Benign Chaos » 2011 Daily Planner Pages January – December 2014Letter size (8.5″ x 11″) One page per day 2014 PDF files in zip format2014 OpenOffice Draw .odg files in zip formatBlue Highway font (2003 version) used in odg files These are the daily planner pages that I uploaded to the diyplanner.com site (awesome, awesome site). These are released under the Creative Commons license. If you would like to join the Announcement List (I’ll email a notice to this list when there are updates), please fill out this form: The list messages will come from either dreamhost.com which is my host or from benignchaos.com.
Week 12: How Do You Prioritize – By Quantity or Quality This week I came across a quote by renowned productivity expert David Allen: “Maximum productivity is making something happen with as little effort as possible.” This was a surprise to me. I was under the impression that maximum productivity is cramming as many things as possible onto my to-do list and then rushing around like a maniac trying to get them all done. Okay, I’m exaggerating a little. But this quote made me realize something important: I define “productivity” in terms of the number of things I’ve done. But isn’t that a good thing, you might ask? Yes and no. For example, I can dust the livingroom, start a load of laundry, water the garden, and unload the dishwasher in an hour. Given that willpower is a limited resource that’s depleted as the day goes on, it’s logical to tackle the hard-but-meaningful task while my energy is up. But it’s so tempting to do the easy maintenance tasks and get that little burst of happiness that comes from feeling like I accomplished something.
Procrastination hack: '(10+2)*5' Following on the idea of the procrastination dash and Jeff’s progressive dash, I’ve been experimenting with a squirelly new system to pound through my procrastinated to-do list. Brace yourself, because it is a bit more byzantine than is Merlin 2005’s newly stripped-down habit. It’s called (10+2)*5, and today it will save your ass. Who it’s for procrastinatorsthe easily distractedcompulsive web-surferspeople with a long list of very short tasks (a/k/a “mosquitos”) people having trouble chipping away at very large tasks What you’ll need a timermust be easy to resetelectronic kitchen timer is particularly good (pref. with multiple alarm memories), oran app like Minuteur (get the newest version—several cool new features)a reduced subset of your to-do list tasks that can be worked on (not necessarily completed) in blocks of 10 minutes or lessGTD people: next actions only, pleasean hour of your time (less is potentially okay, but it’s non-canonical)your sorry, procrastinating ass How it works
Week 9: Saved by the Timer | Over the last eight weeks, I’ve focused on making small changes to increase my physical vitality. Now that I’m experiencing a significant increase in my energy levels and overall well-being, I’m ready to make some changes that will help me put that extra energy to good use. This week, my small step will relate to time management: working in timed intervals. Many productivity experts recommend setting a timer for 10-30 minutes, and spending that timed interval concentrating on one task only. Setting a timer: Makes the task concrete, with a definite ending. Of course, it’s important that you give yourself a reasonable time period for the task. This doesn’t mean that your entire day should be crammed full of 15-minute tasks, though. Loehr and Schwartz report that when their clients begin taking rest breaks of 5-15 minutes for every 90-120 minutes worked, their energy levels increased by as much as 30%. How long should your intervals be? Also, what’s your usual work rhythm?
ToDoList 4.8.b4 (Beta) - A simple but effective way to keep on t Downloads Latest Executable + Plugins (6.8.10) - 2.1 MB (Includes all associated resources)Application Source (6.8.10) - 3.1 MB (Includes all plugins - compiles under VC6-VS2008) 3rd Party Note: Please contact the respective authors directly with comments and questions iTDL - for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch Tdl Todo List - for Android Latest Update (6.8.10 Feature Release) The big new features for 6.8 are full drag'n'drop support added to the Gantt and Calendar views for modifying task dates. The Calendar was also rewritten to add support for displaying tasks continuously between their start and due dates. Introduction You know how it is - you start work on one project and halfway through, you find one or two side-projects crop up that have to be solved before you can continue on the original project. This is one such project with the added twist that it too started its life as a side-project. The next step was to hunt around on the web for a tool to meet the following requirements: Simple, huh!
Week 39: How Do You Treat Your Future Self I’d like to start with a simple exercise this week: take a few seconds to close your eyes and imagine yourself at this time next year. What do you see? Is your future self calm or harried? Sitting in a clean room or a cluttered one? Does Future You have more time than you do right now? If you’re like most people, you probably imagine you future self in at least a little bit better shape than you are right now. So we feel comfortable delegating work to our future selves. Ironic, isn’t it? Every time you do a craft project but leave your supplies out on the kitchen table instead of putting them away, you’re delegating work to your future self. News flash: that means Future You is going to have less time and more stress than Present You. The obvious cure for this is to be a pessimist about time. So instead, I’m going to try focusing on my relationship with Future Lynn. Since I’m married, Future Lynn isn’t the only person who’ll benefit. You bet she does. How do you think of your future self?
The Minimalist Principle: Omit Needless Things “Omit needless words.” - William Strunk Jr., The Elements of Style While minimalist aesthetics and products and the minimalist lifestyle appeals to a lot of people, they find it easier to like it than to live it. Minimalism is something people might strive for, but they don’t know where to start. I’d start with the advice of William Strunk Jr. in his classic minimalist treatise on writing (quoted above), but apply it to life in general, and everything you do: “Omit needless things.” I could (and probably should) stop writing there, because that’s really all the advice you need. However, the idea needs a little expanding. “A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This is the addition to “Omit needless things” that is necessary: not that you have as little as humanly possible, but that every thing you do have counts.
» A Guide to Creating a Minimalist Home Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on Twitter. I can’t claim that my home is completely minimalist, but it surely isn’t cluttered, and most people I know would call it a pretty minimalist home. One recent visitor saw my kitchen and remarked, “I’ve never seen a kitchen that looked so clean, so clear of stuff!” Well, I do my best to keep it clean, but the key is to remove the unnecessary stuff. For example, on the floor of my kitchen/dining room area are just a few essentials: dining table (clear of any clutter), chairs, some counter stools, a high chair, a step stool for the kids. Is this kind of minimalist home devoid of character and fun and life? Benefits of a Minimalist Home I could probably go on for awhile about this, but let me just list a few key benefits: Less stressful. What a Minimalist Home Looks Like This would vary, of course, depending on your taste and how extreme of a minimalist you want to be. Minimal furniture. One room at a time.
» Simple Living Manifesto: 72 Ideas to Simplify Your Life “Simplicity is the peak of civilization.” – Jessie Sampter By Leo Babauta A simple life has a different meaning and a different value for every person. For me, it means eliminating all but the essential, eschewing chaos for peace, and spending your time doing what’s important to you. It means getting rid of many of the things you do so you can spend time with people you love and do the things you love. However, getting to simplicity isn’t always a simple process. If you’re interested in simplifying your life, this is a great starter’s guide (if you’re not interested, move on). The Short List For the cynics who say that the list below is too long, there are really only two steps to simplifying: Identify what’s most important to you.Eliminate everything else. Of course, that’s not terribly useful unless you can see how to apply that to different areas of your life, so I present to you the Long List. Make a list of your top 4-5 important things.
» Edit Your Life, Part 2: Your Rooms By Leo Babauta I’m a former newspaper editor, and one of the things I learned was to edit brutally (no sarcastic comments about why I don’t do that with my blog posts). Cut out everything that’s not necessary, and you’ve got a more meaningful story. I highly recommend editing your life. Today’s edit: The rooms in your house, one at a time. Are you surrounded by clutter in every room in your home? So, I recommend that you edit each of the rooms in your house, one per week, until you have de-cluttered your home and made it a peaceful and calming place to be. Here’s how: First, choose a room to do this week. OK, your room should look pretty good now. Now, this editing process is not a destination, but an ongoing process. Here’s the system: A place for everything, and everything in its place.