Sorry I haven't written up my blog redesign process yet. I have been extremely busy at work and that has drained me for the rest of the time. All my projects are suffering because of it. But I'm not discouraged, really; I know that after this craziness is over I'll have more time and brainpower. Of course, I'm going to England in under two weeks, so it may be awhile before I'm back to a decent routine.
One thing that has been bothering me is the fact that the design of my blog right now is not the design I wanted. It's more like a design I conceived and never finished in 2004. When I put this thing together, the look was secondary to getting the structure workable. Now that I have the blog set up with an external stylesheet, I will hopefully be more easily able to change the look.
A redesign of this blog will need to take a backseat to other things, though: my website project with Mike, my webcomic project with Sam, the redesign of and new shopping cart implementation for my parents' business website, etc.
I'm also rereading (or rather, reading, since I never actually finished it) Getting Things Done. Hopefully I will learn some techniques to better organize my time and keep from stressing out over everything I want to do!
Showing posts with label organizing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label organizing. Show all posts
Friday, May 8, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
New email subscription setup
Up until recently I had been using Yahoo! Groups to provide a mailing list for my blog posts. However, I've been wanting to burn my RSS feed with FeedBurner for quite some time, and I finally did that the other day. FeedBurner also offers an email subscription service, so I decided to use that instead of Yahoo! Groups.
Anyone who may have been subscribed to my Yahoo! Groups email updates will need to resubscribe via the new "subscribe via email" form in the sidebar. (I think there were two people signed up. Sorry for the inconvenience, guys! ;>)
Anyone who may have been subscribed to my Yahoo! Groups email updates will need to resubscribe via the new "subscribe via email" form in the sidebar. (I think there were two people signed up. Sorry for the inconvenience, guys! ;>)
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Setting a routine
On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, I see my personal trainer at 8am. This causes me to adhere to a strict morning schedule. Unfortunately, on other days I am less rigid. On weekdays this means I might sleep in and not work out at all. On weekends I likely won't do anything productive.
I've decided that the best way to make sure I'm on track each day is to set up a routine that I'll do every morning, regardless of what day it is. I can then add items to my evening and weekend schedule as appropriate.
Here's a rough draft of what I'm thinking:
7am-8am: Wake up, do a little reading, get dressed in workout clothes.
8am-9am: Work out, either with N or on my own.
9am-9:30am: Shower and pack lunch.
9:30am-10am: Commute.
10am-7pm: Work. Try to get in a photowalk at lunch :)
7pm-7:30pm: Commute.
7:30pm-9pm: Work on projects.
9pm-11pm: Goof off.
11pm-7am: Sleep.
I've decided that the best way to make sure I'm on track each day is to set up a routine that I'll do every morning, regardless of what day it is. I can then add items to my evening and weekend schedule as appropriate.
Here's a rough draft of what I'm thinking:
7am-8am: Wake up, do a little reading, get dressed in workout clothes.
8am-9am: Work out, either with N or on my own.
9am-9:30am: Shower and pack lunch.
9:30am-10am: Commute.
10am-7pm: Work. Try to get in a photowalk at lunch :)
7pm-7:30pm: Commute.
7:30pm-9pm: Work on projects.
9pm-11pm: Goof off.
11pm-7am: Sleep.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Thanksgiving timeline
2:30: Prepare stuffing, stuff and baste turkey, begin to roast (325).
3:30: Start rolls.
3:50: Let dough rise.
5:00: Start potatoes.
5:15: Put potatoes in oven.
5:20: Punch down dough. Let rise again.
5:30: Remove aluminum foil from turkey to crisp skin.
5:45: Begin steaming green beans and making sauce on stove.
6:00: Remove turkey from oven. Form rolls and bake (375). Start on pear crisp.
6:10: Begin steaming broccoli and making sauce on stove.
6:20: Remove rolls and potatoes from oven. Bake pear crisp (375). Carve turkey. Add sauces to vegetables. Eat dinner!
7:10: Remove pear crisp from oven and put in dishes with frozen yogurt. Eat dessert!
3:30: Start rolls.
3:50: Let dough rise.
5:00: Start potatoes.
5:15: Put potatoes in oven.
5:20: Punch down dough. Let rise again.
5:30: Remove aluminum foil from turkey to crisp skin.
5:45: Begin steaming green beans and making sauce on stove.
6:00: Remove turkey from oven. Form rolls and bake (375). Start on pear crisp.
6:10: Begin steaming broccoli and making sauce on stove.
6:20: Remove rolls and potatoes from oven. Bake pear crisp (375). Carve turkey. Add sauces to vegetables. Eat dinner!
7:10: Remove pear crisp from oven and put in dishes with frozen yogurt. Eat dessert!
Monday, March 3, 2008
Final office layout
Here it is: the second best possible configuration for my office. (I can't do the first best configuration because the cables and internet jacks are all on the wrong side of the room.)
The floor plan.
View from the door leading to the north side of the building. Speaking of wires...I'm thinking of covering them with a curtain.
My workspace.
View from the door leading to the south side of the building.
View from that same door, looking straight over my desk.
View from the north side door again.
So far I really like the new layout. People have plenty of room to walk, and I don't have people coming up behind me all the time. I think this'll work!
Previously: Office Evolution
Even More Previously: Transition and What can I say, I like moving furniture.
Edit: Added floor plan and captions.
The floor plan.
View from the door leading to the north side of the building. Speaking of wires...I'm thinking of covering them with a curtain.
My workspace.
View from the door leading to the south side of the building.
View from that same door, looking straight over my desk.
View from the north side door again.
So far I really like the new layout. People have plenty of room to walk, and I don't have people coming up behind me all the time. I think this'll work!
Previously: Office Evolution
Even More Previously: Transition and What can I say, I like moving furniture.
Edit: Added floor plan and captions.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Office evolution
This is what my office looked like originally.
At first I shared the office with a full-time graphic designer. Nowadays I have the office to myself, except when various people come in and use the graphics computer.
When that change first happened, I rearranged the desks like this:
This was okay for many months. I really liked having the extra work space that the second L-shaped desk gave me. However, the room was really cluttered, and I felt I could do more with the space if that second desk was taken out. I ended up trading it for my boss' old desk, and I put the graphics computer on her desk rather than the flimsy white table it had been sitting on. Everyone was pleased to be using a real desk at last, and I was happy that the room was more open. You can see that layout in this movie I took at Christmas time, and in these two pictures:
However, the loss of the arm of that second L-shaped desk eliminated what I considered to be useful privacy. Now I had people coming up standing behind me all the time, which was the last thing I wanted to encourage. It's just not feng shui.
So I spent a few months pondering what sort of furniture arrangement would make it so that people wouldn't stand behind me, and also allow better traffic flow through the office, since it's essentially a hallway these days. Finally I drew up a floorplan of the room using the ceiling tiles as measurements, and that enabled me to move things around without actually moving them...so I tried lots of different arrangements that I hadn't considered before.
That led me to this work-in-progress:
It may not look like much in the pictures, but I got it rearranged a bit more after I took them, and I think it's going to be pretty sweet when I'm all finished (and I've had a chance to dust, yeesh). Only time will tell if it'll keep people from coming up behind me, but the idea is that the arm of the desk pointing towards the door will create the feeling of a hallway, so that people won't turn left and come into my desk area.
What's great about this layout is that there is a much wider path to walk through the office. I'm thinking it will work out pretty well.
I'll put up final photos once I'm done.
Edit: I just realized you can't really make out the door I'm talking about in any of the new pics. It's to the left of the CD shelf. You actually do see it in the second new picture, but it's hard to tell that it's a door :>
(That gray strip alongside it is not the door frame; it's a shadow due to the fact that the wall juts out behind the door, causing the door to only open about 90 degrees. The reason for this is there is a water fountain on the other side of the wall. And Now You Know.)
At first I shared the office with a full-time graphic designer. Nowadays I have the office to myself, except when various people come in and use the graphics computer.
When that change first happened, I rearranged the desks like this:
This was okay for many months. I really liked having the extra work space that the second L-shaped desk gave me. However, the room was really cluttered, and I felt I could do more with the space if that second desk was taken out. I ended up trading it for my boss' old desk, and I put the graphics computer on her desk rather than the flimsy white table it had been sitting on. Everyone was pleased to be using a real desk at last, and I was happy that the room was more open. You can see that layout in this movie I took at Christmas time, and in these two pictures:
However, the loss of the arm of that second L-shaped desk eliminated what I considered to be useful privacy. Now I had people coming up standing behind me all the time, which was the last thing I wanted to encourage. It's just not feng shui.
So I spent a few months pondering what sort of furniture arrangement would make it so that people wouldn't stand behind me, and also allow better traffic flow through the office, since it's essentially a hallway these days. Finally I drew up a floorplan of the room using the ceiling tiles as measurements, and that enabled me to move things around without actually moving them...so I tried lots of different arrangements that I hadn't considered before.
That led me to this work-in-progress:
It may not look like much in the pictures, but I got it rearranged a bit more after I took them, and I think it's going to be pretty sweet when I'm all finished (and I've had a chance to dust, yeesh). Only time will tell if it'll keep people from coming up behind me, but the idea is that the arm of the desk pointing towards the door will create the feeling of a hallway, so that people won't turn left and come into my desk area.
What's great about this layout is that there is a much wider path to walk through the office. I'm thinking it will work out pretty well.
I'll put up final photos once I'm done.
Edit: I just realized you can't really make out the door I'm talking about in any of the new pics. It's to the left of the CD shelf. You actually do see it in the second new picture, but it's hard to tell that it's a door :>
(That gray strip alongside it is not the door frame; it's a shadow due to the fact that the wall juts out behind the door, causing the door to only open about 90 degrees. The reason for this is there is a water fountain on the other side of the wall. And Now You Know.)
Monday, July 16, 2007
Back on the horse
I've decided to try the early schedule again, so I got up at around 6:15 this morning. Sean went to bed not long after that, so it looks like if I want to spend any quality time I'll have to get up earlier. But for now, I feel at least like I've rested.
Yesterday I went to Outspokin' to see about a bike rack, but as it was Sunday they were closed. My bike does fit into the back of my car, but only if I jam the handlebars in (I haven't figured out how to remove a wheel) and I don't like doing that, especially since it rubs some of the handlebar material off. Plus, it's just awkward; it's easier to lift a bike off and onto a rack than it is to turn it sideways and roll it into a car. And if I have a bike rack, it means I don't have to put the seats down in the back, which means more people can ride along with me even if I do have my bike.
In other words, I'm hoping that getting a bike rack will make it easier for me to ride my bike, which will mean I'll ride it more.
My mom and I were talking on the phone the other day about how exhausted I am all the time, and she said I needed to go biking and walking a lot like I used to, because there was one time that I visited when no one could keep up with me. I'm pretty sure that was this visit, when I brought my bike to Kentucky. And I remember...I felt good back then.
So this week I'm going to try getting up early, which means I'll have time to work out and run errands and also to pack a lunch and workout clothes for my lunch break, so conceivably I can save money while I'm getting back in shape.
I've tried this before, this getting-into-a-routine-so-I-can-lose-weight thing. But I'm feeling somewhat heartened by the fact that I was, at one time, in pretty good shape. I don't think there's any reason why I can't be that way again. My problem is just a combination of laziness and an awkward schedule, which I can work through.
I really do love being awake in the morning. I feel like I have all this extra time.
Of course, I don't anymore...I've spent it all writing this post, reading old posts, and chatting :D So I better get in the shower!
Yesterday I went to Outspokin' to see about a bike rack, but as it was Sunday they were closed. My bike does fit into the back of my car, but only if I jam the handlebars in (I haven't figured out how to remove a wheel) and I don't like doing that, especially since it rubs some of the handlebar material off. Plus, it's just awkward; it's easier to lift a bike off and onto a rack than it is to turn it sideways and roll it into a car. And if I have a bike rack, it means I don't have to put the seats down in the back, which means more people can ride along with me even if I do have my bike.
In other words, I'm hoping that getting a bike rack will make it easier for me to ride my bike, which will mean I'll ride it more.
My mom and I were talking on the phone the other day about how exhausted I am all the time, and she said I needed to go biking and walking a lot like I used to, because there was one time that I visited when no one could keep up with me. I'm pretty sure that was this visit, when I brought my bike to Kentucky. And I remember...I felt good back then.
So this week I'm going to try getting up early, which means I'll have time to work out and run errands and also to pack a lunch and workout clothes for my lunch break, so conceivably I can save money while I'm getting back in shape.
I've tried this before, this getting-into-a-routine-so-I-can-lose-weight thing. But I'm feeling somewhat heartened by the fact that I was, at one time, in pretty good shape. I don't think there's any reason why I can't be that way again. My problem is just a combination of laziness and an awkward schedule, which I can work through.
I really do love being awake in the morning. I feel like I have all this extra time.
Of course, I don't anymore...I've spent it all writing this post, reading old posts, and chatting :D So I better get in the shower!
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Tidying up
I've made some changes to my sidebar.
In the Links, I have finally gotten rid of my old "Things We Lost in the Fire" Amazon wish list. It's been almost two years! I did, however, move the items from that list that I still want to have into other lists.
I've broken out "Reference and How-Tos" from "Nonfiction", and I've changed "In My Dreams" to "Electronics and Appliances". I've also added my "Games" list, which I'd created on Amazon awhile back but never gotten around to linking.
The wish lists are now grouped according to type, so my list over at Amazon.co.jp is with "Help Me Learn Japanese", "CDs" and "DVDs" are together, all the books--"Fiction", "Manga and Graphic Novels", "Nonfiction", "Cookbooks", and "Reference and How-Tos"--are in a group, and "Games" and "Electronics and Appliances" fall last.
I've also made some changes to Fun Stuff. My Twitter, Ficlets, Dandelife, YouTube, and MySpace profiles are all linked now. I've grouped these with other communities/sites I'm affiliated with. The next group of links are fun Flash videos, then Japan-related stuff, and finally various cool things, to which I've added NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day.
Finally, down in Comics, I've removed Bruno, which is over, Venus Envy, which updates so slowly that I don't even care about the story anymore, and Help Desk, which used to be interesting but is now just "meh", and I don't have time to read "meh" comics. (I don't think the content has really changed...I think I'm just tired of that kind of humor.) I have added Achewood, which I could never get into before but for some reason am finding intriguing now, and Evil, Inc.
I'm more and more wanting to redesign my blog template. I know so much more about web design now than when I first put it together. I'd like to keep the main features--the checkered background, the colors, even the style of the boxes around all the content, if not the boxes themselves. But I think the site could flow a lot better, and I would like to lay out my sidebar in lists. I mentioned before thinking it'd be a good idea to have the search as part of the header, and I'd still like to do that. I'm also interested in creating an archive drop-down up there. Of course, ideally, my design would be achieved through CSS, with none of this table garbage.
We'll see what happens as my ideas congeal. Hopefully this won't go the way of my fabled shift to WordPress.
(Speaking of which, I probably won't make that shift. Blogger has had its issues, but it works for my purposes. I like the fact that I essentially have a backup of my entire blog--the static files here on my server, and the Blogger database of my posts and comments over on their server. Plus, WordPress gets hacked regularly, which means I would have to update my software all the time. Also, one of the main features I found attractive on WordPress is obsolete these days. That feature is dynamic pages, and the reason they're obsolete is that they use too much bandwidth. So, there you have it.)
In the Links, I have finally gotten rid of my old "Things We Lost in the Fire" Amazon wish list. It's been almost two years! I did, however, move the items from that list that I still want to have into other lists.
I've broken out "Reference and How-Tos" from "Nonfiction", and I've changed "In My Dreams" to "Electronics and Appliances". I've also added my "Games" list, which I'd created on Amazon awhile back but never gotten around to linking.
The wish lists are now grouped according to type, so my list over at Amazon.co.jp is with "Help Me Learn Japanese", "CDs" and "DVDs" are together, all the books--"Fiction", "Manga and Graphic Novels", "Nonfiction", "Cookbooks", and "Reference and How-Tos"--are in a group, and "Games" and "Electronics and Appliances" fall last.
I've also made some changes to Fun Stuff. My Twitter, Ficlets, Dandelife, YouTube, and MySpace profiles are all linked now. I've grouped these with other communities/sites I'm affiliated with. The next group of links are fun Flash videos, then Japan-related stuff, and finally various cool things, to which I've added NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day.
Finally, down in Comics, I've removed Bruno, which is over, Venus Envy, which updates so slowly that I don't even care about the story anymore, and Help Desk, which used to be interesting but is now just "meh", and I don't have time to read "meh" comics. (I don't think the content has really changed...I think I'm just tired of that kind of humor.) I have added Achewood, which I could never get into before but for some reason am finding intriguing now, and Evil, Inc.
I'm more and more wanting to redesign my blog template. I know so much more about web design now than when I first put it together. I'd like to keep the main features--the checkered background, the colors, even the style of the boxes around all the content, if not the boxes themselves. But I think the site could flow a lot better, and I would like to lay out my sidebar in lists. I mentioned before thinking it'd be a good idea to have the search as part of the header, and I'd still like to do that. I'm also interested in creating an archive drop-down up there. Of course, ideally, my design would be achieved through CSS, with none of this table garbage.
We'll see what happens as my ideas congeal. Hopefully this won't go the way of my fabled shift to WordPress.
(Speaking of which, I probably won't make that shift. Blogger has had its issues, but it works for my purposes. I like the fact that I essentially have a backup of my entire blog--the static files here on my server, and the Blogger database of my posts and comments over on their server. Plus, WordPress gets hacked regularly, which means I would have to update my software all the time. Also, one of the main features I found attractive on WordPress is obsolete these days. That feature is dynamic pages, and the reason they're obsolete is that they use too much bandwidth. So, there you have it.)
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