Update 2019-06-02
- I gave two weeks notice to my day job so I can focus exclusively on contracting & TaskRatchet without burning out, which I was already well on my way to doing. I’ve been working with a great client who has a lot of work for me. If that work dries up before TaskRatchet can support us (which it probably will), I’ll go back to a normal job.
- Such a large life change means it’s time to reprioritize my Beeminder goals. I’ve already scheduled several goals for archive, and more needs to be done in that direction.
-
Inspired by @shanaqui’s idea, I’ve created a global fineprint page and linked to it in all my goals’ fineprints. The fact that it’s hosted on GitHub has the added benefit of revision history, which means Beeminder support could theoretically check if I changed the rules to get away with something.
- Now that I’m on track to be my own boss in the very near future, I’d really like to take another go at applying Cal Newport’s deep work principles. I’m thinking that will mean working to define exactly the work I do that provides value, breaking that work down as far as possible, and then doing my best to find ways to do that work in concentrated, focused blocks of time without distraction.
Summary
| Key | Value |
|---|---|
| Number of goals | 41 |
| New goals this week | 1 |
| Goals scheduled for archive | 4 |
| Newest goal | timeboxing (2019-05-29) |
| Oldest goal | worktime (2018-06-05) |
| Highest pledge | retainer ($30.0) |
| Total pledges | $280.0 |
| Derails this week | 4 |
| Systems upgrades this week | 1 |
Random Goal: systems-upgrade
This goal requires that I upgrade my productivity systems, currently at a rate of one upgrade per weekday. Such upgrades could be building new Beeminder integrations, adding a new Beeminder goal, unsubscribing from a newsletter, installing a new productivity app, rearranging my office space—any change that promises to increase my productivity on an ongoing basis, no matter how small the increase in productivity may be.
New Goals
- timeboxing: Created 2019-05-29. I find that my days go much better when I use Cal Newport-style timeblocking to plan my day. This goal is for the purpose of making sure I continue using the technique.
Derails
- mueller: 2019-06-01. I didn’t realize until too late that this goal was going to come due on Saturday, so I let it derail.
- worktime: 2019-05-30. This goal fell prey to the mayhem that was early stages of burnout + quitting my job.
- bm-journal: 2019-06-02. I didn’t realize until too late that this goal was going to come due on Saturday, so I let it derail.
- av-wp6-time: 2019-05-29. This goal fell prey to the mayhem that was early stages of burnout + quitting my job.
Scheduled for Archive
- mueller: This one has already been archived because I derailed before the scheduled date. I still plan to finish listening to this book, but it’s fallen below the level where I feel the need to force myself to accomplish it, at least until things have calmed down on the work front.
- su-time: I’m quitting this job, so the time goal is scheduled for archive.
- pyminder-commits: I still want to make this a thing, but it’s not a priority in the near-term.
- resume: This GitHub repository was more of an “About Me” page combined with a portfolio than it was a resume. And it was so open-ended as to not be very useful. I’ve scheduled this for archive and created a resume using a different service which constrained what I could create much more usefully.
- tr-emails: The alpha is paused, so Beeminder support gave me a flat section and I’ve scheduled the goal for archive.
Overkill Top 5
- irl-evenings: 12. It’s an easy goal, and I’ve automated data entry in such a way that I need to also up the commitment on the goal, which I haven’t done yet.
- walk: 10. It’s an easy goal, and I’ve been walking twice a day instead of once.
- dirty-plates: 6. Easy goal, and that’s ok.
- tr-time: 4. The alpha met I did way more than required on this goal.
- av-wp6-time: 2. This goal is doing just what it needs to, so these overkills don’t worry me.
A skeleton of this summary was generated using a Python script and then carefully filled in by hand.