for utensils, and it comes with a fork and spoon.  It also fits neatly in a desk drawer (or under my desk drawers).  With a system like this you could make ahead several lunches and store them in the fridge (or just components) to save time.  You're also helping the environment by not using single-use containers, like plastic bags

I have a nightly habit of packing my lunch as I make dinner.  Although sometimes I can't help it, I try not to pack the same thing every day, so I don't get bored.  Favorites are salad, leftovers or sandwiches as a main component, with apples, pears, mandarin oranges or grapes as one side and goldfish crackers or gummy fruit as a second side (OK, I do sort of eat like a kid).  I also like this lunchbox because it is very helpful for portion control.  On salad days I sometimes wish it was a little bigger, however, usually I pack the right amount of food for me.  Since I am not my ideal weight, every little trick that helps me eat better is good!

In-Boxes

"First, if it's on your mind, your mind isn't clear. Anything you consider unfinished in any way must be captured in a trusted system outside of your mind, or what I call a collection bucket, that you know you'll come back to regularly and sort through."

David Allen, "Getting Things Done and the Art of Stress-free Productivity"

One of the reasons that the GTD (Getting Things Done) system works for me is that I have a lot of ideas and information coming at me.  My brain was always full with my to-do lists and ideas, but I often was forgetting things.  I didn't have a go to place for recording things, so sometimes they'd be in my personal email, sometimes in my work email, sometimes on a scrap of paper, but often just lost in my mind.  Later I'd be frustrated trying to remember that thing I was supposed to do, or feel stressed at 10PM, hoping to remember about the thing at work the next day.

In GTD, you create collection buckets.  These are physical or electronic in-boxes that allow you to place all your Stuff.  You can (and should) have more than one collection bucket, but not so many that things get lost.  My collection buckets are:

• My personal email
• My work email
• My 43 folder/tickler system at home
• My physical inbox at work
• My Remember The Milk inbox
• A bin we keep in the dining room

I purposely mixed up home & work items because they do blend.  In theory, every idea and to-do goes in one of these, sometimes moving from one to another.  

Although I own a smart phone, I try not to be entirely dependent upon it for recording things.  At my workdesk I ensure there is scrap paper & sticky notes for me to quickly jot down information.  Throughout my house in locations I frequent are pens and sticky notes.  I also carry a small Moleskin in my purse, so when I am out & about I don't lose something.  The reality is not everything is electronic - incoming mail, receipts, broken doo-hickeys, keys, whatnots all can be put into this system.  

There is a LOT more to GTD than simply collecting everything into a few easily accessed locations, but it is a first step.  Forcing myself to collect ideas, has helped me dramatically, both as far as my stress level and productivity.

Apple Crisp (Gluten Free!)

I live in central Connecticut, and, like the rest of New England, we're in quality apple season.  It seems like someone brings in a bag from some orchard every week to the office to share, and the grocery store is full of different varieties.  I'm looking forward to another trip to my favorite local orchard soon.  

Saturday had a meeting of the gender/sexuality/relationships conference I organize, and to be both a good guest (it was at the home of some friends) and good leader, I try to bring some food to the meetings.  One of the residents is avoiding gluten and doesn't do much dairy.  Also, I had bags of apples, so a crisp it was!  

I vaguely based my recipe from the Fannie Farmer Cookbook my MIL bought us a while ago.  

1) Grease a baking dish.  You could use something like Earth Balance if you wanted to do this totally vegan.

2) Peel & slice up apples.  I did wedges, but think next time I will do more chunks.  I used about 8 apples with 3 different varieties.  Toss them in the baking dish with a little lemon juice, and sprinkle about 1/3 cup water over them.

3) The crisp part was 1 cup sugar, 1/4 cup almond meal, 1/4 cup rice flour, a little salt, cinnamon, 1/4 cup crushed walnuts and 1/4 cup sliced almonds mixed up with a stick of butter to create a coarse topping.  I did it by hand, but you could use a pastry blender if you hand one.  Honestly, I didn't measure the nuts, so those are estimates.  This is not an exact science recipe.

4) I baked it at 375 for about an hour.  It could of gone a little longer but I ran out of time.  I liked the nuts as much as I like oats, and the different flours added a certain richness.  

This crisp was enough of a success where there was only 1 serving left, and dibs had already been claimed when I left.  I'll definitely continue to experiment with this dish, but I think I have a good base.

Project List

Part of Getting Things Done is maintaining project lists with next actions.  I keep my lists in Remember the Milk, but I thought I'd also keep a public list here for curious readers.  I'll try and keep this relatively up to date.


Current Projects

• Garage reorganization
• Stack Repair
• Butler Book
• MsC 2012 (attendee)
• Half Marathon Training
• Transcending Boundaries Conference 2012 (staff)
• Arisia 2013 (staff/attendee)

Future Projects

• Guest Room Refinishing
• Laundry Room Vent
• Window Repair (Attic)

Archived Projects

• Williamstown Trip
• Bootblack Intensive (Attendee)
• Cousin's Baby Shower
• LLC (Applicant)
• Leprechaun's Boots
• Remediation Cost Estimate
• Transcending Boundaries Conference 2011 (Chair)
• Arisia 2012 (Panelist/Attendee)
• CAD Workgroup
• Christmas Eve Party
• Christmas Gifts
• Genealogy Research

Bagel Chips

Nom Nom Snack!

My spouse likes bagels for breakfasts.  And lunches.  And snacks.  He works out of state, so he's only home a few days a week.  As a result, I'm often left with stale bagels, which aren't so delicious.  He used to buy some pre-sliced ones that taste like bread, not bagels.  Since I've been taking over the grocery shopping, I've been getting ones from the bakery, but they go stale even faster.  I don't like throwing stuff out.

Solution?  Bagel Chips!  These are wicked easy to make and kind of fun!

1) Heat up your oven to 425-450 Fahrenheit.  These are not an exact sort of thing, but you want the oven hot.

2) Slice up bagels about 1/4 of an inch.  If you want thinner, do it!

3) Apply Olive Oil, or butter, or any sort of oil you enjoy to each side of the slices.  You want a thin coat so that any spices you apply will stick and things won't just burn in the oven.

4) Add some spices!  You probably want to go with whatever flavor bagel you're using, but there are no rules. I did more cinnamon and maple sugar on cinnamon raisin bagel and a pre-made garlic-kick spice mix (garlic, onion salt, and pepper) on a wheat bagel.  Next time I think I'll do some more mild garlicy ones, maybe even with a little cheese.

5) Put them on a cookie sheet in the oven for a few minutes.  I use Sil-Pat sheets, so things don't stick, but you may want to use tin foil if you don't want to clean up much.  I kept mine in the oven for about 15 minutes total, flipping over halfway through.

6) Enjoy warm or store in a dry container.

Launch Pad

My Launch Pad

One idea that FlyLady, and many other people recommend for helping make your day to day life easier is creating a launch pad.  A launch pad is a designated spot where you keep the things you need every day, so you're not looking for your keys or phone.  A launch pad also helps you remember to bring that report or change of clothes when your schedule is a little different.  This is something you sort of have to teach yourself to create as a habit.  If you don't make it a routine things won't always be in the same place.

My launch pad is the top of my radiator in the kitchen (see the picture).  It's above my cat's food, so I see it every morning and night when I feed him, and it is close to the back door, which is how I normally come and go.

In the morning, when I make my breakfast, I also place my lunchbox there, so it's with my purse.  I haven't forgotten my lunch yet!  I try to put anything I'll need to bring with my when I go out at my launch pad.  Still, I haven't made this habit 100% yet, but that's OK.  I just need to keep trying!

Weekday Morning Routine

Working full time means I need to be in the office for 8 AM, sometimes earlier.  Luckily, I live 10-15 minutes from the office, depending on traffic, most of which is based around the middle school, which happens to be located on the end of my street.  I enjoy feeling productive in the morning, but really enjoy the quiet that comes with the start of the day as well.  My typical morning routine lasts about 50 minutes and looks like this:

• 10 minute snooze I know, some folks are very anti-snooze button, but I enjoy the few minutes of slowly coming to start the day.
• Make the bed I always forget how much nicer the room looks, and how good it feels at night to climb into bed when it's already made.  Also, when you make it every day it's easier to keep making it every day.
• Bathroom time All that important stuff like teeth brushing and doing my hair.  I also do a Swish & Swipe every morning.  If there is one habit worth doing, it's this.  It keeps my vanity and toilet super clean.  I usually use a cleaning wipe rather than a rag, because I like the disinfectant, but it doesn't matter.  Sometimes I will clean around the tub as well, but only if the vanity is already pretty clean.
• Get dressed I've been laying out my clothes the night before, usually right after I do the next day's agenda.  This has really helped me with laundry and saving time, as I'm not looking for something in the dark or that pair of jeans only to find they're in the wash.  
• Feed the cat Seriously, if I missed this he won't let me forget.
• Clean the litter box Doing this daily started as a pain, but it only takes 3-5 minutes tops.  I keep a stash of bags next to it, so I just scoop and carry to the trash.  It also makes the house smell better.
• Eat breakfast & check today's plan When I make my breakfast I also take my lunch out of the fridge and stick it next to my purse, so I don't forget it.  My morning review includes my Remember the Milk list for items that are due that day, Google Calendar for appointments and my daily folder (already stashed on the table!). I also use this time to check on social networking sites, post happy birthdays to friends and read email.  In the winter I sometimes get blue, so I turn on my "magic light" to help boost my mood.
• Clean up breakfast & GO!  I make a rule of ensuring I've cleaned up my dishes before I go to work, so I don't come home to the cat having dragged a yogurt lid around the house.

First Go!

For the past month I've been back on the GTD (that's Getting Things Done) train and having great success. And I've actually been incorporating a FlyLady type system for managing my home as well. This is the first time I've been able to get them both going at once. I decided I would start blogging about my adventures in trying to be more domestic, and how it blends with my geeky nature. So thanks for reading this blog and I hope you'll enjoy as I build it!