Projects

As I was working on one of my newest projects, I peered over at my bookshelf and noticed a book I bought to work on another project which I had long since abandoned. I realized how often I start ambitious projects to improve myself in some way, only to abandon them once the demands of every day life get to me. My new goal is going to be to stick to my projects.

I make this goal with one caveat: I need to pick projects which are absolutely the most important and best uses of my time. Virtually every ambitious project that. I can imagine is a "good" use of my time. Some of these projects are better than others. The key for me is to figure out which projects are the best uses of my time. The ideal is for me to identify this early so that I don't have keep quitting something that I started.

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Anki

I recently installed the Anki app to my phone.  It is a flash cards app.  I have used flash cards off an on in the past to help learn languages and memorize scripture passages.  They have helped me learn things but they were a hassle because

• If I was making flash cards for vocabulary, I didn't want to waste a whole 3 by 5 card on one word.  I therefore cut 3 by 5 cards into fourths.  I then marked each side with a distinctive color so that I knew which side was the front and which side was the back.
• If I was making flash cards for long passages to memorize, it took a long time to write out each passage.  Some of this time was useful because it helped me learn; however, I feel that I learned faster once I had the card and was free to give my full attention to the memorizing task.  Also, handwriting long passages led to the occasional error, which means I ended up memorizing some things slightly incorrectly.
• I did try printing out these passages, cutting them out, and pasting them onto a 3 by 5 card, but this was still a bit of a hassle.
• The advantage of flash cards is that they can be reviewed while one has a spare moment--e.g. while walking to class, while waiting for some kind of appointment to start, etc.--but the problem is figuring out where to stash them.
• The biggest issue was that I had a hard time trying to organize a regular review of my cards.  I didn't have a good way of figuring out how to balance studying new cards and reviewing old cards on a regular basis.

Anki is better in all of these issues.

• I can create cards by copying and pasting things into the computer and then loading it all onto my phone.  It's quick and easy.
• I just have to carry around my phone, which I do anyway.
• The program is set up to keep track of how much I have reviewed each card.  Each time I see a card, I can input whether I thought the card was "hard", "good", or "easy" and the program will set that card for review based on my self-assessment.

I have been using it for a couple weeks now, and I really feel like it is helping me a lot.  It has been a great study tool.

Productivity, 2 Weeks Later

I blogged about productivity about two weeks ago.  In said post, I said that I would check my progress in two weeks time.  Here is what I am seeing.

• I have the hardest time remembering to do all of the simple little things I ought to be doing every day.  What has worked for me during these two weeks is keeping a to-do list.  I got a to-do list app for my phone which I have been using to keep track of everything.  I have small daily tasks repeat every day.  Every time I think of something random that I ought to do, or that would be good to do, I put it on my to-do list so that I make sure that I remember it.  My progress on this front has been satisfying.  I have had a virtually perfect record on my small daily tasks, and I have taken care of a lot of one-time tasks that either (1) I had put off for a long time or (2) if I hadn't had written them down, I might not have done them.
• I still have a lot of room for improvement, unfortunately.  Obviously it is not realistic to expect that I can solve all of my problems in two weeks.  However, I have been inspired by the good things that I have been doing lately and have set a few more goals to improve.
• I feel better when I do what I am supposed to.  I feel like doing what I am supposed to for an extended period of time will give me a lot of personal strength.  We'll see how I am doing in three months.

Productivity

I admit that I am a bit of a procrastinator.  It's true.  However, recent developments have increased my daily productivity dramatically.  In no particular order:

1. I got married.  Being around someone who, like me, has good goals and good intentions has given me more strength to act on my good goals and good intentions.
2. I got organized.  My apartment is finally getting over our move-in clutter.  I am sticking to my agenda and to-do list that I have loaded onto my new phone.  Whenever I think of something else that I should be doing, I note it down for future reference.
3. I am doing.  The big thing about acting on ones intentions is actually acting on ones intentions.

I really hope that I can keep this up.  In addition to becoming more productive, I am also getting rid of some poor habits (like eating so much fast food).  I feel really good about the direction I am going.  I will only be able to feel better about it though once it becomes a permanent change.  In two weeks time, let's see how I am doing.

DROID

I recently found myself in need of a new phone plan. After much thought, I decided to get the Droid X from Verizon. The clincher was probably the hypnotic robotic voice featured in the Verizon commercials. Here are my thoughts about the phone after one week of using it.

Things I like:

1. I like being able to find directions on the fly.  
2. I like that it plays music.  It can access all of the music on my computer as well as Pandora internet radio and even old fashioned FM radio.  I can even make mp3 ringtones based on files on my computer.
3. Having the Internet in my pocket is useful in general.
4. I installed a to-do list app along with my calendar.  I really wanted this phone to help keep me organized.  Having computer assistance saves me a lot of time over writing out agendas and to-do lists by hand.  I also appreciated being able to sync my phone with my existing Google Calendar account.
5. I like being able to receive and send e-mail on the fly.  I can even use the Google Voice app to send free text messages.
6. I appreciate the gospel study resources I have been able to find on there.  The church I belong to has a Gospel Library app with all of the references I need when I go to church each week.  Further, I was able to upload my personal study notes to Google Docs, which I can now call upon on my phone.  Finally, I am able to add pdfs and ebooks of other scripture resources to the phone for easy access.
7. It is also cool that I can use the phone to read ebooks in general.
8. I can also keep track of my budget from my phone.
9. It's also a camera/videocamera.

Things I don't like:

1. I wasn't exactly paying for phone service before, so my expenses will be increasing with the phone.
2. Although it can do many of the same tasks as my laptop, I can still do a lot of things faster with my laptop, such as typing and surfing the web.

I am overall impressed with the phone.  I now have a reason to carry my phone around with me.  If I am careful not to let it distract me, I am sure that this phone can be a useful tool for making myself more efficient.

Update: 02/21/11


After having the phone for a while, here are some of the things that I actually use it for.

• Running errands: I can compare prices of products using Google Shopper or ShopSavvy (in particular, I can ask "how much does this sell for on the Internet?")  I have full use of e-mail to communicate with my wife while she is at work.  I can take pictures of things and send them in e-mail to people.  Finally, if the store I go to doesn't have what I need, I can look it up on the Internet and find a store that has what I want.  If I don't know where that store is, I use Google Maps to give me GPS-aided directions.  This is a lot more efficient than what I did before, which is go home, research it, and look for what I wanted another day.
• Going to church: At church, I used to bring a backpack and bring my scriptures, my class manuals, and my notebook.  Now I only have to carry my phone, which is nice.  Further, I can look things up on the Internet to find more on a topic on the fly.  Finally, I take notes on my phone using Springpad and review them later.
• Going to school: The smartphone is an mp3 player, so I can listen to music as I go to school on the bus.  If I want to listen to a Podcast, I can download it with Google Listen.  If I want to read blogs, I can use the Google Reader app.  If I am studying something, I can study flashcards using Ankidroid.  Finally, I use Google Calendar, Springpad, and e-mail to keep my day organized and make sure I don't forget things.
• Latin night: Every Thursday my wife and I have noche latina where we speak Spanish.  It is nice to have Google Translate to look up words on the fly.
• Taking trips: Getting directions to unknown places is super convenient.  It's nice to not have to worry about getting lost or have to hassle with stopping to ask people for directions.  Basically, it's nice having the utility of a GPS device.