Category: Projects

Setting Up for Success

Invest Time to Multiply Time

Posted on by Anita Shero

Invest time in activities today so that you’ll have more time to accomplish even more tomrorow.

As someone with little success in keeping to resolutions, breaking down my goals as manageable projects works better. Rather than launching a number of projects at once, I figured I’d start with one that gives a lot in return — cleaning up my inbox.
As a result, I:
  • reached out to people I haven’t spoken with in a while
  • ended up reverse procrastinating by painting my bedroom for a screen break
  • cleared up 22,000+ messages in four weeks
How did any of this help me create time? I’m:
  1. reconnecting with people who energize me
  2. directing this renewed energy to work on other projects
  3. finding what I need more quickly instead of waddling through a sea of emails
  4. processing fewer emails and receiving more relevant emails
  5. feeling less stress over the sheer numbers (Google has a way to hide those numbers for a reason)
Time has value, so invest in it. The biggest dividends I’ve seen so far come from eliminating. It’s probably why we’re attracted to Marie Kondo’s methodology. Eliminate is also the first of five strategies in Rory Vaden‘s book Procrastinate on Purpose:

Just think for a moment about all of the stuff that you’re doing that you don’t need to be doing. And the real power here is that you are looking for things you can just stop doing. No explanation. No warning. No ramp-down time. No apology. What are the things that we can just stop?”

—Rory Vaden
What can you do today to make the future better for you?
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Projects, Reflections

Happy Lunar New Year!

Posted on by Anita Shero

With the beginning of a new year, let’s try shaking things up again.

On Blogging

Yes, I failed to regularly post on this blog. And I’m starting it back up again.

Nanakorobi yaoki (七転び八起き)
“fall seven times, stand up eight”
— Japanese proverb

What’s different this time? I’m going to make this more project-based. If I want to run a < 2-hour half marathon, that’s a project. If I want to create a minimalist closet, that’s a project. If I want to learn how to speak Klingon, that’s a project.

Before, I was thinking I’d provide glimpses of whatever happens in my life that relates to the theme of powering up. And guess what? A LOT HAPPENS — so what exactly do I document? Too many choices — can you relate?

So in this post, I’ll declare what I’ll focus on.

On Health and Wellness

Staying Active

I joined the Y in September because my fitness reimbursement would basically cover me for the rest of the year. And in those four months, I learned:

  • to go to a Y location with the exercise offerings I enjoy — Boston is a walkable city after all
  • put December’s membership on hold — get used to the incoming cold!
  • people start lifting weights at 6am — say what?!

After trying out different classes here and there, I’ve narrowed down ones that I enjoy going to — can’t say I enjoy the (duress of the) workout, but I definitely leave feeling satisfied.

Project: Build an archive of class workouts I can remember
Ongoing Project: Reflecting on a half marathon every year

Eating Right

In the past few months, I’ve been experimenting with making a lot of foods and eating coworkers’ soups (as part of a soup club). And then I grew a pimple… on the very tip of my nose. Of course, in one hot shower and a scratch later, it burst. I was Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer in December (my coworkers were really nice not to comment on it). I also made some homemade soy sauce chicken for the first time and took a month to use up all the soy sauce. Let’s just say my skin is breaking out badly. Oops?

After the soup club is over I’m going to abstain from eating at work-related events, except for the management appreciation party if they have salad. I find that I eat as if I’m not going to eat for a week at work parties.

I don’t say this lightly, as I’ve been thinking about it for a while:

  • saying no processed meats — delis are super convenient but they’re not as satisfying as piping hot cooked meats
  • skipping the added sugars in recipes — if it’s necessary for food like gochujang, I just need to find other foods to eat
  • eating more fruits — I love me my oranges and mangoes

At the same time, I want to spend less time on figuring out what to make for food. As such, I’m going to start recording foods that were easy — and ideally quick — to make.

Project: Document recipes for experimental dishes I enjoy

On Self-Improvement

Building Confidence in Coding

Let’s face it, I haven’t seriously coded since my first job out of college. At the time, I left finance tech to focus on crucial skills that I lacked. Now I want to dive into a rapidly changed and changing landscape. While I currently work in healthcare technology, I ended up working more on the systems side and I want to do more on the coding side.

Many people have heard of the 100 days of code challenge where you’d spend 2 hours a day coding for 100 days. That’s at least 14 hours a week. Alas, my job schedule makes this a tad challenging, so I’m going to put a twist on it.

Project: Spend a part-time job's worth coding each week

Time to get my game face on! (And oh yeah, huzzah to the Patriots’ Superbowl win!)

Setting Myself Up for Success

Technically, building an archive of core exercises and delightful recipes is part of setting myself up for success. These will be my easy go to’s any day. Ultimately, I’m getting in return time.

So what else can help me save time?

  • Receiving less (e)mail — out of sight, out of mind
  • Reaching Inbox Zero — to highlight the important ones
  • Building a minimalist closet
Project: Clean up emails
Project: Marie Kondo my closet

Let’s Start!

For those of you who made new year’s resolutions, how are you doing? Are you still keeping up? It’s okay if you haven’t been — just look at my  blog. It’s important to remember:

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”
— Chinese proverb

Addedum: after publishing this post, strangely this post shows up as being published the day after. I’m not sure why, but I swear today is the lunar new year.

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