I have complained lately that, while I am almost always busy, I rarely seem to make progress on 'the big things'. Like I'm always making interest payments and never getting around to paying down the principal. Washing the dishes and going to the gym are good and important things to do, but there are projects languishing in the backlog that, if completed, might have longer-term benefits. More French cleats on the walls being a good example of that. The ideas about creating software libraries/frameworks to to organize my data more conveniently or make some of the stuff I do more reliably automatable are a bit more vague but also an example of this type of thing.
In the case of the software system I think the vagueness and lack of immediate feedback are the primary reasons I don't feel motivated to work on them. In the case of the French cleats it might be more that my basement is kind of a mess and there's a bunch of stuff piled on the table saw. But I think the path forward there is a little clearer, especially since I've 3D-printed some spacers and sizers that should take some of the guesswork out of ripping WSTYPE-4114-H4.5Ss.
This got me thinking that, aside from project-specific gumption traps, another reason I don't reliably get around to working on these longer-term projects is simply that I am not in the habit, nor do I intentionally set aside time, to work on them. I use time every day to go brush my teeth because it's routine. Maybe I should set aside a day every week to make progress on one of 'the major projects'. Those being the ones that I could mark as a 'major accomplishment' in my journal when they get done because I feel like they actually changed something, or just because I've been meaning to do them for so long that getting them done would be a relief.
What are the major projects?
Automate backing-up of phone photos(got that one done recently, woo!)- Make/install French cleats above my bed (or in the kitchen, or wherever)
- Make these about links work
- Build a simple music controller out of a few potentiomers and a microcontroller (WSPROJECT-200277)
- Get a decent first version of xmas2024mix (or whatever it ends up being called) published
- Make a bunch stackable boxes to hold scrap wood, or otherwise deal with the giant collection of scrap wood that's cluttering up the workshop.
(Go look at the previous entry to see what I've already forgotten about. I did do another interview tih my Dad since then (raw recordings: part 1, part 2) and did some work on SMP, so those can be put on the ta-da list.)
I occasionally try to have a weekly schedule where one day of the week is dedicated to doing whatever I feel like at the moment (with a strong discouragement from doing things that are on any to-do list, lest I feel pressured to think I feel like doing something that I really just think I should be doing). Maybe I should have a day of working on the major projects, too. Saturday, maybe. Sunday being for playing video games or whatever.
It is of course difficult to stick to such a schedule. Life gets in the way. Today is Sunday and would be a 'do whatever I feel like' day, but I need to organize my tax documents before my appointment tomorrow. But then I did write this journal entry mostly because I felt like it, so maybe I succeeded and can now move on to doing routine things like taxes.
Addendum: Suggestions for Self
(Based on a list helpfully vomited up by an LLM)
- Prioritize projects:
- When planning (the next week or month or whatever), list projects that you'd like to work on, estimate the impact of each, and take that into account when prioritizing.
- Break large projects into small, actionable pieces.
- Time blocking:
- Allocate smallish time slots (maybe 30 minutes) for working on a project.
- Allow for flexibility. If something comes up, shift the block around.
- Try Kanban:
- Create a Kanban board (physical or digital) to visualize your projects. This can help you see what's in progress, what's next, and what's completed.
- Set a limit on how many projects you work on simultaneously.
- Establish rituals:
- Incorporate a daily or weekly ritual where you review your backlog and choose one task to focus on. This can help reinforce the habit of making progress.
- Share your goals with a friend or family member who can help keep you accountable.
- Set aside 'focus time':
- Designate specific times for deep work where you eliminate distractions.
- Use techniques like Pomodoro (20 minutes of focused work followed by a 10-minute break, or something) to sustainably maintain focus.
- Be realistic:
- Don't bite off more than you can chew.
- Say no to new commitments that could detract from your ability to focus on existing projects.
- Be flexible:
- Adapt to life changes. A project that seemed top priority in the last period might fall off the list in the next, and that's okay.
- Adjust the strategy as you go. This list is just a guess. Maybe next month I'll have a better one.
Currently I create a plan file each month. That might be too long a period. Weekly plans might be better. Something like calendar.txt, where each day gets one line might be helpful since it would limit how much crap I could try to schedule on a single day to, like, two things.
Not currently doing any Kanban board, though I can see how laying things physically out on two axis could be helpful. Sara and I have done something sort of like this (that also checks the 'share your goals with a friend or family member' box) by drawing out a chart of projects and their dependencies on a 24" square whiteboard in the farmhouse. Maybe we need more and bigger whiteboards. (Of course we need more and bigger whiteboards. This is a known issue. Sara covering up whiteboards with baby pictures didn't help.)