Time Management Links to Start Your Week

Posted on December 10, 2007 by Bruce Keener

Here are a few time management links to get you into the organizing mode for your week ahead.

  • If you are a creative person, such as my friend Lance Gallup, you will want to grab a copy of Mark McGuinness’ 32-page Time Management for Creative People. [Source = Copyblogger]
  • Of course, while you are at it, you’ll want to grab a copy of my 56-page ebook on time management for techies. :)
  • Speaking of how-to freebies, via Lifehacker we learn that there is an a One Page Linux reference. If you are one of the many folks who are new to Linux, this is definitely a good reference to have and can be a huge time-saver for you. As Lifehacker points out, it is 8 years old, so a little bit of it may not work with your Linux distribution, but sure is a handy reference to have.
  • Scott at lifehack.org has a post on misapplying the 80-20 rule. This is a worthwhile read, because you are likely to hear many people talking about the 80-20 rule who do not have any idea what it really means and what its limitations are.
  • Speaking of lifehack.org, we learn from them that Study Habits has put together a really solid post on GTD for college students. Actually, a pretty good summary of GTD for anyone.
  • Dr Stephen Covey has started his own blog. While there are only a couple of articles in it so far, I expect this will turn out to be an enormously valuable life management resource.

Thomas had the excellent idea for me to do these types of aggregation posts from time to time, because it would help him and others to not have to read so many feeds. I appreciate his suggestion.

Speaking of Thomas, I was complaining to him over the weekend that my ebook has been downloaded over 1200 times, but that I have only received one $7 donation for all of that. Boo, hoo, hoo.

Of course, I would not expect, or want, any of my 200 regular subscribers to donate anything for the book, but I was disappointed that only one of the other 1,000 donated. I am not a greedy bastard, but when I put forth a lot of effort, I like to see something in return. That’s natural. So, I was a bit discouraged, and it was good of him to remind me that I do have a lot of loyal readers. That also reminded me that I do enjoy blogging, although I hate the part where I get writer’s block and cannot think of anything to write.

I am less discouraged now. Traffic has been increasing and comments continue to flow, so, all in all, I feel that my time is pretty well spent here. I do sometimes wonder if this is what I really should be doing when I grow up. I wonder, if this were the last year of my life, is this how I should be spending a lot of it? But certainly this blog is a good way for me to learn from you, just as you hopefully learn from me: I love your comments. There are a lot of great tips and insights within a number of the comments, and I appreciate every one of them.

Well, thanks for letting me get that off my chest. My best wishes to you all for a good week.

Update: For all of my “regular” readers, please do NOT donate. I am not trying to hit my friends up for money: I just wanted the non-regular readers to contribute, occasionally, IF they find value in the work. I do not want to mooch off of my friends. Please see the comments below for further clarification.

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  • Pat

    I just donated $5 for your ebook as I have been using your site information since 2002. I started with a Jornada, then an Axim X5, X50v, and now an IPAQ 111. (My Axim X50v touchscreen stopped working). I have used your site along with Covey, GTD, zenhabits, and DIT to create a personal workflow “Lifeflow” process. I manage it all out of Mindmanager, Pocket Mindmanager, and Outlook. Thanks for all the great posts!
    Sincerely,
    Pat

  • http://www.keenerliving.com/ Bruce

    Hi Pat,

    I was so surprised to see your donation: I did not expect any of “my regulars” to donate, and that is certainly not what I was trying to accomplish with the post. Heck, I don’t know what I was trying to accomplish … just cry on your shoulders a bit I guess. I really only want non-regular users to donate, and then if and only if they feel the ebook (or other material) is of value to them. I guess I have just been disappointed that so few of the non-regulars do not consider the material worthy of a donation. It’s kinda like being told your baby is ugly, for example.

    But, thank you nonetheless, very much, and thank you for sharing how you blend different techniques. That is exactly what I like to see people do: blending systems so they work for you, rather than just parroting someone else’s styles.

    Best wishes Pat!

  • Capo

    Hmmm. Good point. I made a token donation as well – I haven’t downloaded the ebook as such, but I do remember reading the material in website form and bookmarking it years ago when I was a PocketPC user. It’s good stuff, and deserves some recognition. I wouldn’t take the lack of donations personally though – I’ve lost track of how many times my songs have been downloaded, but I know how many donations I’ve received: none. I regularly have people ask about a CD and express an interest in buying it, so maybe it’s a desire to have something tangible in hand before handing over cash. iTunes doesn’t seem to have that problem though, so I don’t know.

  • http://www.keenerliving.com/ Bruce

    Capo —

    My Lord, what have I done? I appreciate your donation, my friend, but this is not what I was trying to accomplish. [See my comment to Pat.] Heck, if anything I should donate to you … without all the fine comments you have made, this blog would be nothing. You have added so much value that I feel like I owe you a donation.

    Time for me to update the post, I can tell.

    But, having said that, I am grateful for your donation. I just do not want “regulars” to donate, though.

    And, I think it is a crying shame that you have received no donations for your music. I will remedy that.

  • Capo

    Oh, and I forgot to mention that I’m apparently following just a few steps behind you around the web. I discovered Covey’s blog, only to find your comment already there, and I read McGuiness’ ebook last night. Nothing new there for me, but it was a reminder of at least one thing I’ve let slip – that being my habit of letting myself get caught up in the “urgent” every morning and being swept away in the current of email, phone calls, useless but mandatory meetings, etc. At the end of the day I’m often frustrated by the fact that I’ve wasted another precious day of my life chasing my tail and not really accomplishing anything of real value. For that reminder alone, it was worth the read.

  • http://www.keenerliving.com/ Bruce

    Thanks my friend. McGuiness’ ebook is a good, concise summary of important material. I came across it in one of my feeds, Copyblogger, and knew you guys would like it.

    I am really glad to see Covey rolling out his own blog. I look forward to his writings.

    Well, I gotta run do some errands.

  • http://www.wishfulthinking.co.uk/blog Mark McGuinness

    Bruce – thanks for the link and for alerting me to Steven Covey’s blog, fascinating to see the man himself delivering a video on the first habit this morning.

    Capo – yes, life is often about reminding ourselves of what we already know… one reason I wrote the e-book was as a reminder to myself!