Comments on: recognizing patterns – what do i want now?

By: vika

vika — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 05:33:17 +0000

I had abysmal luck with personal-org software until I came across LifeBalance: http://www.llamagraphics.com/ — it lets you organize life into projects and tasks (of infinite depth?) and give them different weights in relation to their parent nodes. It then builds you to-do lists based on how you want to balance out your life, and updates their priorities automatically.

The good thing about this one is that it allows you to set up recurring tasks, but doesn’t tie them to specific dates. You can say, “I want to go for a run once a week, and give me a day’s lead time on that, and reduce the accomplishment’s weight by 50% after two weeks.” That sort of thing. So you have a rough idea of your priorities, but then can deviate from it at will, and still have an idea of where you are with regard to where you want to be.

By: dillweed

dillweed — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 05:18:16 +0000

you’re right about setting goals. i’m looking for the right personal project manager software to dump everything i have going on. i’ll categorize each project and then prioritize them by the directions i feel are most valuable long-term. got any tips for for a management app or service?

i don’t think i wimp out on any projects. i generally just get started on new ones before the old ones are finished.

By: Sean Stevens

Sean Stevens — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 03:47:32 +0000

Well you seem to be doing pretty well so far.

I had a time a year or so ago when I was feeling similarly, when things weren’t going well at work or something.

Anyways since then I’ve happened across opportunities that will hopefully let me continue to be fairly random….

That being said there’s nothing more satisfying that mastering something that already makes you happy.

By: vika

vika — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 18:20:12 +0000

Hm. Without knowing many details about your areas of interest, or the idea you already have, it seems like you want to learn new things. Is there something you can learn by a process that results in you *making* something (that isn’t, say, a chopper; something new), and that lets you set a time limit? Much of what you wrote resonates with my own life, and I find that big projects actually get done when I have a time frame in mind *and also* set aside some time in the “near future” (whatever that means) to do a first chunk that’ll motivate me to go on.

Also, with large life projects I find it emotionally easier if I’m willing to change my mind and do something else. But only if it really truly ends up being uninteresting. That’s the tricky part, not wimping out.

Mostly thinking aloud, here.

Heh. The captcha words for this comment are “lancehead partner”. Somehow appropriate?

By: dillweed

dillweed — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 17:32:27 +0000

i’m open to your suggestions. you’re a smart one.

By: vika

vika — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 17:06:31 +0000

I hope you chronicle the transition to the new wave, too.