All The Things I've Stopped (Part 1 of 9)

Ever since my blogging streak ended, I've thought about all the things that I said I was going to do on this blog. With the exception of one or two, I stopped doing all of them within a few months. Besides the blogging streak, there was only one other endeavor that ended in a matter of days. The others were either intentions that were never turned into action, or behaviors that I stopped doing after several months. I think it would be great if I went over each of these goals and endeavors, going into detail of why I wanted to do the project in the first place and why I ended up not finishing what I sent out to do. Not everyone enjoys going over their failures, or evaluating why they were unable (or chose not to) finish something, but I think the exercise will be valuable to me. I am in the middle of determining what I want out of life and how to get those things, so I think this exercise will show me why I wanted to do these projects at a certain point in time, only to decide later on that I wasn't interested in doing them anymore.

Bullet Journal vs Inferno of Productivity

For the first part of this many part series (the number of series parts has yet to be determined), I'm going to evaluate two similar projects where I've stopped doing one but I've continued to do the other.

The bullet journal and the inferno of productivity are two systems that organize your to-do lists and improve your productivity. The inferno of productivity is a system that I created about a year ago, while the bullet journal is a system that I found online and decided to try. I did both concurrently for about seven months, but I've stopped using the bullet journal system about two weeks ago and have continued to use the inferno of productivity system only.

The main reason why I stopped using the bullet journal is because the journal felt redundant. I thought the system, especially its inclusion of a monthly calendar, monthly task lists, and room for other necessary lists (like planning for a vacation or a separate to-do list for that trip), would augment my daily to-do list that the inferno of productivity specializes in. However, that didn't happen. Using both systems at the same time seemed like I was managing two to-do lists for each day with no added benefit in having both. If there was a discrepancy in the to-do lists, then it was weird and a hassle to remedy that discrepancy.

I found the inferno of productivity to be easier since I like the tangible aspect of using index cards (something that I'd like to make less disposable with reusable index cards. I just need to find something reusable that I can use.) I also found this system much more flexible with tasks that I wasn't able to get done and with organizing my day, since I can put the cards/ tasks in the order that I wanted to do them. In the end, I stopped doing the bullet journal because it wasn't adding any value, and I was crafting my daily task list from what was already set up in the inferno of productivity system.

I'm Starting with a Softball

The bullet journal and the inferno of productivity were easy ones to evaluate because:

• I'm still doing the inferno of productivity, which is awesome. It's also a system that I'd like to improve upon in several ways.
• Since I'm still doing the inferno, stopping the bullet journal was somewhat inconsequential.
• Seven months is a pretty good run, but since the main reason why I stopped was because it wasn't adding value to my life, the bullet journal wasn't tough to quit. The failure was in the system, no myself.
• Quitting the bullet journal is not the same as not following through in learning how to drive a stick shift or with anything on my five-year plan. I will cover both in future parts of this series. Both of those do reflect a failure on my part.

But, I gotta start somewhere. It was easiest to start with my productivity systems since they are/were a daily part of my life. The others involved more long-term work, dedication, and planning.

One thing that does need to happen: finishing this series.

Bullet Journal, New Gigs, and Getting Things Back Together

Been spending my time over the past few weeks working to get everything back together. I think much of it crumbled from under me because I wasn't spending enough time working, and because I didn't spend any time planning my branding. For my branding, I just threw something together, never really thought about, and so the mantra, positioning, and statement weren't as solidified and unique as they could of been. I don't think I would have gotten into trouble if I had planned those things because I would have had more concrete ideas about Stirring Media as a brand and business. I'm now spending time thinking about the business' brand as well as my own personal brand.

One Month of the Bullet Journal

I've given the Bullet Journal note-taking system for over a month now, and I like it very much. I actually find it to be a good complement to my inferno of productivity because it's two to-do lists instead of one, and also that the Bullet Journal can accommodate scheduling and longer lists. Longer lists can be lists that all have to do with one topic i.e. I have a list of the web pages I need to write for one client's project, but there also a tidy, safe place to keep my big-fat lists that come up from time to time. The big-fat list often contains many little things that I need to get done, most often things like updating my social media profiles or figuring out how to set up Google Authorship when you contribute to several blogs and publications. I would highly recommend the Bullet Journal for anyone who has never been particularly satisfied with the selection of planners and calendars that are currently available on the market.

Two New Gigs!

I"ve gotten two new news writing gigs, and I am very excited about both of them! One I started last weekend, and the other I'll be starting over the next few days. For the first gig (which needs to stay nameless because it hasn't yet launched), I essentially find news stories, read the story, write a 300-character summary, and upload the summary to the content management system. Kind of like a dream job for me, because I have to cover anything and everything, and the sooner I can summarize a breaking news story, the better. I work on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, so the only downside is that Friday night is particularly slow. It's the weekend for the whole world, and not much is happening on a Friday night or Saturday morning. Saturday and Sunday are a bit better, primarily because all the sports games are finishing up during my shift, and I can easily write a few summaries by simply reporting on a college basketball or professional hockey game that just finished.

My second gig is with News Headquarters, where I"ll be doing some general news article writing for one of their sites (not sure which one yet). The work sounds similar to the articles I wrote for Technorati, although this time I'll be getting paid, where I find a story and then create something new using a variety of sources. On the surface, it sounds like article rewriting, or rehashing, as I like to call it. The job totally can be, and that's the easy way out to do the job in my opinion. However, I do think that this practice could be done in a way that doesn't involve selling out your soul, where the sources and story are used to offer a new perspective instead of just write another article saying what everyone else has said. It means you have to be more creative and try to present an angle that hasn't been presented yet. I think that's where you'll differentiate yourself while creating something that will actually generate buzz and properly newsjack a story. Perhaps I should just think of this gig as getting paid to piggyback on the news.

I'm Giving the Bullet Journal a Shot

I came across this the other day, and it's genius. So simple, yet so effective at keeping track of everything and being flexible as life comes at you, I've only tried it for a day, but I like it so far. It's way better than having a ton of apps or trying to make a planner from the store work for you. Take a look.

What I Love Most about the Bullet Journal

My favorite aspect about this system of to-do lists and organization is that everything can be on one page. That's the problem with most other planners: you very rarely can have everything on one page. You have your month, but very little room to add things in. Or, the pages are too small to do anything with in the first place. With this system, your month is on one page, right next to a to-do list for the month. It's great for setting goals for the month, and keeping track of those things that only happen monthly, like paying your bills, doing certain chores, and moving your car for the street cleaners.

I also like the idea of running to-do lists, as one of the most frustrating things about preparing it the day before is that things can come up. Then, you spend your day doing the things that come up, and you get a lot done, but because you didn't do much from you list, it looks like you actually didn't get much done. It also means that a lot of your things from your to-do list have to be moved to the next day, which isn't fun. When you have running to-do lists, where you can add things as they come, you don't quite have that problem.

This Doesn't Replace My Inferno of Productivity

I'm still going to have my point system, but I have run out of index cards and old business cards to use, so I'll see if I can incorporate this into my inferno of productivity. Each task will still be a point. At the end of each day, I'll just tally up my points and then keep a running total somewhere else in the notebook. It wastes a lot less paper and everything gets to be in one place, which is the ultimate goal of the bullet journal system. I'll also still be able to add notes to each task like with the system I came up with. My system also has rewards, and who doesn't like rewards?

Speaking of rewards, I still haven't bought that file cabinet I've been wanting for a few months. If I finish my September goal of completing those DMV appointment articles, then I'll have the money to purchase that file cabinet. I have over 500 points accumulated, so at this point I can get much more than that file cabinet. I do need a haircut, as well as some new music and a few things for the apartment. I can do it! I can finish those articles, accumulate more points, and finally get a few things that will make my life that much better.