Tuesday May 13, 7:00 pm at Borders Books on Kirby. Group reading in support of The Weight of Addition.
Saturday Sept 20 7:00 pm at Barnes & Noble/Woodlands as part of the Poets Unleashed series hosted by the estimable Daniel Rice. (you have six months to make arrangements for baby sitters and covered wagons, etc. so you have no excuse to miss my first solo gig).
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
#30 Weeding the Files from M and Z drives
I did find that I was pretty organized. There was very little of my stuff on the M drive that needed to be deleted. I tend to use it for storage of stuff I am certain I will need and files that need to be accessed by others in the dept.
My Z drive was a little more work. I had a Projects Completed file that had about thirty items, some of which were left over from my first months at HCPL. I deleted files that were duplicated on M. I kept templates for recurring projects, but deleted 2005 and 2006 files. In the end, I was left with only one folder and two word docs out of the thirty items, so was able to move those out into My Documents and delete the Projects Completed file entirely.
On the M drive, we have Branch Profile files going back to 2002. These are fairly big files (7 - 8 MB each). I'm thinking that 2002 thru 2005 could be moved to CD and deleted. Of course I will need the Selection Specialists permission to do this.
My Z drive was a little more work. I had a Projects Completed file that had about thirty items, some of which were left over from my first months at HCPL. I deleted files that were duplicated on M. I kept templates for recurring projects, but deleted 2005 and 2006 files. In the end, I was left with only one folder and two word docs out of the thirty items, so was able to move those out into My Documents and delete the Projects Completed file entirely.
On the M drive, we have Branch Profile files going back to 2002. These are fairly big files (7 - 8 MB each). I'm thinking that 2002 thru 2005 could be moved to CD and deleted. Of course I will need the Selection Specialists permission to do this.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
#29 Cleaning Up Email Account
I have a pretty good folder/file system for my email, but even with that, stuff can pile up quickly. I went through all my folders and deleted ruthlessly. I would say 90% of the stuff I discarded was stuff I saved for good reason, but have since finished the project they were concerned with, so should have deleted them before now.
I do this fairly regularly, but every time, I find that I delete at least one thing that I will need in the coming weeks, and it's almost always a CMA (Cover My...er...Anatomy) document.
My biggest weakness is not wanting to throw anything away immediately. I've been trying to get better at discarding emails that require no action from me.
I never keep more than five or six messages in my inbox at one time.
The most useful thing I learned here was in the netiquette section. A couple of my duties require sending relatively large attachments to branches. They are customized to each branch and are not to be seen by other branches (it's all v. cloakanddagger), so the S drive was not an option. I had never heard of YouSendIt and will try it out next time I send out the attachments.
I do this fairly regularly, but every time, I find that I delete at least one thing that I will need in the coming weeks, and it's almost always a CMA (Cover My...er...Anatomy) document.
My biggest weakness is not wanting to throw anything away immediately. I've been trying to get better at discarding emails that require no action from me.
I never keep more than five or six messages in my inbox at one time.
The most useful thing I learned here was in the netiquette section. A couple of my duties require sending relatively large attachments to branches. They are customized to each branch and are not to be seen by other branches (it's all v. cloakanddagger), so the S drive was not an option. I had never heard of YouSendIt and will try it out next time I send out the attachments.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Spring Cleaning #28
I set up a Google Calendar account and didn't much like it --too slow and cumbersome. Tried Remember the Milk to do list and found it slightly more helpful, but still not enough so to get me to let go of my pen/ink/paper calendar. One of the aspects for which I prize pen & ink is its accessibility. I keep the calendar open on my desk all day. I can make quick jots, glance at daily/weekly/monthly views with a turn of the head. No mouse clicking/scrolling/waiting for the boot, etc. The only advantage to the online calendar is that it is accessible from any computer.
If I were in a position with more responsibilities and had to think about work when I'm off-duty, then I think I'd be more inclined to make the switch. As it is, I have a desk calendar/schedule/to-do list here, and a pocket-size moleskine for real life.
GTD:
I really like the emphasis on perspective and control that the article talks about. The whole "prioritize and conquer" model always seemed unrealistic to me. It's too linear. My paper calendar is organized on four levels day/week/month/year. Each has it's on physical location(s) on the page. It's more like the tag-cloud idea.
Also love the idea of "the bucket." The place into which you unload the stuff in your head. Seeing tasks on paper or monitor de-fangs the amorphous jumble of half-seen monsters in your head. It is always better to be able to see things in black and white and in two dimensions no matter how massive the list is. The stuff in your head just accrues and accretes things like guilt and dread and fear. On paper they are at least partially inanimate.
One thing I put into use immediately after I read it about a month ago is "if it takes less than two minutes, do it immediately." I keeps your desk so neat and tidy and allows you to keep your to-do lists for more complicated matters.
selah.
dave c
If I were in a position with more responsibilities and had to think about work when I'm off-duty, then I think I'd be more inclined to make the switch. As it is, I have a desk calendar/schedule/to-do list here, and a pocket-size moleskine for real life.
GTD:
I really like the emphasis on perspective and control that the article talks about. The whole "prioritize and conquer" model always seemed unrealistic to me. It's too linear. My paper calendar is organized on four levels day/week/month/year. Each has it's on physical location(s) on the page. It's more like the tag-cloud idea.
Also love the idea of "the bucket." The place into which you unload the stuff in your head. Seeing tasks on paper or monitor de-fangs the amorphous jumble of half-seen monsters in your head. It is always better to be able to see things in black and white and in two dimensions no matter how massive the list is. The stuff in your head just accrues and accretes things like guilt and dread and fear. On paper they are at least partially inanimate.
One thing I put into use immediately after I read it about a month ago is "if it takes less than two minutes, do it immediately." I keeps your desk so neat and tidy and allows you to keep your to-do lists for more complicated matters.
selah.
dave c
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)