Technological Black Thumb

As I sip my Dunkin’ Donuts Hazelnut coffee from a rather kitsch Mile 0: Key West mug, I feel inspired. No, inspired isn’t the right word for it. Invigorated would be a better word for it. After a recent visit to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, I feel like the mission control room leader– pacing about and overseeing the various technicians at their stations. I’m preparing for lift-off in Five…

Four…

Three…

Two…

One…

Zero…

Technologically speaking, I am going on a diet. At thirty (point) five, I am embarking upon a mission of epic proportions. I am doing this not only for myself, but for my lovely partners in crime, namely my MacMini, Turbo Sunshine. At the moment, my productivity and organization levels are plodding about like a little, angry Shetland Pony left by itself at a medieval fair. She can’t even give rides to little kids. She just stays tied up at the fence all alone, eating grass, and muttering to the world how much her station in life feels stagnant. My goal for this little pony is to transform into a sleek, speedy mare. I want her to tromp around, frolic, and race. She needs to not only rundown her opponent in the joust, but go the distance as well. From today, I am embarking upon the Shetland Pony-Mustang Karen (Shetland-Mustang) Mission into creative outer space. Streamlining, organizing, and healthy habits are necessary keys for success.

Phase I: Getting Organized - The desire of instant gratification always makes this process so frustrating. I always want to short cut or circumvent this process completely. My muse wants to get down and dirty, but I find her struggling to get anything accomplished in the chaos that is my workstation.

Stage One: Web Presence - For the time being, I have given up on multiple blogs and attempting to generate web content. My malnourished B/net ChangeLog has become the mainstay of my public web presence. LiveJournal is used for my more private thoughts, and is limited to close friends and family only. Throughout the past ten plus years, I have attempted and failed on multiple occasions to build and maintain an effective website. When reviewing blogs and sites of my friends, the inner competitor gets fired up. However, after a few vain attempts, I have regrettably thrown in the towel time and time again. Until I can develop a concept worth generating consistent web content, I decided to put a stop order on my multiple futile attempts.

Stage Two: Productivity Tools – Since the purchase of my MacMini, I have ventured away from MicroSoft Office and NeoOffice, and gravitated toward using Scrivener as a means of organizing my writing projects. Though I began ‘the Switch’ in November 2007, I still have yet to fully complete the process. Two factors (and large excuses) contributing to this are 1) my employers consistently use PCs, so I am constant jumping between the two formats, and 2) my parents’ have two computers in the house, neither of which are Apple machines. So as to bridge the gap between my Mac and the PCs in my life, I’ve been resorting to the package of platforms generated by Google (Blogger, Calendar, Gmail, and Wave to name a few). My Mini doesn’t lend to easy transport like a flash drive, so under the guise of convenience, I have been working double time without much success.

My Mini comes with plenty of programs which go unused for long periods of time (or maintain their virginity because I am too chicken to tackle them). The sloth in me nags time and time again to purchase the MicroSoft Office Suite for Mac, so I can maximize my productivity when working. My employer has provided me with a laptop, so I have no real reason to justify the purchase any longer. I can do the work on my work laptop and leave my precious Apple for personal use. So as to foster a healthier lifestyle, a separation between church (personal) and state (professional) are necessary. Before I make the purchase of new software, I need to categorize the purchase and evaluate if it is truly necessary (or if I am seeking out something easier).

Mountains of paper also stand between me and organizational bliss. Some of my missing electronic files have paper counterparts, but as to their location— the closest I have is ‘in a box somewhere in my parents’ attic.’ I need an awesome scanner that can get the job done with minimal frustration, so I can put the papers in the recycle bin, but have the information stored. This is one my larger projects and obstacles that has prevented me from applying for any form of creative orientated graduate programs. My undergrad papers and projects magically disappeared from my PC which I left behind in Florida while I was in Japan.

Stage Three: File Management – Transitioning between Stages Two and Three may prove to be the most arduous of tasks. With using two platforms, I have multiple files of the same documents, but in different formats. Many of these files are simply taking up disk space, as I no need for them at the time being. Additionally, I do not have hard copies of many of my older files which could problematic as I am currently having a hard disk situation with my 1Tb external hard drive. I need to find ways to access information, but the archival process is one I am truly dreading. I using Scrivener for setting up my multiple (incomplete) writing projects, but I am going to use it to create a more condensed version of other materials and documents. I have an obsession with the ‘create new folder’ function on both PC and Mac that I have far too many folders, leading to too many places for Finder to hunt through when I actually need to find something. The Stage Three team has decided that copies of the information will be collected in Scriv files, but the original documents will be saved to data disk and removed for external storage.

My inner five year old is adamantly protesting this process as if it were a plate of brussel sprouts. I’m not letting her leave the table this time. She’s wriggled her way out of it multiple times, but I just can’t stand it any longer. We’re going to stay seated at the table until every last byte is finished.

Stage Four: Time Management – I love calendars. I love color coding and labeling. I love colored markers, pens, and highlighters. I love making To Do Lists. However, sometimes I think I love the process of creating this things as opposed to actually handling the tasks at hand. I am searching for the same passion and energy in task execution that I posses when I am planning. This is certain one of the many things I need to work on and develop. My daytime and nighttime schedules are quite different, but I believe that it is necessary to organize both, so as to use my time effectively.

Phase II: Project Management - Once Phase I is complete, I believe I will be able to advance into the more difficult phase— the one where I will actually get work done. The work list has yet to be generated. The prioritization of said list must wait. Timelines will need to wait. These items need to hang out at the water cooler and keep themselves preoccupied while I get to work. I know that they are going to get restless and demand attention, but I cannot ignore the obstacles preventing me from getting my act together any longer. I do not know how long Phase I may take, but I am setting a preliminary deadline of March 8th (two months from today).

Houston, we have lift-off, and ‘failure is not an option.’

This entry was posted on Friday, January 8th, 2010 at 9:00 am and is filed under Blogging, Resolutions, Shetland-Mustang Mission. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.