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#30: Walk To The Grocery Store

poweredbytofu — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 18:56:33 +0000

I’ve pretty much been walking to the grocery store since I started traveling. ;) I probably did most of my international grocery shopping in New Zealand and Greece though. New Zealand was an easy country to carry around a food bag and actually cook in the evenings, while in Greece I was buying more snack items like Bake Rolls and Laughing Cow cheese. So I originally put this on the list referring to walking from “home” to my closest market. But I’m still going to consider this one accomplished.

#87: Consciously Stop Saying ‘yeah’ And ‘like’ For 1 Week

poweredbytofu — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 20:33:31 +0000

The beauty of being in a foreign country alone, is that it can be easier to kick a bad habit! Since it was all Greek to me anyway, I found myself using less filler words when trying to communicate. All the added words, such as “like” and “yeah” just add confusion. So while I still had to stop and think a bit, I managed to tone down my “like” bad habit.

How Minty are you?

poweredbytofu — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:23:27 +0000

My only complaint with online money management software, Mint.com, was fixed today. Finally, the ability to add loan accounts! Asset (investment) accounts were added a few months ago, although my 401k provider is not listed. I was able to check it out with my IRA account though, and it’s pretty sweet, with all of the expected colorful graphs and change values.

The only drawback? My Net Worth and Cash Flow stats looked sooo much nicer without my student loan added in. Now if only they could add an Intangible Asset feature, so I could add my MBA too.

#66: Quit Drinking Coffee For 1 Month

poweredbytofu — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:46:49 +0000

I kicked the coffee habit while I was in SE Asia. Or maybe I just replaced it with tea? Or Tiger beer? Anyway, my morning headaches finally disappeared and then I found myself ordering coffee drinks at dinner as a treat instead of a necessity. Good on ya’ mate! ;)

#10: Write in a work journal for 1 month

poweredbytofu — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 06:00:11 +0000

The purpose of writing in a work “journal” was to be able to look back and see how much I collectively accomplished in one month. Did it work? Yes and no. At first, I documented too much. :) Surprise, surprise, but it ended up being a good thing. Towards the end, I just noted what projects I worked on during each day.

Why this helped me :

By documenting every mundane task, it helped me realize what I was doing (everyday) to waste time and avoid what I really needed to get done.
The mundane task situation also helped me realize a few “tasks” that I need to get rid of, by fixing root problems.
I let a few projects span out way longer than expected. Yes, this happens sometimes, but I need to focus on actively managing my projects.

#56: 52 Books in 52 Weeks | Week 13 – Getting Things Done

poweredbytofu — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 04:26:59 +0000

You either love or hate GTD (Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity). Although the Allen-ite way of productivity seems to have lost it’s best-seller momentum, it’s still a decent way to get things accomplished. So I decided a re-read was in order. I hadn’t read this book in a few years, so it was nice to have a little refresher of how not to waste time thinking about all the stuff you have to do.

But I had forgotten how time consuming some of the “lists” are. Last year, I stopped using 3-4 different lists (waiting for, someday/maybe etc) and just started using Remember The Milk instead. This is way less time consuming. I’ll be detailing my “Getting Things Done: Take 2″ in a later post.

If the GTD method escapes you, you can always try the WSD method.

#56: 52 Books in 52 Weeks | Week 7 – Eats, Shoots & Leaves

poweredbytofu — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 03:24:56 +0000

This week I reread Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss (notice the proper usage of italics for the book title). I read it several years ago, and thought it was hilarious. Last month I found it on a sale table at Borders for a couple of dollars. Anyway, I decided to read it again. This copy even included a Punctuation Repair Kit, (to fix punctuation errors that you happen upon). If you ever want to know the proper usage for apostrophes, commas, colons, semicolons, or any other punctuation mark, you should definitely read this book.

The List: 52 Book | 52 Weeks

#72: Apartment Therapy | Week 2

poweredbytofu — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 16:14:35 +0000

I did pretty good at Week 2 the first time around, so since this week is more of an introduction to the “Outbox” and finding your style, I’ll be focusing on refining my style that I wrote down previously and cleaning/outboxing the kitchen.

Week 2 – Clearing the path
~~Clean kitchen from top to bottom~~
Outbox
Buy fresh flowers
~~Determine your style~~
~~Find a new recipe & cook at home~~
~~Choose the date of your housewarming~~

*Update*
I think I really identified my style last time. At first, I thought the “list your favorites” exercise was a little silly. Really, what do my favorite actors and music, where I was raised, and who my role model is, have to do with my decorating style? However, once you have them all listed out, it’s kind of neat to see the underlying theme. So, to re-cap, I shall call my style “eclectic organic modern,” because just organic modern doesn’t quite fit me. :)

#72: Apartment Therapy | Week 1

poweredbytofu — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 22:11:33 +0000

This is my second attempt at Apartment Therapy. This time I’m not skipping around (or going on vacation), so since I’ve already read the book, it will be more of an Apartment Therapy “refresher.” I’ll just be going through the weekly chapter and listing what I need to do for each week.

Week 1 – Creating your own vision
~~Repairs: living room blinds~~
~~Vacuum~~
Move bike to balcony
Sit on the balcony and observe the space
~~Buy fresh flowers~~ (a habit now!)
~~Earth-friendly cleaning products~~ (Method qualifies)

#84: Take Care of My Nails for 1 Month, (See if it turns into a habit)

poweredbytofu — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 01:29:40 +0000

Aahhh… something shallow to cross off my list. :) I found the perfect nail polish for “nail polish haters”. It’s called Sally Hansen Natural Shine Nail Finish .4 oz. Pink Tint. It’s super light, so it doesn’t make your nails sweat; and gives your nails just enough shine, so you feel girly instead of like a slob. And it looks good on short nails. AND, since it’s clear you don’t have to worry about “staying in the lines.” Clearly, I’m a big fan. AAAAND… it kind of wears off instead of chipping, so you don’t even really need to use nail polish remover. I love it!