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zen habits: February 2007

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Ask the Readers: How many posts a day is too many?

I love writing for Zen Habits. It's one of my favorite things to do. I have a million topics that I want to write about, but I find myself holding back because I'm worried about overwhelming my readers. I can easily post 5-8 times a day, but I've been trying to limit myself to 3-4 posts per day.

So I ask you, the readers, to please tell me: How many posts a day is too many?

From reading other blogs, especially those to which you subscribe, how much is too overwhelming to you? I've read that people unsubscribe because it's too hard to keep up with some blogs that post frequently throughout the day. What's your limit?

Thanks for your help, my friends!

Monitor Your Impulse Spending Urges


Every Wednesday is Financial Tips Day at Zen Habits.

Do you have a problem with impulse spending? If so, the first step to controlling it is monitoring your urges. Make it a goal to monitor and track your spending urges over the next week or two.

Keep a small notebook handy, and every time you get an urge to buy something, practical or not, put a little tally in the notebook. Tally every urge, whether it is to buy something online, or at a store, looking at a catalog, thinking about that new iPod while at your desk, or even if it's multiple urges to buy the same item.

Whether you buy the item or not, just keep track of the urges. Many times the urges are subconscious. You won't be able to control your spending if you're not aware of it.

Some other tips, beyond this first step, for controlling impulse spending:

  • Avoid the mall or Walmart other shopping areas. Just going there practically guarantees you'll buy something on impulse. Do something outdoors or at home instead.
  • If you have to go shopping, go with a list. And stick to the list. Tell yourself that anything not on the list is strictly verboten.
  • Keep a 30-day list. If you have an urge to buy something, make it a rule that you have to first write it on your 30-day list. If, at the end of those 30 days, you still want it, then you can buy it (if you have the money). Just the act of putting it on the list (awareness) and forcing yourself to wait (delay) can make a big difference.
  • Breathe. And drink water. This delay can help you get past your urge.
  • Find other things to do with your friends or family. Do you hang out with people who love to shop as a pastime? Encourage them to do something else. Go outside, to a park, to the beach. Have a potluck dinner at home. If your friends refuse to change, you may want to give some thought to who you hang out with, if you have different values.
Shameless plea: For my readers who like this story ... please add this to your favorite social bookmarking site! It's doing especially well on Netscape (it could use a nudge) but any help you give it on any of the services would be appreciated.

See also:

One Month Challenge, Day 28

This month, Zen Habits is taking up the One Month Challenge and I will be tracking all of my expenses and logging them throughout the month of February.

Day 28, the final day of my One Month Challenge, has passed. Here's how it turned out:

  • Item: Pastries; Cost: $12.50; Essential? No
  • Item: Wendy's; Cost: $5.50; Essential? No
Running total after 28 days is $2,890.35 ($2,413.77 essential - 84%).

Well, that was the last day! The pastries were for a rosary we were attending last night for a relative, and the Wendy's was for me, because I knew there wouldn't be any vegetarian dishes served after the rosary. Not a justification, but an explanation.

Over the next two days, I will post a couple articles wrapping up my One Month Challenge to track my finances, looking back on my totals and what I've learned.

Top 10 Productivity Hacks - Overview


We all need a productivity boost now and then -- sometimes throughout the day. We each want to be productive for very personal reasons -- to accomplish more, to make more money, to get done earlier to make more time for our personal lives, to accomplish our goals. But whatever the reason, these Productivity Hacks will do the trick.

Here they are, in reverse order (click on links for more on each):

#10: Take care of your Most Important Things first. Your Most Important Things for the day -- the things you most need to accomplish that day -- should take priority over everything else. However, we all know that fires come up throughout the day, interruptions through phone calls and email and people dropping by, new demands that will push the best-laid plans aside. If you put off your MITs until later in the day, you will end up not doing them much of the time.

Try to get all three of your MITs done before moving on to anything else. If you can do that, the rest of the day is gravy!

# 9: Wake up early. Decide what you'd like to accomplish each morning, and build your morning routine around that. Like to exercise? Put that in there. Healthy breakfast? Go for it. Check email? Fine. The mornings are a fresh start, peaceful and free of ringing phones and constant email notifications. If you get your Most Important Things done in the morning, the rest of the day is just gravy. (see How I Became an Early Riser.)

# 8: Simplify information streams, crank through blogs & email. Think about all the information you receive (email, blogs, newsletters, mailing lists, magazines, newspapers and more) and edit brutally. You will drastically reduce the time you spend reading. For everything else that begins to come in after your editing process, ask yourself if you really need to be getting that information regularly. Most of the time the answer is no. Now, after this process, you should be left with less to read. Here's the next step: crank through it all, really only reading the really interesting ones.

Editing and cranking through the information you receive can free up a lot of time for more important things -- like achieving your goals.


# 7: Declutter your workspace; work on one thing at a time. The decluttering your work space part of it is simply to remove all extra distractions, on your desk and on your computer. If you've got a clean, simplified workspace, you can better focus on the task at hand. (See more on how to do this.)

Now, with distractions minimized, focus on the task at hand. Don't check email, don't work on five projects at once, don't check the stats on your blog, don't go to your feed reader. Work on that one task, and work on it with concentrated focus until you are done. (See How NOT to Multi-task.) Then celebrate your achievement!

# 6: Get to work early; work fewer hours. My best days come when I get into work early, and begin my work day in the quiet morning hours, before the phones start ringing and the din of the office begins it crescendo to chaos. It is so peaceful, and I can work without interruption or losing focus. I often find that I get my MITs done before anyone comes in, and then the rest of the day is dealing with whatever comes up (or even better: getting ahead for the next day).

Added bonus: you skip rush-hour traffic.

But just as productive is the second part of the tip: leave early and work fewer hours.
It's paradoxical, but if you work fewer hours, and know that your time is limited, you will be more focused. Then you have more hours to yourself! Everyone wins.

# 5: Avoid meetings; when you must meet, make it effective. I find it best to say no to meetings up front. I just say, "Sorry, I can't make it. I'm tied up with a project right now." And that's always true. I've always got projects I'm working on that are more important than a meeting.

Now, you probably won't be able to get out of most meetings, so here are some tips for making meetings more effective.


# 4: Avoid unnecessary work. If we just do any work that comes our way, we can be cranking out the tasks, but not be productive at all. You're only productive if you are doing work that moves you towards a goal. Eliminate non-essential tasks from your to-do lists, and start to say no to new requests that are non-essential.

If you do not take these steps and speak up, and say no, then you will be overloaded with work that you simply do not need to do. Cut out the non-essential tasks, and focus on those that really matter.


# 3: Do the tough tasks first. You know what those tasks are. What have you been putting off that you know you need to do? Sometimes when you put things off, they end up being things you don't really need to do. But sometimes they are things you just gotta do. Those are your tough tasks.

Do them first thing in the day.


# 2: Work off-line as much as possible. To increase your productivity, disconnect your Internet connection. Have scheduled times when you're going to check your email, and only let yourself check your blogs or surf the web when you've gotten a certain amount done. When you do go online, do it on a timer. When the timer goes off, unplug again until the next scheduled time.

You'll be amazed at how much work you'll get done.

# 1: Do something you're passionate about. This might not seem like the normal productivity tip, but give it a thought: if you really want to do something, you'll work like hell to get it done. You'll work extra hard, you'll put in even more hours, and you're less likely to procrastinate. It's for work that you don't really care about that you procrastinate. Read the full post for tips on how to find your dream job and do work you truly care about.

See also:

Top 10 Productivity Hacks - #1

Quick intro: This is one in a series of Top Productivity Hacks - little tips and tricks that are designed to make you more productive. At the end of the series I'll post them all together in an overview.

Productivity Hack #1: Do something you're passionate about.

This might not seem like the normal productivity tip, but give it a thought: if you really want to do something, you'll work like hell to get it done. You'll work extra hard, you'll put in even more hours, and you're less likely to procrastinate. It's for work that you don't really care about that you procrastinate.

For some people, this tip might not seem too practical, especially if you're in a humdrum job that you don't really feel like doing. It's for you that this tip was written: if you hate your job, or are just doing it for the money, I highly recommend that you give this some thought. If you must force yourself to do work every day, you can only do this for so long before burning out. You'll probably quit eventually anyway, so give it some consideration now.

What do you really want to be doing right now? (Don't say sleeping!) What do you love doing? What is your dream job, and how can you get it? Give this some thought, not just right now but for the next few days. If you can identify that job, your next step is to plan how to get it.

My suggestions:

  • Do some research. Who else is doing your dream job? What is their experience? How did they get the job? What are the requirements? Research it on the internet, ask people you know, make some calls. The more info you have, the better.
  • What are your obstacles? What do you need to do to get there? Do you need an education? Do you need to know the right people? Do you just need to fill out an application? Do you need to learn some skills?
  • Make a plan. Work out some solutions to your obstacles. If you need an education or skills, you will not be able to execute this plan overnight, but if you don't plan it out now, you might never get there. Lay out the path to your success.
  • Take action. Don't wait for opportunity to come hit you on the head. Go out and grab that opportunity. Execute your plan -- do at least one thing today, and each day, until you get there. It might seem like it will take forever, but if you really put in the work, you'll achieve your dreams someday.
  • Be persistent. Don't give up because you've been rejected a few times (or even a lot of times). Keep knocking on doors. Keep making those calls. Keep submitting your resume. Keep making appointments. Don't ever let up. The person who is relentless will win over the person who quits.
Land your dream job, doing something that you're passionate about, and you may never need to motivate yourself to be productive again.

Top 10 Productivity Hacks

See also:

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Inspiration file: Quotes about Dreams & Goals


I like to find inspiration every day. On occasion, I'll find stuff and post it here to my Inspiration File, to help inspire others.

Some quotes about Dreams & Goals:

“In the long run, men hit only what they aim at. Therefore, they had better aim at something high.” -- Henry David Thoreau

“Never let yesterday's disappointments overshadow tomorrow's dreams.” -- Unknown

“To those who can dream there is no such place as faraway.” -- Unknown

“We judge of man's wisdom by his hope.” -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

“You can often measure a person by the size of his dream.” -- Robert H. Schuller

One Month Challenge, Day 27

This month, Zen Habits is taking up the One Month Challenge and I will be tracking all of my expenses and logging them throughout the month of February.

Day 27 of my One Month Challenge has passed. Here's how it turned out:

  • Item: Gas; Cost: $40.00; Essential? Yes
  • Item: Dining out; Cost: $24.00; Essential? No
  • Item: Groceries; Cost: $302.70; Essential? Yes
Running total after 27 days is $2,872.35 ($2,413.77 essential - 84%).

I have a feeling that eating out expenses will be higher than I expected. One day left on my challenge -- I've done better than I expected.

Tips for GTD's Ubiquitous Capture


Every Tuesday is GTD Tips Day, starting today.

One of the revelations of GTD is the very simple (and in retrospect, very obvious) mandate to write everything down. Capture all your thoughts on paper (or digitally) -- don't let them float around in your head, where they will surface at inappropriate times, stress you out and be forgotten when they are needed. Have an idea? Write it down, right now, before you forget. Thought of an errand you need to do? Capture that as well. Just remembered something for your grocery list? You know what to do.

If you're not already capturing all your thoughts or tasks immediately on paper, or in a digital system, and carrying that around with you wherever you go, I highly recommend you start today. Even if you don't implement the entire GTD system, this one step can make a big difference. It eliminates a lot of the stress from this stuff floating around in your head, and keeps you from forgetting a WHOLE lot. Trust me.

Here are a few tips on ubiquitous capture, whether you already have a system or not:

  • Some of the more popular methods: A little notebook, a Hipster PDA, a PDA or smart phone, or a Moleskine notebook. Each of these methods has some very passionate proponents, and each has its advantages and disadvantages. I prefer a simple, small notebook, as it is cheap, portable and easily modifiable to my needs.
  • Carry it around, everywhere. No matter what system you use, it should be very easy to carry around, and easy to jot down ideas quickly. You need to carry it wherever you go, including to bed, in stores, if you're hospitalized, wherever.
  • Jot down ideas immediately. Don't wait until later. You'll forget. Even if you don't forget, your mind will waste precious CPU cycles trying to remember, instead of focusing on what you're doing at this moment.
  • Once you get back to your computer, or wherever you keep your next-action lists, process your notes immediately. If you just write your ideas down, but don't actually transfer them to your action system, it's not worth the effort. The ideas and tasks you write down have to actually be acted upon, or at least decided upon (you might decide to ditch it), otherwise your system won't work. Your mind will keep that stuff in its active RAM, because it knows that writing the stuff down won't help you remember it later.
  • Don't use your capture system as your action system. This will be a point of hot debate among GTDers, because some like to use their Moleskines and PDAs as both their capture and action systems. But let me clarify: if you use one part of the Moleskine, for example, for capture, and another part (perhaps marked with tabs) for your next-action and project lists, that's fine. Just don't mix them up. If you write down stuff on a list as capture, and then use that same list for your to-do list, you'll run into problems. Things will be confusing, for one, because the list is just in order of capture. You will also not have things broken into context, which means you will be constantly sorting through different types of actions that you can't actually act upon right now. And over time, the stuff you still need to do will be several pages up into your notes, meaning you'll have to constantly flip back through your capture notes to find out what you need to do.
  • Use tools you love. Some people love the texture of the Moleskine notebooks, and have a favorite pen that feels great in their hand and rolls beautifully on the paper. Others enjoy the technology of the PDA. Just choose something you enjoy using -- you'll be more likely to use it.
  • If you slip up, just start again. Sometimes we forget about our capture system, or get too busy. It happens to all of us. Don't beat yourself up, or just abandon the system. It works. You just need to get started again. Perhaps try a new system, but just start.
Update: By request, I've posted a photo (above) of my little notebook I use for capture. It's blurry on purpose, but you get the idea.

See also:

Top 10 Productivity Hacks - #2

Quick intro: This is one in a series of Top Productivity Hacks - little tips and tricks that are designed to make you more productive. At the end of the series I'll post them all together in an overview.

Productivity Hack #2: Work off-line as much as possible

You're doing it right now -- the biggest distraction ever invented. The Internet can keep you occupied -- and unproductive -- for hours on end.

To increase your productivity, disconnect your Internet connection. Have scheduled times when you're going to check your email, and only let yourself check your blogs or surf the web when you've gotten a certain amount done. When you do go online, do it on a timer. When the timer goes off, unplug again until the next scheduled time.

You'll be amazed at how much work you'll get done.

This is one of the best productivity tips I've ever used. Period.

Top 10 Productivity Hacks

See also:

Monday, February 26, 2007

Review Your Goals Weekly

Every Monday on Zen Habits is Weekly Review, starting today.

How often do you review your goals? Every year? If so, you may be ahead of most people. Even so, I recommend a more frequent review period that will seem like overkill for some people, but to me it's the key to maintaining focus on your goals and actually making them a reality.

The key habit to actualizing your goals: Review your goals at least once a week.

Let's be honest: if you don't think about your goals, you won't make them happen. If you aren't doing anything about your goals, they are just wishes. (If you haven't set your goals yet, I highly recommend you do so.)

In order to actualize your goals, you need to take the following steps:

  1. Set your goals (see Think About Your Life Goals).
  2. Set action tasks for each goal.
  3. Do the action tasks - one a day is ideal (see Purpose Your Day).
  4. Motivate yourself to stay focused (see Top 20 Motivation Hacks).
  5. Review your goals often (weekly is ideal).

Here's the process I recommend:
  1. Once a year (New Year is convenient, but really any time is good) you should review what you've done this year, and set your goals for the next 12 months. Yearly goals should be mini-goals of your life goals.
  2. At the beginning (or end) of each month, review your progress for the past month, and set your goals for the coming month. Set easily achievable goals -- it's better to set your sights low (at least at first) and achieve them than to set them too high and fail. Monthly goals should be mini-goals of your overall yearly goals.
  3. At a set time each week (Mondays work for me), review your progress for the last week, and set goals for the week. These goals should be mini-goals for your monthly goals. For each of these goals, list a few action steps. Then schedule the action steps throughout the week (one step per day is ideal).
  4. Each day, when planning your day, make your goal action step for that day be one of your Most Important Things for that day. Do it first thing in the morning. Once you complete it, you have done something awesome for that day -- you've taken a small step towards making your dreams come true!
The key is to review these goals and set action steps each week. If you only do it once a year, or even once a month, you won't remember them on a daily basis.

If you fall off your weekly review, just re-focus yourself and start again the next week. Don't let small slip-ups stop you from achieving your goals!

See also:

Are Your Days Crazy? Take Control


Some of us have such hectic, busy, crazy, chaotic days that we don't have the time to even consider organization, goals, or routines. It's when your days are so crazy that you need to take that time, and get your days under control.

It's important, for your mental health, your sanity, and your productivity. You simply cannot be at your most effective if you are running around, putting out fires, and getting super stressed in the mean time. Taking the time to gain that control will make all the difference in the world.

Here's how:

  1. First, claim a block of time to gain control. Yes, it will take an hour or two. Yes, you can find that time. Schedule an appointment on your calendar. If you really, really can't find the time in your work day, get up early, or do it right after work. You can find that time if you really try. Your sanity demands it.
  2. Make a list. Do you already have all your tasks on a single to-do lists, or several next-action lists broken down by context? If so, you are ahead of the game. If not, this should be your first step. Gather all you papers into one inbox (including post-it notes, phone messages, etc.) and process them, listing the tasks you need to do on your list or lists (see Three Steps to a Permanently Clear Desk). However you do the list(s) is not important at this point. I recommend the GTD method (see Beginner's Guide to GTD), but do whatever works for you. Making a list of your tasks is the first way to get them under control.
  3. Plan your day. Not just today, but every day. You need some sort of regular schedule in order to get things under control. Schedule your regular tasks in blocks of time: email, calls, meetings, processing your inbox, planning time, writing, etc. Try to have at least 15-30 minutes at the beginning of each day when you plan your day out in these blocks of time. This little time for planning each day is a simple way to gain control. (See Purpose Your Day: Most Important Task)
  4. Stop multi-tasking. This is probably the thing that makes your day the craziest. You can't stay sane if you're juggling a million things at a time. If you are doing this, you are not being productive either. Focus on one thing at a time (see How NOT to Multi-task).
  5. Control Incoming Communications. Others won't let you do this? You need to be assertive and claim control of your time. Let others know when they can call you, or how often they can expect to receive responses to your emails. Turn of IM and chat. Turn off your email notifications and only check it once an hour, or on some other regular schedule. Let calls go to voicemail. You simply cannot respond instantly to every cell phone call, every email, every page, every request at your desk. If you have to, put on headphones. Be clear and upfront with others about your availability and the times when you cannot be disturbed. People might not always be happy with it, but after awhile, they will begin to respect your time.
  6. Review your day. Set aside a little time at the end of the day to review what you've done, check off your to-do lists, update the lists with new items, put stuff back where it belongs, clear off your desk, and plan for tomorrow. Leave feeling satisfied.
  7. Set routines. These regular routines are the best way to feel in control of your life. I've been working on a morning routine and an evening routine at home, and it also helps to have a first-thing-in-the-morning work routine (including Step 3) and an end-of-the-day work routine (Step 6). Make them a habit, and your days will be must less stressful.
See also:

One Month Challenge, Day 26

This month, Zen Habits is taking up the One Month Challenge and I will be tracking all of my expenses and logging them throughout the month of February.

Day 26 of my One Month Challenge has passed. Here's how it turned out:

  • No spending today! Woo hoo!
Running total after 26 days is $2,505.65 ($2,071.07 essential - 83%).

Awesome.

Top 10 Productivity Hacks - #3

Quick intro: This is one in a series of Top Productivity Hacks - little tips and tricks that are designed to make you more productive. At the end of the series I'll post them all together in an overview.

Productivity Hack #3: Do the tough tasks first.

You know what those tasks are. What have you been putting off that you know you need to do? Sometimes when you put things off, they end up being things you don't really need to do. But sometimes they are things you just gotta do. Those are your tough tasks.

Do them first thing in the day.

Been putting off that report? Start on it first thing in the morning. It will be a relief to get it over with.

If you're not sure what those tasks are, it just takes a quick scan of your to-do lists: what's been sitting there the longest? Is it something you really need to do? Do that task first thing.

Getting at least one of these tough tasks done first thing in the morning lifts a great load off your back and gives you a psychological boost to go forward in your day.

Only once you've done the hard stuff should you allow yourself to do the fun stuff (check your email or blogs!). Then take a breather and enjoy the bliss that follows a job well done.

Top 10 Productivity Hacks

See also:

Sunday, February 25, 2007

Best Posts This Month

Zen Habits has had a lot of new readers recently, some of whom might have missed out on some good posts throughout the month.

Here are my favorite posts so far this month:

Get the Kids Outdoors


Every Sunday is Family Day on Zen Habits.

Do your kids spend a lot of time in front of the TV or video game system? Are they on the internet a lot? If they are like most kids (in America at least), most of their free time is taken up by the TV or other electronic entertainment. In fact, after school, television is the second source of education for our kids. Parents come in third.

My kids are no different, but as a dad I try to limit this kind of passive entertainment. And when I can, I encourage them to read or go outside.

Every Sunday is Family Day for my family, and one of our favorite activities is playing soccer in our front yard as a family. We put on our sneakers, set up orange cones to function as goals, choose teams and start having fun. Sometimes we like to play kickball instead.

When I started running, I started getting the kids running with me. They also like to ride their bikes in the park while I run.

However you do it, get your kids outside. They need to reconnect with the world. They are shut inside the house, insulated from the outside world. They become lazy and in bad shape. It's unhealthy.

Playing outside gets kids in better physical shape, healthier, and forces them to use their imaginations rather than the imagination of some Hollywood executive.

Here are some ideas for things to do outside:

  • soccer
  • fly kites
  • explore the woods
  • treasure hunt
  • go to a playground
  • go to a swimming pool, beach or lake
  • play pirates, or make a pretend fort
  • go jogging
  • ride bikes
  • wash the car
  • rake the yard
  • water balloon fight
  • squirt gun fight
  • play tag
  • hide-n-seek
  • obstacle course race
  • just go for a walk, and talk
  • walk to a store for a treat
There are thousands of other things to do. Coming up with ideas can be a game in itself.

See also:

One Month Challenge, Day 25

This month, Zen Habits is taking up the One Month Challenge and I will be tracking all of my expenses and logging them throughout the month of February.

Day 25 of my One Month Challenge has passed. Here's how it turned out:

  • Item: Chocolate pies; Cost: $13.00; Essential? No
Running total after 25 days is $2,505.65 ($2,071.07 essential - 83%).

Pies were for a cousin's birthday party. But overall, not a bad spending day.

Top 10 Productivity Hacks - #4

Quick intro: This is one in a series of Top Productivity Hacks - little tips and tricks that are designed to make you more productive. At the end of the series I'll post them all together in an overview.

Productivity Hack #4: Avoid unnecessary work.

The key word here, of course, is "unnecessary". How do you know if work is necessary or not? You must first know what your goals are -- work that forwards you towards your goals (which should probably be in line with your organization's goals) is necessary, essential. Trim everything that is not essential, or you will be wasting your time.

If we just do any work that comes our way, we can be cranking out the tasks, but not be productive at all. You're only productive if you are doing work that moves you towards a goal.

Someone calls you and says they need something right away. Well, they might need it right away, but that might not be your problem. Is serving this person immediately part of your job description? It might be if this person is an important client, but if they are just a co-worker who is trying to make you do their work, then that's unnecessary work for you. Cranking out that task is a waste of your time.

It's good to do an inventory of your to-do lists every week or so ... look at each task, and ask if it's truly necessary, and what goal it is moving you towards. If it's not necessary, see if it can be eliminated or passed on to the right person.

And this next step is just as important: as new tasks come in, say no to unnecessary tasks. Evaluate each request. If it's not necessary, tell the person that you simply do not have time to do it. Tell them that you have high-priority projects that are due soon, and you regret not being able to help them. Refer them to someone else who might help. Be polite, but regretful. If it's your boss, you might need to have a talk with your boss about priorities and goals. Be sure that you are both clear on what your work objectives are, and ask that extraneous tasks be assigned to someone else. Tell your boss that the extra tasks are getting in the way of your productivity.

If you do not take these steps and speak up, and say no, then you will be overloaded with work that you simply do not need to do. Cut out the non-essential tasks, and focus on those that really matter.

Top 10 Productivity Hacks

See also:

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Health tip: Try eating vegetarian sometimes


Every Saturday is Health Tip Day.

The simple act of replacing meat with something healthier, like soy protein, can make a big difference to our health. Doing this on a regular basis, perhaps once a week or more, can add up to a lot in the long run. Meat is high in saturated fat and cholesterol, and it's much better for your body if you can avoid it. I became a vegan last year, and I've never eaten healthier. You don't need to become vegan (although I highly recommend it!) to eat healthier, but trying vegan or vegetarian dishes now and then can be a good and healthy experience.

I suggest trying out an easy-to-make vegetarian dish at first, something simple yet delicious. There are some good soy protein replacements out there, for ground beef, chicken, sausages and more. Like spaghetti? Try using the soy ground round instead of ground beef.

To get you started, I'll give you one of my favorite, yet easiest to make, vegan recipes. This is my original recipe, so if you like it, you are obliged to close your eyes, and savor the deliciousness.

Zen Habits Three Bean Vegan Chili
1 package Morning Star Meal Starters (or any ground beef replacement)
one 14.5-oz. can each: black beans, pinto beans, and kidney beans
one 14.5-oz. can corn
one 29-oz. can each: stewed tomatoes & tomato sauce
half a yellow onion, diced
half a green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and diced
2-4 cloves garlic, diced (depending on how much you like garlic)
black pepper, salt, chili powder to taste
olive oil

Dice up the veggies first, because the cooking will go fast. On medium high heat, heat up some olive oil, then saute the onions, then the garlic and bell pepper. Throw in the Meal Starter ground beef replacement (still frozen is fine), and let it brown. Add a liberal amount of chili powder and black pepper, and a bit of salt (I never measure, sorry).

Now dump in the beans and corn, one can at a time, stirring as you go along, making sure the bottom doesn't stick and burn. Add more chili powder and black pepper. Spice it up nice! Throw in the stewed tomatoes, stir, and then dump in the tomato sauce. Done! Lower the heat and let it simmer for as long as you can resist. You can actually eat it right away (prep and cooking time: 10-15 minutes) or you can simmer it for 30 minutes, an hour or more. The longer it simmers, the better the flavors will all mix together. Taste it and spice it as needed. I like to add a lot of chili powder and black pepper. To crank up the heat, feel free to add your favorite red peppers early on in the cooking process.

Serve with brown rice, good bread, or blue corn chips.

This is a favorite at every party, whether people are vegetarian or not. They're often amazed that it's vegetarian. Enjoy!

One Month Challenge, Day 24

This month, Zen Habits is taking up the One Month Challenge and I will be tracking all of my expenses and logging them throughout the month of February.

Day 24 of my One Month Challenge has passed. Here's how it turned out:

  • Item: Slushees; Cost: $3.00; Essential? No
  • Item: Water; Cost: $1.00; Essential? Yes
Running total after 24 days is $2,492.65 ($2,071.07 essential - 83%).

Did much better on our all-day soccer day today (5 hours in the hot sun!) than we did last week. We packed a lunch and snacks, and of course lots of drinks, and the only thing we bought were a couple of slushees as a treat, since it was so hot.

Top 10 Productivity Hacks - #5

Quick intro: This is one in a series of Top Productivity Hacks - little tips and tricks that are designed to make you more productive. At the end of the series I'll post them all together in an overview.

Productivity Hack #5: Avoid meetings. When you must meet, keep it short and effective.

I hate meetings. I think most people do, unless there are coffee and donuts in the meetings, and you really like coffee and donuts, but even then, the meeting itself is just something you have to put yourself through in order to get the good stuff. Point is, most of us hate meetings, and yet we have so darn many of them.

And if you really analyze most meetings, you'll see that they are a huge waste of time. In the hour or more that you were sitting in that meeting, you could have gotten 10 times more accomplished if you were working alone. And so could each of the other meeting attendees, which means that the amount of lost productivity is huge.

Are there meetings you go to regularly that you can avoid? If you think the answer is no, think about it a little more: perhaps you've been told it's mandatory, but it's still possible that if you make a good enough sales pitch to your boss, you could get out of the meeting -- show him/her how much more you could accomplish by not being there, and how you could send a simple email to accomplish the input you would have given in the meeting, at 1/10th the time.

I find it best to say no to meetings up front. I just say, "Sorry, I can't make it. I'm tied up with a project right now." And that's always true. I've always got projects I'm working on that are more important than a meeting.

Now, you probably won't be able to get out of most meetings, so here are some tips for making meetings more effective:

  1. Every meeting should have an agenda. People should know, beforehand, what will be discussed, so they can be prepared.
  2. The agenda should include the desired outcome. If it's not on the agenda beforehand, it should be the first thing you bring up in the meeting, right when (or even just before) the meeting starts: what do you want to accomplish in the meeting?
  3. Take notes of important points, especially next actions. Mark the next actions with arrows or asterisks or something, so you can see them at a glance later.
  4. Review the next actions at the end of the meeting. Everyone should leave the meeting knowing what decisions were made, and what everyone needs to do next.
  5. Harvest all next-actions to your to-do lists immediately after the meeting, so you don't forget.
  6. If you're still stuck going to a completely useless meeting, take your read/review folder into the meeting. At least you can use that time productively by cranking through your stuff that you need to read or review. I also like to use this time to brainstorm for ideas or plan projects.
The best long-range strategy is to convince the higher-ups that most meetings are a waste of time, and that meetings that must take place should be short and effective. I know someone who installed a countertop, with no stools, as his office's conference room. If people wanted to meet with him, they had to do so standing up. It made for fairly brief meetings.

Top 10 Productivity Hacks
See also:

Friday, February 23, 2007

One Month Challenge, Day 23

This month, Zen Habits is taking up the One Month Challenge and I will be tracking all of my expenses and logging them throughout the month of February.

Day 23 of my One Month Challenge has passed. Here's how it turned out:

  • Item: Wendy's; Cost: $12.65; Essential? No
  • Item: Groceries; Cost: $31.00; Essential? Yes
  • Item: Gas; Cost: $40.00; Essential? Yes
  • Item: Drinks; Cost: $2.00; Essential? Yes
Running total after 23 days is $2,488.65 ($2,070.07 essential - 83%).

We were starving so we ate at Wendy's. Otherwise, not a bad day.

Happiness Friday: Savor the Little Things


Every Friday is Happiness Friday.

Do you eat while reading? If so, you might have noticed the phenomenon I've noticed: sometimes you can eat an entire meal without even really tasting the food. This applies to a lot of things in our lives: we can spend an hour with our family without really talking to them. We can go to a park or the beach, and not really notice the things around us.

Here's a tip that seems so simple, and yet can be difficult to maintain in practice: stop, and notice what you are doing in this moment. Become more aware of the present, instead of always thinking about the past and the future.

This is hard to do throughout the course of a day, but being perfect isn't the point. Stop and do it once in awhile, at different times of the day, and just notice the little things. And enjoy them.

Try these little exercises (they're very easy, so don't be scared by the word "exercise"):

  • When you eat your next meal, don't read and don't think about anything else except the food you're eating. Really experience the smell of the food, the texture of the mixture of food in your mouth, the heat or coolness of it, the multiple flavors. This is best if you're eating something you really enjoy (berries for me!).
  • The next time you're with someone, whether it's a loved one or a co-worker, stop what you're doing, clear everything aside, and take a few minutes to really talk to them. Really listen to what they're saying. Really appreciate this person, and try to understand them. Really be with that person, fully.
  • The next time you're outside, stop, and look around. Appreciate the incredible beauty and simplicity and complexity of nature. Notice living things, from plants to birds to insects. Notice the elements - air and wind, water or rain, the earth, the sun or the moon or the stars. In fact, tonight, go outside and look up at the stars. The stars and the ocean always give me incredible perspective.
  • When you shower next, try not to think about anything else but the shower itself. Think about the feeling of the water beating on your skin. Really enjoy the sensation. Feel the suds slipping down your body.
You can probably think of other things, but these are just a few ideas. And if you really experience these things, they can be incredible. And life won't pass you by as quickly as it normally does, which can be a good thing.

Also see:

Top 10 Productivity Hacks - #6

Quick intro: This is one in a series of Top Productivity Hacks - little tips and tricks that are designed to make you more productive. At the end of the series I'll post them all together in an overview.

Productivity Hack #6: Get to work early, and leave early. Work fewer hours.

This is one of my favorite tips. My best days come when I get into work early, and begin my work day in the quiet morning hours, before the phones start ringing and the din of the office begins it crescendo to chaos. It is so peaceful, and I can work without interruption or losing focus. I often find that I get my MITs done before anyone comes in, and then the rest of the day is dealing with whatever comes up (or even better: getting ahead for the next day).

Added bonus: you skip rush-hour traffic.

But just as productive is the second part of the tip: leave early and work fewer hours. I don't mean to shift your 8-hour day to 7 a.m.-4 p.m. ... that by itself would work well, but I'm recommending you take it even further: work only six or seven hours.

I know: you may not be able to take this option, depending on your job. But you might be surprised. Many bosses are not worried so much about the number of hours you work, but the amount that you produce. So think out a plan, write up a proposal, and talk to your boss. The worst that can happen is he/she will say no. If you work for yourself, you have no excuse.

Why does this hack work? If you commit to working only six hours today, and leaving by 3 p.m., you have a much tighter deadline. You have no time to waste surfing the net or playing solitaire or talking to your coworkers or sitting in long meetings. You must crank out the work, and get everything done, so you can get out of the office on time. On the days when I leave early, and know that I have to get out of the office early, I am focused. I'm a productivity machine.

Motivation tip for this hack: set a daily appointment, so that you'll be sure to get out of the office on time. This could be a workout appointment with a workout buddy, or the need to pick up your kids, or something you need to do with your significant other. Whatever it is, be sure that you will not miss it, and get out of the office in time to be there.

It's paradoxical, but if you work fewer hours, and know that your time is limited, you will be more focused. Then you have more hours to yourself! Everyone wins.

Top 10 Productivity Hacks

See also:

Meta post: Zen Habit's New Weekly Routine

I've been giving some thought to the multitude of subjects I'd like to cover on Zen Habits, and I've decided it would be more orderly, both for myself and for my beloved readers, if I had a weekly routine that covered most of the bases. This routine means that I will have one post on the assigned day about the assigned topic ... I will also post about other topics that day. It's not going to be exclusively about these topics. For example, each day I might also post something more specific to creating habits and achieving your goals.

So here's the Weekly Routine:

  • Mon - Weekly Review (a mechanism for each of us to review our goals each week)
  • Tue - GTD tips
  • Wed - Finances
  • Thu - Simplicity
  • Fri - Happiness tips
  • Sat - Health tips
  • Sun - Family Day
This isn't set in stone, and is subject to tweaking, so suggestions are welcome in the comments.

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Edit Your Life, Part 1: Commitments


Quick note: Every Thursday I'll have a post about Simplifying (in addition to other posts). Starting today. For the next few weeks, the Simplifying Thursday posts will be a series called "Edit Your Life," looking at ways to simplify different parts of your life.

I'm a former newspaper editor, and one of the things I learned was to edit brutally (no sarcastic comments about why I don't do that with my blog posts). Cut out everything that's not necessary, and you've got a more meaningful story.

I highly recommend editing your life.

Today's edit: All the commitments in your life.

Take an inventory of the commitments in your life. Here are some common ones:

  • Work - we have multiple commitments at our jobs. List them all.
  • Side work - some of us free-lance, or do odd jobs to take in money. More commitments.
  • Family - we may play a role as husband, wife, father, mother, son, daughter. These roles come with many commitments.
  • Kids - my kids have soccer, choir, Academic Challenge Bowl, National Junior Honor Society, basketball, spelling bee, and more. Each of their commitments is mine too.
  • Civic - we may volunteer for different organizations, or be a board member or officer on a non-profit organization.
  • Religious - many of us are very involved with our churches, or are part of a church organization. Or perhaps we are committed to going to service once a week.
  • Hobbies - perhaps you are a runner or a cyclist, or you build models, or are part of a secret underground comic book organization. These come with - surprise! - commitments.
  • Home - aside from regular family stuff, there's the stuff you have to do at home.
  • Online - we may be a regular on a forum or mailing list or Google group. These are online communities that come with commitments too.
You might have other categories. List everything.

Now take a close look at each thing on the list, and consider: How does this give my life value? How important is it to me? Is it in line with my life priorities and values? How would it affect my life if I dropped out? Does this further my life goals?

These are tough questions, but I suggest seeing if you can eliminate just one thing -- the thing that gives you the least return for your invested time and effort. The thing that's least in line with your life values and priorities and goals. Cut it out, at least for a couple weeks, and see if you can get along without it. Revisit this list at that time and see if you can cut something else out. Edit mercilessly, keeping only those that really mean something to you.

Each time you cut a commitment, it may give you a feeling of guilt, because others want you to keep that commitment. But it's also a huge relief, not having to do that commitment each day or week or month. It frees up a lot of your time, and while others may be disappointed, you have to keep what's important to you in mind, not everyone else. If we committed to what everyone else wanted all the time, we would never have any time left for ourselves.

Take the time to edit your commitments, and your life will be greatly simplified. You will thank yourself for it.

See also:

One Month Challenge, Day 22

This month, Zen Habits is taking up the One Month Challenge and I will be tracking all of my expenses and logging them throughout the month of February.

Day 22 of my One Month Challenge has passed. Here's how it turned out:

  • Item: Snacks; Cost: $10.57; Essential? No
Running total after 22 days is $2,403.00 ($1,997.07 essential - 83%).

OK, so I caved in and bought the wife, kids and myself some snacks. Gosh, you guys are judgmental!

Ask the Readers: Should Zen Habits get its own domain?

Recently I've been contemplating a move to a separate domain, away from Blogger. Readership has been growing enough to justify a new domain, and I know a lot of people have a hard time remembering the current address with "blogspot" in the middle of it.

The problem: zenhabits.com is already taken (but not being used apparently).
Following my own advice, this is an opportunity -- I can come up with a new title for the blog, which might be a good thing as some people think it's about Zen, when it really isn't. I like the name Zen Habits, but it may be confusing.

However, changing the name of the blog would make it confusing for people who are trying to find it again, and I may lose readership (especially if I have to change the RSS feed, as everyone would have to resubscribe).

So I have two questions for you, my favorite readers in the world:

  1. Should I get my own domain or stay with the current address?
  2. If I get my own domain, what name should I give the new blog?
Help me out, my good friends.

Top 10 Productivity Hacks - #7

Quick intro: This is one in a series of Top Productivity Hacks - little tips and tricks that are designed to make you more productive. At the end of the series I'll post them all together in an overview.

Productivity Hack #7: Declutter your workspace, and work on one thing at a time.

The decluttering your work space part of it is simply to remove all extra distractions, on your desk and on your computer. If you've got a clean, simplified workspace, you can better focus on the task at hand.

Here's how to do it:

  1. Gather all papers on your desk (including any scraps, post-its, phone messages, etc), put them in your inbox, and process through them rapidly. (See 3 Steps to a Permanently Clear Desk)
  2. If you've got folders or stacks of paper on or around your desk, process them and put them away as in step 1 -- listing them on your projects or actions lists, and filing them out of sight.
  3. Get rid of distracting knick-knacks, posters, pictures, etc. A few photos of your family is fine, but if you've got a lot of other stuff, it's probably distracting.
  4. Clear your computer desktop of icons. File or trash them, then turn off desktop icons so you've now got a clutter-free desktop. Close unnecessary windows on the computer (especially solitaire or minesweeper or whatever your current distracter is). Now choose a nice, serene desktop picture (and using a photo of a magazine model doesn't qualify as serene).
Ahhh. A peaceful working environment. I also suggest using headphones if you have a problem with the ambient noise in your office, or people dropping by too much.

Now, with distractions minimized, focus on the task at hand. Don't check email, don't work on five projects at once, don't check the stats on your blog, don't go to your feed reader. Work on that one task, and work on it with concentrated focus until you are done. (See How NOT to Multi-task.) Then celebrate your achievement!

Removing distractions from your workspace and really focusing on one task at a time will greatly increase your productivity. If your distraction is reading Zen Habits ... well, that's OK. But only that one exception.

Top 10 Productivity Hacks
See also: