Recently, I contemplated adding HBO back to my list of cable channels. I used to be a proponent for having the biggest cable package on the planet - I'm a "movie buff", after all. I also had Netflix, to get those movies I couldn't watch on HBO, Showtime, and Starz. To complement that, I bought the movies I really liked, to show some kind of perverse allegiance to the movie.
That was also when I was in college and lived with several people who could share the cost of paying for all those wonderful movie channels. When I moved in with my fiancee, I convinced her to throw out the channels, on the grounds that we could rent the 'exclusive' TV shows on Netflix or buy them on DVD, if we were desperate.
What I've learned is that availability matters to most people. I thought I would absolutely die when my favorite drama, Dexter, came back this year. I made it out all right. During this last stretch of Big Love, LP and I went over to JOAJ's apartment to watch HBO, bringing along brownies or cookies to "pay" for what we were watching.
It's easy for convenience services to get out of hand. This post is pertinent to my life right now, as well, because I am contemplating getting rid of a video game rental service from Hollywood Video. I keep rationalizing it by saying that it's actually saving me money, because I'm no longer buying video games.
And, honestly, it has probably saved me money, as I did not buy the new Resident Evil - which was very tempting - or Bioshock - which I wanted very much. Those two games alone would have set me back $120 bucks, easily half of my total yearly cost of being enrolled in the Hollywood Video service.
So what I guess I'm advocating here is that you should weigh the cost, both actual and opportunity, of these services instead of blindly paying for them. They could easily eat into your paycheck without any benefit. For example, if you have Netflix, divide the monthly cost by how many movies you watch per month. If you pay $24/month and only watch four movies, you're paying six bucks a movie. Is that worth the cost to you? What if you go months without watching a movie?
Moreover, if you currently suscribe to monthly convenience services and don't want to get rid of them, start using them to decrease what I'll call the per cost. Like Netflix above, if you suscribe to it, start watching movies. In fact, if you spend more time at home with movies - if they are your passion - you'll probably save money on other things, like going out to movies or to restaurants. It's all in your perspective.
Showing posts with label Organization. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Organization. Show all posts
Apr 10, 2009
Apr 3, 2009
Prioritize Your Life: Cleaning
I'm not going to pretend that I can solve all of your problems with a single, short blog posts. Believe me, I'm no saint of cleaning myself (ask my fiancee).
But I do have a system, and - when I follow it - my system works very well. My system, obviously, is not a panacea. I have certain cleaning tastes that fit my personality, and working within a certain set of standards helps me to achieve.
The best advice I can give you is: figure out what kind of cleaning personality you have, and then work it out from there. It will help you develop shortcuts to take all the work out of cleaning. For example, I am pretty lazy when it comes to mail, so right by the door I have a container where I can put all of my mail to go through once a week (or so). If I didn't have it, then there would be letters everywhere and I wouldn't be able to find anything.
I recently read a blog post over at Unclutterer, where they recommend cleaning for no more than fifteen minutes a day. They say that, cleaning for fifteen minutes a day, focusing on a different task every day, will save you from having to do a major overhaul each weekend.
I don't always use that system, because I clean in cycles. I'll get really adamant about cleaning for a week, and then have a bad week. Which is okay, because I realize that. So what I end up doing is setting up systems so that everything doesn't go crazy when I don't clean every day. I have a "landing pad" for all my stuff when I get home, so that my shoes and bookbag don't get strewn everywhere. Also, I try not to wash clothes and dishes on the same day, and I do one the very best that I can, so that one task doesn't get neglected.
Unclutterer always has useful information on how to clean efficiently, even for those who don't know your cleaning 'type'.
But I do have a system, and - when I follow it - my system works very well. My system, obviously, is not a panacea. I have certain cleaning tastes that fit my personality, and working within a certain set of standards helps me to achieve.
The best advice I can give you is: figure out what kind of cleaning personality you have, and then work it out from there. It will help you develop shortcuts to take all the work out of cleaning. For example, I am pretty lazy when it comes to mail, so right by the door I have a container where I can put all of my mail to go through once a week (or so). If I didn't have it, then there would be letters everywhere and I wouldn't be able to find anything.
I recently read a blog post over at Unclutterer, where they recommend cleaning for no more than fifteen minutes a day. They say that, cleaning for fifteen minutes a day, focusing on a different task every day, will save you from having to do a major overhaul each weekend.
I don't always use that system, because I clean in cycles. I'll get really adamant about cleaning for a week, and then have a bad week. Which is okay, because I realize that. So what I end up doing is setting up systems so that everything doesn't go crazy when I don't clean every day. I have a "landing pad" for all my stuff when I get home, so that my shoes and bookbag don't get strewn everywhere. Also, I try not to wash clothes and dishes on the same day, and I do one the very best that I can, so that one task doesn't get neglected.
Unclutterer always has useful information on how to clean efficiently, even for those who don't know your cleaning 'type'.
Mar 27, 2009
Prioritize Your Life: Television
Prioritize Your Life: Television
I know that I'm going to be touching a third rail here, but I'm also doing it willingly, so it's all right. It's a pleasurable job to needle the common man. Just kidding! I've blogged about prioritizing your e-mail in the past, and I'm continuing the process of helping you "get a time refund" by pointing out habits that can be curbed or cut out altogether. Organization's straw man for today is television.
Television is great. I love television. But, at the same time, I'm not beholden to the television networks or their ploys to make me spend my time sitting down and being passively invested in their shows. Ouch. That comes off a little more aggro than I would like, but I swear I'm only making a point here. The more time you spend watching television, especially shows you've already seen (or seen multiple times), the less time you have to do other, more productive activities in life.
I get it. After a long day of work - or looking for work, in this economy - passive entertainment is hard to beat. We've all been there. Your brain is fried. Your body can't seem to get off the couch, even when commanded. All you want to do is sink into the couch.
But how about - and this is just a suggestion - you take a day off completely and focus on a goal you've made for yourself. Even if you only watch an hour of television a day, think of how much you can do for yourself once a week. You can repair that leaky faucet or take your dogs for a walk or (like me) work on that daunting novel.
Or, similarly, if you cut your time in half (or a quarter!), you can increase the happiness quotient on the old "things to do" list and get back some of that time that just seems to slip away. Instead of watching T.V. for an hour each day, you can cut out half of that time and devote it to reading a book or searching for a new job or paying bills, so that it won't be looming over your head, which always seems to distract me from fully enjoying a program anyway.
Especially in the age of the internet, you can make a certain time yours so that you don't feel like you're on the treadmill. If you have a must-watch show, HULU.com is a great resource for you to "pick up" certain shows. If you have weekends free, that could be a time to actively catch up on television, and then, if you don't have a DVR, you can watch your shows mostly commercial-free.
Again, I'm no productivity expert, but these are tips I've learned that work for me. My hope is you find a system that works for you!
I know that I'm going to be touching a third rail here, but I'm also doing it willingly, so it's all right. It's a pleasurable job to needle the common man. Just kidding! I've blogged about prioritizing your e-mail in the past, and I'm continuing the process of helping you "get a time refund" by pointing out habits that can be curbed or cut out altogether. Organization's straw man for today is television.
Television is great. I love television. But, at the same time, I'm not beholden to the television networks or their ploys to make me spend my time sitting down and being passively invested in their shows. Ouch. That comes off a little more aggro than I would like, but I swear I'm only making a point here. The more time you spend watching television, especially shows you've already seen (or seen multiple times), the less time you have to do other, more productive activities in life.
I get it. After a long day of work - or looking for work, in this economy - passive entertainment is hard to beat. We've all been there. Your brain is fried. Your body can't seem to get off the couch, even when commanded. All you want to do is sink into the couch.
But how about - and this is just a suggestion - you take a day off completely and focus on a goal you've made for yourself. Even if you only watch an hour of television a day, think of how much you can do for yourself once a week. You can repair that leaky faucet or take your dogs for a walk or (like me) work on that daunting novel.
Or, similarly, if you cut your time in half (or a quarter!), you can increase the happiness quotient on the old "things to do" list and get back some of that time that just seems to slip away. Instead of watching T.V. for an hour each day, you can cut out half of that time and devote it to reading a book or searching for a new job or paying bills, so that it won't be looming over your head, which always seems to distract me from fully enjoying a program anyway.
Especially in the age of the internet, you can make a certain time yours so that you don't feel like you're on the treadmill. If you have a must-watch show, HULU.com is a great resource for you to "pick up" certain shows. If you have weekends free, that could be a time to actively catch up on television, and then, if you don't have a DVR, you can watch your shows mostly commercial-free.
Again, I'm no productivity expert, but these are tips I've learned that work for me. My hope is you find a system that works for you!
Mar 19, 2009
10 Self-Lies to Get You Into Debt
Today, Consumerist.com is discussing one of my favorite topics: debt. I should like it; I have a lot. Enough to go around, in fact, if anybody wants to take up the slack here. But it's all student loan debt, so that's all right. [Smirks]
The article I mentioned lists the top ten excuses people make to put themselves into debt, no matter their intentions. Not on the list: These hookers take plastic!?
I'll encourage you to add your own excuse in the comment section. One of mine would be, "Well, you can never have too many books, so..." I'm a notorious bibliophile even among my friends, who are (almost) all literate themselves. Sorry, some of the people from Alpharetta. J/K.
The article I mentioned lists the top ten excuses people make to put themselves into debt, no matter their intentions. Not on the list: These hookers take plastic!?
I'll encourage you to add your own excuse in the comment section. One of mine would be, "Well, you can never have too many books, so..." I'm a notorious bibliophile even among my friends, who are (almost) all literate themselves. Sorry, some of the people from Alpharetta. J/K.
Feb 5, 2009
Prioritize Your Life: E-Mail
I don't know of anybody who hasn't uttered the following phrase: There aren't enough hours in the day. I've said it more than once - often multiple times in a given day. But it doesn't have to be that way (and no, I'm not offering an "As seen on TV" device).
The advice I want to give you is, as far as time goes, the little things add up. Whether it's checking e-mail, checking the casserole, or checking this blog, there are plenty of time vacuums that rob you of your free time.
There is no single way to free up every minute of every day, but there are definite methods to give you a time rebate, so you can enjoy the things you love more and spend less time with the things that are plaguing your existence. Some of them you might not even realize you're doing.
I'll be blogging a series of these over the next couple of weeks, so check back in - although not too often!
E-MAIL:
E-Mail is a big time-waster. Think of how many times you check your e-mail over the course of the day. Five? Ten? Fifty? It can happen, and I know people who compulsively check their e-mail, thinking they might be missing something extremely important. Not true, in most cases.
Solution: Check your e-mail only a couple times over the course of the day, when traffic is at its height or when you've been away from the computer the longest. Optimally, you should check e-mail once in the morning when you wake up, at lunch, and then once in the evening.
For an added bonus: Deal with your e-mail in those sessions, clearing the inbox a little each time, rather than taking an hour or two to get it all cleaned up later in the week. Or, on the other hand, if it works best for you to deal with e-mail at once, make sure you have the most streamlined system possible.
That same principle - checking things only once or twice a day - can be applied to all web-surfing, but I'll get into it in more depth in another post.
SPAM:
If you spend as much time clicking and then deleting SPAM messages as you do sorting through important mail, then taking the time to install a proper SPAM filter may be the thing for you. A recent blog post over at Unclutterer discusses this very topic in depth, advocating that you install a server-side spam filter on your e-mail so that more unwanted messages go into the junk mail folder in the future. GMail - not to get on my high horse! - has a wonderful SPAM deterrent.
The advice I want to give you is, as far as time goes, the little things add up. Whether it's checking e-mail, checking the casserole, or checking this blog, there are plenty of time vacuums that rob you of your free time.
There is no single way to free up every minute of every day, but there are definite methods to give you a time rebate, so you can enjoy the things you love more and spend less time with the things that are plaguing your existence. Some of them you might not even realize you're doing.
I'll be blogging a series of these over the next couple of weeks, so check back in - although not too often!
E-MAIL:
E-Mail is a big time-waster. Think of how many times you check your e-mail over the course of the day. Five? Ten? Fifty? It can happen, and I know people who compulsively check their e-mail, thinking they might be missing something extremely important. Not true, in most cases.
Solution: Check your e-mail only a couple times over the course of the day, when traffic is at its height or when you've been away from the computer the longest. Optimally, you should check e-mail once in the morning when you wake up, at lunch, and then once in the evening.
For an added bonus: Deal with your e-mail in those sessions, clearing the inbox a little each time, rather than taking an hour or two to get it all cleaned up later in the week. Or, on the other hand, if it works best for you to deal with e-mail at once, make sure you have the most streamlined system possible.
That same principle - checking things only once or twice a day - can be applied to all web-surfing, but I'll get into it in more depth in another post.
SPAM:
If you spend as much time clicking and then deleting SPAM messages as you do sorting through important mail, then taking the time to install a proper SPAM filter may be the thing for you. A recent blog post over at Unclutterer discusses this very topic in depth, advocating that you install a server-side spam filter on your e-mail so that more unwanted messages go into the junk mail folder in the future. GMail - not to get on my high horse! - has a wonderful SPAM deterrent.
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