Learn to control money but do not allow it to control you

Firewalker

I did suspect I am not alone in feeling as I do - completely overwhelmed and running on a wheel - and KC confirmed it. But I also started reading a book called Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy and he writes:

"If you are like most people today, you are overwhelmed with too much to do and too little time...you will never be able to do everything you have to do."

This one sorted, I suggest we collectively stop being such a cliche and start looking for and testing practical solutions. I will keep reading The Frog but I suspect it is a process of selection very similar to de-cluttering (and to the one Tim discussed). Look at all one does, select the activities that have most effect (and get one where one want to be), maintain some of the others to some level but accept that one will be behind and these are not going to be done perfectly, and ditch most. Put like this I have problem with focusing on few things (deciding what I want) and with ditching - I may just turn out to be a secret horder!

Firewalker

Firewalker

After finishing one ‘critical’ task today (finished a paper which needs about 10 minutes work to be submitted to a journal) I decided that it is time to get back to following the advice by Tim Ferris and follow on the idea of ‘activity de-cluttering’ immediately. So now I am sitting staring at a long list of things that I have to do. Tomorrow and during the weekend I’ll move several steps further and building on this list will make a mind map of everything I do. Then will put this into categories of activities – like reading, writing, networking, travel, teaching, academic lectures etc.

I also remembered that I already decided what I want to achieve – authoring books that people want to read. This is important to remember. In sequential steps what I intent to do is the following:

1) Map the actions needed to achieve this;
2) Map a time-line for achieving this;
3) Compare what I do with what I ought to be doing;
4) Look carefully at what I do currently and decide: a) what can be dropped (delegated or un-necessary); b) what has to be done but perfection is not necessary (is some delegation possible); c) what has to be done perfectly.
5) Create mind-map(s) linking desired outcome with activities
6) Make sure that these are placed where I can see them

I reckon these mind-maps will frame: a) my daily short to do list; b) make it easier to focus and complete things; c) help estimate time commitments; and d) generally introduce some order.

Do you think this may work? Any suggestions welcome.

Firewalker

InaPickle

Do you have a subject/theme/idea for said books?

Firewalker

Yep! The thing is that I have to write quite a lot of stuff not many people want to read - and a string of decisions have to be made. I read somewhere that a guy in the US had so much work to finish that he slept in his office, under his desk. There and then he decided that if this happens three times he is resigning - and he did. Ended up doing something entirely different and seriously cool.

Firewalker

Karmacat

Firewalker wrote: »

After finishing one ‘critical’ task today
Those inverted commas are interesting, FW, was it critical or not?
(finished a paper which needs about 10 minutes work to be submitted to a journal) I decided that it is time to get back to following the advice by Tim Ferris and follow on the idea of ‘activity de-cluttering’ immediately. So now I am sitting staring at a long list of things that I have to do. Tomorrow and during the weekend I’ll move several steps further and building on this list will make a mind map of everything I do. Then will put this into categories of activities – like reading, writing, networking, travel, teaching, academic lectures etc.

I also remembered that I already decided what I want to achieve – authoring books that people want to read.
Its horribly easy to forget, isn't it ...
This is important to remember. In sequential steps what I intent to do is the following:

1) Map the actions needed to achieve this;
2) Map a time-line for achieving this;
3) Compare what I do with what I ought to be doing;
That, I think, is your stroke of genius - thats what can tell you how you need to change what you're doing :j
4) Look carefully at what I do currently and decide: a) what can be dropped (delegated or un-necessary); b) what has to be done but perfection is not necessary (is some delegation possible); c) what has to be done perfectly.
And thats the accompaniment :j
5) Create mind-map(s) linking desired outcome with activities
6) Make sure that these are placed where I can see them
And those are the final bits that will put it all into place, so you can go for it.

I reckon these mind-maps will frame: a) my daily short to do list; b) make it easier to focus and complete things; c) help estimate time commitments; and d) generally introduce some order.

Do you think this may work? Any suggestions welcome.

Firewalker

This sounds great, FW - if we're changing direction, i.e. becoming more self directed, it needs us to step up to the challenge, and thats what you're doing.

I've not even looked at my trading the past week - I've realised that I've been skipping the decluttering bit, which sounds weird coming from me, but there it is.

Its not only activity decluttering - its also something about the tidiness of the paperwork - the tidiness is what appeals to me about the batching of the post - open it and deal with it straight away, don't have a to-do pile sitting there. I not only have a to-do pile, I also have a pile of filing, and a pile of "I don't know what I want to do with this, but I want to keep it" - its oppressive, and I can't concentrate on the real stuff. But I did a lot of work on it yesterday, and its better.

greenbee

Firewalker wrote: »

I did suspect I am not alone in feeling as I do - completely overwhelmed and running on a wheel - and KC confirmed it. But I also started reading a book called Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy and he writes:

"If you are like most people today, you are overwhelmed with too much to do and too little time...you will never be able to do everything you have to do."

This one sorted, I suggest we collectively stop being such a cliche and start looking for and testing practical solutions. I will keep reading The Frog but I suspect it is a process of selection very similar to de-cluttering (and to the one Tim discussed). Look at all one does, select the activities that have most effect (and get one where one want to be), maintain some of the others to some level but accept that one will be behind and these are not going to be done perfectly, and ditch most. Put like this I have problem with focusing on few things (deciding what I want) and with ditching - I may just turn out to be a secret horder!

Firewalker

Don't forget the outsourcing option

Firewalker wrote: »

Yep! The thing is that I have to write quite a lot of stuff not many people want to read

Me too

I've decided to take the time between the bank holidays off to do some physical and mental decluttering and organisation. Hopefully it will help. In the meantime, I need to get to grips with my current workload to prevent it from becoming a backlog!

Karmacat

Thanks for quoting FW, greenbee, I didn't see that post previously for some reason ... since I have £8 left of an amazon voucher after buying Harry Potter 7, I'll scoot off and see what its like....



ETA - he has a pretty detailed website too...

Firewalker

Have you done the BBC Money Experiment yet? I did it and it is great fun – particularly when one scores really high on all important areas. According to my results I should be so financially healthy that my avatar should be one of these pictures of juicy apples (intended to convey freshness and health but not certain this is very successful). So my financial knowledge is well above average, my emotions are in check, my money motivation is security and freedom (this btw comes strongly through my writing – I want to be rich because of the freedom it gives and the opportunities for doing useful deeds), my money management if faultless. The only small problem was with checking my account but this is because of the division of labour in the household – MrFW checks the account(s). The wisdom of which I have been considering for some time now but not in performance but in functionality terms.

In other words it doesn’t seem to make sense that I run the day-to-day accounting and following of expenses; run the accounting system so that it can be the basis for more important decisions (like whether to invest in something, how to increase our net wealth etc.) but do not really follow the situation of the account(s). Need to negotiate a different division of labour.

After all this fun I had with the experiment it is time for me to eat frogs – big ugly ones. Today for variety of reasons I could not start with the frogs; or at least not with the big ugly ones – in this case continuing my lists of things I have to do, I do and I ought to be doing. As Tim F says, not doing this kind of thinking is laziness of the worst kind; it is intellectual laziness.

Where are these frogs than!

Firewalker

Marru

Firewalker wrote: »

After finishing one ‘critical’ task today (finished a paper which needs about 10 minutes work to be submitted to a journal) I decided that it is time to get back to following the advice by Tim Ferris and follow on the idea of ‘activity de-cluttering’ immediately. So now I am sitting staring at a long list of things that I have to do. Tomorrow and during the weekend I’ll move several steps further and building on this list will make a mind map of everything I do. Then will put this into categories of activities – like reading, writing, networking, travel, teaching, academic lectures etc.

I also remembered that I already decided what I want to achieve – authoring books that people want to read. This is important to remember. In sequential steps what I intent to do is the following:

1) Map the actions needed to achieve this;
2) Map a time-line for achieving this;
3) Compare what I do with what I ought to be doing;
4) Look carefully at what I do currently and decide: a) what can be dropped (delegated or un-necessary); b) what has to be done but perfection is not necessary (is some delegation possible); c) what has to be done perfectly.
5) Create mind-map(s) linking desired outcome with activities
6) Make sure that these are placed where I can see them

I reckon these mind-maps will frame: a) my daily short to do list; b) make it easier to focus and complete things; c) help estimate time commitments; and d) generally introduce some order.

Do you think this may work? Any suggestions welcome.

Firewalker

My initial thought was that all this sounds fantastic. My second thought was that are you doing this as a displacement activity instead just sitting down to write. Perhaps you are making the whole writing thing too important. Perhaps at the moment it is not so important what you write just that you write. AND that you get enjoyment out of it.

I've got a book called The Artis's Way by Julia Cameron that has very good writing exercises to do every morning. I would offer to send it to you but my copy is in Finnish.

Firewalker

Hi Marru, and I hear you - but I am writing. It is about the transition from 'writer' to read 'author' that this is about. Also I have to find a way to move in parallel my job, my calling and my passion. The lists are done at this time of night - every morning there is three hours writing - mainly academic writing though.

FW