Money & Work

Daily Check-In — No Comments
21
Oct 08

Back to work

Had a great long weekend visiting with my family and friends. It’s hard to get down to work after all that, but I guess I’ll give it a shot. :)

Found out Friday that my glucose levels are on the high side, which doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone who knows me… Time to get that under control. No more massive cake consumption. :) It’s important for the baby’s health, of course, and also because overdoing carbs/sugar is likely to make him bigger, which could mean a C-section, and I’d rather avoid that if possible. That’s pretty motivating.

Neither Daniel or I have historically been “yoga people” (though we both are aware of its benefits) but yesterday I ordered both of us some yoga workouts on DVD.

Mine are for 3rd trimester of pregnancy, and will hopefully help with flexibility and strength for labor and delivery. His are cycling-specific and supposed to help with “mental toughness” among other things—but the catalyst is that guys who beat him on the bike recommended them. :)

Oh, and we finally bought a new mattress set yesterday—it was only a month late for the anniversary present to ourselves that it was intended to be! We were pleasantly surprised by both the service and the prices at Denver Mattress, and enjoyed a good night’s sleep. At some point we’ll need to do the great mattress swap and move our old one to the nursery and the one in the nursery to Peter and Leanna’s apartment.

Most Important Tasks

  • Invoice the client who has a weird accounting schedule
  • Check my music for next weekend’s church services
  • Migrate my church website to WordPress MU for better expandability

The reward

Free time!

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16
Oct 08

Wrapping up the week early

Cactus needle bokeh
Creative Commons License photo credit: kevindooley

Whew. Got yesterday’s tasks done, barely.

I’m learning again the importance of setting goals that don’t assume the involvement of others—the membership plugin didn’t work out of the box, but since getting it set up was part of my task, I was kind of in a bind. Fortunately, the plugin developer offered very quick support (it’s a paid plugin) and it’s up and running now.

I also managed to forget a task I’d promised (don’t know where I’d have fit it in anyway!) so that’s on today’s agenda. Other than that, I’ve decided that a good approach to my blog training course is to add lessons as I do them while launching a new blog. Specifically, I’m not allowed to do anything on the new blog unless I first add a lesson about it. :)

My mom and out-of-town sister are flying in tomorrow (my baby shower is on Sunday and they’re just that nice!) so I want to make sure I’m ready for the weekend today.

Most Important Tasks

  • A bit of client work (finalize an upgrade, and a new header image for a client)
  • Spend at least one hour on a new theme for a client
  • Release my “Bibliophile” WordPress theme from Monday

The reward

Feed reading time!

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15
Oct 08

Plowing through

Yesterday was a smashing success. I battered through loads of resistance and came out with my MITs done. I’ve already ordered my book.

I’m on a new idea rampage and have several I’d like to pursue. That’s usually slightly dangerous as I end up dropping things I already am working on, and the pattern repeats about every three or four months, so I don’t actually launch anything.

Accompanying the new idea rampage is the inevitable domain name rampage. So many good domain names available, so little time to develop them all! Must… resist…

In other news, Daniel and I went to KTSY’s donor banquet and listener appreciation concert last night. We picked the days we want to sponsor this year: International Talk Like a Pirate Day (which also happens to be our anniversary) and William Wilberforce’s birthday (last year we did Leap Day and Pi Day). :)

The concert part was excellent. The band 33 Miles played, and despite having a harrowing day of travel, did a great job. I particularly appreciated their emphasis on worship and God—unfortunately I’ve seen many Christian bands who seem like they’re mostly there to have fun, be stars, etc. and God is kind of an afterthought. This was refreshing.

Most Important Tasks

  • A bit of client work (another couple of upgrades, and a requested template tweak)
  • Set up my blogging course on a public server and get membership plugin working with it
  • Spend at least one hour on a new theme for a client

The reward

Two domains. :)

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14
Oct 08

Back on the Wagon

Summer Planner
Creative Commons License photo credit: adamjinj

Didn’t even get close yesterday. The theme consumed me (but it was so much fun!) and I didn’t get to the other two MITs at all… so more for today. :( I technically have four MITs and that’s not allowed, so I’m going to get creative to fit them all in.

On the upside, my bedside still looks exactly like it did in last week’s “after” picture!

Most Important Tasks

  • Do the “simple” upgrades and tweaks I’ve already promised two clients
  • Write a master list of all the tasks that need doing on my two big projects (this is meant to keep me from freaking out in the face of what feels like never-ending tasks, which terrify me)
  • Make a little progress on the two big projects, but more importantly, communicate the plan to the clients

The reward

The idea of finishing seems far-fetched but also crucial (if I fall further behind today, I’m toast). Let’s make it something really good and motivational. Scanning the Amazon list…

Ooh, I know! Amy Butler’s Little Stitches. And whatever else I want to get to the $25 Super Saver Shipping threshold.

That’s actually shockingly motivational for me, so I think I’ve hit on a good one (just not a dollar amount I can sustain daily!).

Daily Check-In / Monday Motivation — 1 Comment
13
Oct 08

Go go go!

Going nowhere fast
Creative Commons License photo credit: NathanFromDeVryEET

Getting right down to business because I’m excited about my first task. :)

Most Important Tasks

  • Create a new WordPress theme based on book navigation (table of contents, index, etc.)
  • Set up my operations manual with said theme, and port the existing content over
  • Perform (or write instructions for Leanna to perform) promised upgrades for a client

The reward

Permission to spend as much time as I want reading my feeds (after work is done!).

Daily Check-In — 3 Comments
10
Oct 08

Ready for the Weekend

paris queueing
Creative Commons License photo credit: benjamin_mercadier

Got my list done yesterday, but didn’t buy the Christmas album yet because I need to listen (over and over and over) to the songs we’re going to be leading for church tomorrow. There’s two this week that are new to me, so bring on the “repeat” feature. :)

I’m a little afraid of today. “Afraid” meaning “terrified” in this case… I caught a glimpse of my email after work yesterday (something I try to avoid in an attempt at sanity) and see that the feedback I’ve been waiting for on my two biggest projects all came in, and someone I pitched a month ago wrote to say, “We’re ready to get started!” And that’s in addition to all the already-scheduled stuff.

Amazing how often this happens—when a bunch of “waiting for” stuff suddenly becomes “next action”… And unlike most of my self-inflicted time management issues, I’m not sure there’s anything I can do to avoid it. I’ll just have to tell the new project folks that “I’ll be available” later than they’re hoping, I guess. After all, they’re the ones who waited a month to make a decision.

To top it off, I gained four pounds in the last 24 hours. Obviously, that’s not all “real” but it does reflect the poor food choices I made (even low fat banana bread is fattening in the quantities I ate!).

So I’m instituting a new rule: any day that I’m over my target daily weight, I’ll track my food intake. Tracking (even by itself) works extremely well for me, but I avoid doing it because it’s a pain. But absurd weight gain is more of a pain, so hopefully this will keep me on track.

Most Important Tasks

  • Release a Twitter background
  • Add three lessons to the blog training course
  • Create front-end theme for the blog training course

The reward

Permission to spend as much time as I want reading my feeds (after work is done!).

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9
Oct 08

Entrepreneurial Seizures

The Idea Market was fun, and it was good to meet so many of my Twitter friends in person (my pink hair helped, as many of them recognized me before seeing my name tag—and even then it was more like, “Hey, you’re bookchiq!”).

One of the exercises was creating an entrepreneurial board game. My group came up with “Make Lemonade”, with the goal of creating a successful lemonade stand (the de facto entrepreneurial venture, right?). The picture is from another group’s “Squirrels with Coal” game, which cracked me up. They did a great job taking some random props and running with them!

As you can tell from my list below, my priority right now is making progress on some of my own entrepreneurial ventures. And even though it’s not in the list for today, my Twitter backgrounds project is moving forward, too; I’m just waiting on some design work.

Most Important Tasks

  • Upgrade a theme for a client
  • Add three lessons to the blog training course
  • Write front-page copy for the blog training course

The reward

Casting Crowns‘ newly released Christmas album (from iTunes). Well, assuming the preview makes it sound good. :)

P.S. Why is “seizures” spelled “e-i” and not “i-e”? Didn’t they get the “i before e” memo?! And it’s sure not “sounded as ay as in neighbor and weigh”! Hmm. Maybe I need to get out more.

Daily Check-In — 1 Comment
8
Oct 08

Wednesday, October 8

Yesterday went much better than Monday. I got my stuff done, and even did a background for my own Twitter profile.

After work, I went for a mountain bike ride and was pleased to find that despite being 30 weeks pregnant and not having ridden for almost a month (I kind of broke my bike the last time I was out), I was not significantly weaker or slower than last time. Plus there were cookies and Chinese food afterward. :)

Oh, and did you see my oh-so-clean dresser?

Besides the regular work of the day, tonight I’m going to the Boise Idea Market, which promises to be thought provoking. :) I’m looking forward to it.

Most Important Tasks

  • Email: provide two quotes, answer two questions, and follow up on three projects
  • Finish task-management functions for training course
  • Come up with an “unreasonable request” for the Idea Market

The reward

What the heck? I’ll try for the candy mold again.

Productivity — 1 Comment
7
Oct 08

Missing motivation


Read more Frazz

Daily Check-In / Tackle It Tuesday — 3 Comments
7
Oct 08

Tackling Tuesday

we're just a wee bit overwhelmed by being AT CINDERELLA'S CASTLE
Creative Commons License photo credit: ninjapoodles

Yesterday didn’t go so well. Part of it was that two of my three Most Important Tasks actually turned out to require a lot more “prerequisites” than I expected—I needed to download and install very large software for one (which took a long time), and the designer didn’t have the files ready for the other, so there was no way to pass them on to the client. Oops.

I’m definitely feeling a bit overwhelmed with all that needs to be done. Every day I get more requests from existing clients—not necessarily big requests, just more “items” that need to get fit in somewhere.

I’m probably going to have to pick a hard “cut-off” date when I just say, “Can’t take any more!” Maybe November 15, since that’s a month before my due date, and people will naturally expect me to ramp down for the holidays… but I’d better start spreading the word, I guess.

Most Important Tasks

  • Create an instructional video for a client
  • Tackle It Tuesday (see details below)
  • Ummmmm… I know there was one more. I’ll update when I remember it.

The reward

Permission to make some more Twitter backgrounds for TweetStyle (with whatever time remains).

Tackle It Tuesday

One of the most continuously-messy areas of my house is my dresser and the rest of the area on my side of the bed (much to the frustration of my mister). Beyond his complaints and the fact that I hate looking at it, it’s also going to be the spot where we’ll put a (much smaller) end table + the baby’s bassinet.

Before we buy an end table, though, I need to prove I can keep it clean. So the goal for today is to clean it, and the goal for the next month is to keep it that way. Then I will feel like a furniture purchase is a fair request!

Here’s the before picture…

…and after!

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