Why wait to buy a book on procrastination? Get it free!

I found Overcoming Procrastination on Wikipedia. It has a full set of details and methods to fight the procrastination urge.

I will probably read it later…

The Browser of Your Dreams

Build it yourself, for yourself.

I use my extensions to give myself the browser I can only dream of having. But, it takes a while to find the best ones, so here, I will give you what I have found and why I like them. I have tested most of these on both Windows XP and on Linux (Ubuntu 5.10) so you should be able to use them there. I am not sure about the Mac usage though.

First, always start with a fresh Firefox download from here.

Next, the goods- Extensions:

Keep a del.icio.us schedule

If there are those of you that do not use del.icio.us in your day to day work and to do listing. I think I have a reason to use it for you now.

Ready?

It is a simple one.

OK. Here it is.

Tags.

Now, you are probably thinking, “What do you think I am? An idiot? I know about and use tags all the time! My cat is tagged as feline, demanding, wierd, furry-not-sexual!”

Please hear me out though, because I think I found something not many others do.

Forgot to save the instructions? No problem.

Ok, this is going to be one of those ideas that you will wind up smacking your head about if you don’t already do it.

I have begun, with all of my new appliances or electronics, or really anything that is complicated enough to need a manual. As soon as I purchase an item, I now go to search for the internet version of the user manual and download it for my future reference.

For example, I have a Motorola DCT-6412 DVR from my Comcast cable company. After searching for it, I find the online PDF downloadable version of the manual at the Motorola DCT-6412 website. I can download it and save it to my “Manuals” folder in my system reference folders, possibly printing a copy, which then can go in a normal folder or a 3-ring binder for manuals. I recomend printing one if you have a strange sized manual or it is bent in a way that can’t be straightened due to the packaging.

I especially recommend this for your computer manual, if the print one is difficult to file for some reason. If your system is broken, having the manual on the hard drive is not that useful.

Now, this may be enough for some, but I like to also do follow up with one additonal step.

Email mosh pit

Well, I am currently in the process of pummeling my email into a shape resembling the GTD model. It is a long steep hill, but every day I climb it, I find a new handhold. I will share some of my gathered tips and where I got them later, but right now, while it is coming at me from all sides, it is hard to remember to stick to the GTD methods. This blog is going to be a big part of reminding myself why I am doing it.

I love my job and belive in what I do, but I know that, had I not found Getting Things Done, I would have been putting off quitting one day at a time till it was Quit/Heart Attack/Get Fired time.

Why “The Life Ironic” for a Blog?

You may ask yourself, “Self, why would he call his blog that?” My answer would be two parts.

First, please seek help. Talking to yourself can be signs of mental illness.

Second, I, and many others, have noticed a certain synchronicity to the events in my life. Situations where I am confronted with irony of the most cruel sort. Possibly, much of this comes from an examination of events which is way too deep. For an example that many can relate to in their life, I see MUCH irony in the constant conflict between production and quality that most companies seem to enforce. I support both ideas in principle, but the flux between the two is something that many seem unable to stabalize. Here is exactly what I see to be the inherent ironic conflict.

Electronics wires got you in a tangle?

Try using a glasses case to carry and separate them. Everytime I get a pair of glasses, I get a case, but can’t use it, because my glasses are of the wearing = seeing kind. This lets me put those old cases to work.

The scrub is done!

I finished the physical scrub (mostly) of my desk today. I now have a couple of drawers of old files that are still hanging there, but now my desk and active files are good to go.

Forgot to take a before pic, but here is the after.

Well, off to bed now. Back to the journey tomorrow.

It begins…

This is to be the beginning of my new Life Ironic. From here, I will bring together everything that I find to make my life better, easier and less like God’s sitcom. Please stay tuned for further announcements.