Too Many Projects: A Remedy

By Michael | Published: June 18, 2010
Every project is implemented under three const...

Image via Wikipedia

Now that we have a diagnosis of too many projects, it is time to discuss remedying the problem.

Write your project list

To begin with, we will need to come up with a list of all our projects, similar to the one that I made in the diagnosis post. To be fair, here it is again for reference:

  1. Programming a website from scratch;
  2. Starting my career as a professional belly dance performer and instructor;
  3. Continuing my web design business;
  4. Writing on this blog;
  5. Writing on my professional “Hey this is me” blog;
  6. Opening a belly dance online store;
  7. Planning my wedding, which is less than a month away;
  8. Writing a book about starting a business;
  9. Hunting for a job in Albuquerque and…;
  10. Looking for a place to live in Albuquerque before…;
  11. Moving to Albuquerque in order to keep on…;
  12. Getting my college education.

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Posted in Organization | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Too Many Projects: A Diagnosis

By Michael | Published: June 12, 2010
Project Management main phases
Image via Wikipedia

At one time, being successful meant relaxing on a beach in Cabo, tapping on a Blackberry to check Swiss bank accounts. These days, however, times have changed, and being successful tends to be equivalent to being busily working away at the top of a huge company. The more we have to do, it seems, the more successful we appear to be to others. I define success as being happy and at peace, however, so I decided to do a two-part series about how to tell if you have too many projects and how to remedy the situation.

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Posted in Productivity | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Do You Worry About Karma?

By Michael | Published: June 10, 2010

So, as a quasi-Buddhist, I sometimes find myself worrying about what kind of energy I am sending out into the universe. They say that everything we send out to others we get back, or get back 10-fold, depending on which belief system we subscribe to. If this is accurate, sending out positive actions leads to blessings while doing negative things in the lives of others leads to curses.

With such a belief, I cannot help but wonder what my balance is between positivity and negativity. I find myself doing positive things for selfish reasons. I help others because I believe it will benefit myself. This is not intentional. Rather, it is the result of being an enlightened egoist. I cannot help but be somewhat selfish.

So I wonder, reader, do you worry about karma? What kind of energy are you sending out into the universe? Do you feel like you do a good job of keeping your actions positive, or do you think you could be a little more “good” in your intentions sometimes?

Posted in Motivation | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Getting Your Life in Order

By Michael | Published: March 18, 2010

Social site Enlightr.com has a comprehensive list of 50 things you can do right now to get your life in order. It could have been a little better-organized, but surely there are a few things on it that we can all benefit from doing. What are some of your decluttering techniques?

Posted in Organization | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

Are you a toxic friend?

By Michael | Published: March 11, 2010

Most people you will encounter will be generally good. Everybody has a few unfortunately negative moments due to stress, worry, or a lack of awareness, but most people will successfully become positive influences upon you, whether you realize it or not.

Unfortunately, there are some people around who are toxic. Many of us end up befriending a toxic person at one time or another, even going so far as to marry them occasionally. They usually cannot tell that they are negatively affecting those around them. Rarely, people will call them on their behaviors and effect a positive change. Most of the time, however, they will continue living without a clue as to how badly they are acting.

If you are concerned you may be a toxic friend, then this is the guide to read. I will talk about how to tell if you are toxic and also how to change.

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How the Recession Has Affected Me

By Michael | Published: March 9, 2010

In tough economic times, many people spend less and tighten their belts in order to avoid getting into financial trouble. Others on a macroeconomic level of thinking prefer to spend the same amount of money to keep the economy going in the hopes conditions will improve sooner. I fall between these two camps. Below is a list of what I am doing differently since the beginning of the recession (which happened conveniently around the same time I became an adult).

  1. I do not eat out as much.
  2. I use coupons.
  3. I look for free stuff.
  4. I invest every penny I save.
  5. I do not drive.
  6. I try to only make money from home.
  7. I have expanded my interests and possible careers to more than just writing.
  8. I have worked on my employability skills faithfully.
  9. I have lived at home, or with roommates, the entire time.
  10. I have cut back on smoking (and am working on quitting).
  11. I seek free forms of therapy, like hobbies and writing, rather than always staying on medications and seeing a therapist weekly.
  12. I have tried to create passive income as much as possible.
  13. I am more productive, but more stressed.
  14. I have made more friends who would prefer to stay home.
  15. I cook a lot more.
  16. I do not buy name brands unless I have a coupon.
  17. I have begun exercising more to work off the extra weight I have put on from the stress.
  18. I have begun meditating.
  19. I am happier.
  20. I am healthier.
  21. I am better financially.

I have learned many things about being frugal, both from necessity and from desire to master a new skill. We rarely do things outside of the home because things inside are just as enjoyable and are much cheaper to do. I find myself spending more time talking with family and less time getting into trouble.

I hope some of these are relateable. What have you done since the recession, either directly or indirectly?

Posted in Personal Finance | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

101 Rules for Leaders

By Michael | Published: March 7, 2010

Focus.com has a list of 101 rules for leaders. Most of them are a little bit common-sense, but there are a few with interesting logic behind them. Either way, it is a good list to review periodically if you are a manager.

Posted in Business | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Treat Renting like Owning

By Michael | Published: March 4, 2010

Many people have trouble making the decision as to whether they should rent or buy. If you choose to rent, however, My Life ROI has some suggestions about what to do in order to still be building equity while you rent.

My favorite part?

  • Take the amount you would have used for a down payment and put it into an index fund or other investment vehicle depending on your risk tolerance.
  • If your mortgage payment would be greater than your rent, take the difference and invest that, too.

If you’re looking for a good summary of the rent vs. buy debate, or if you just want a pretty good personal finance read, check out the full article.

Posted in Personal Finance | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Motivating Employees without Money

By Michael | Published: February 28, 2010

An objective of every employer in every industry is to increase employee productivity and output without shelling out more money. This is accomplished by keeping morale and a sense of efficacy high and clear of any negativity.

How to keep employees motivated, however, can be somewhat of a challenge. Faced with such a task in the movie Office Space, managers could only think of stock options to satiate the need for an improvement in morale. While a viable option, not all businesses have stock to provide to employees.

Another common method is to up a benefits package or wages, or to pay a bonus to those employees who finish extra units. This has limited advantages, though, and commission-based pay is rarely a good way for a business to be structured. It may lead to the most sales at times, but few employees will be happy with their pay structure. Another problem with this is that not all businesses can afford to pay their employees extra money (either up-front or through benefits).

Because of all this, this article is about how to motivate employees without paying them.

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Posted in Business | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

The Best Investment I’ve Ever Made

By Michael | Published: February 26, 2010

Personal finance blog I Will Teach You To Be Rich has an interesting post about personal investments, with a few good examples of things not normally considered to be investments, but that have paid off thoroughly over time (either monetarily or otherwise). The post sparked an idea for me, and I feel the desire to share my best personal investment here with all of you.

I think my best personal investment was buying the domain name for this blog, and the time I’ve put into researching and writing about the various topics I’ve covered. The last few months, I’ve learned a lot, especially about myself, and I feel like I have a cheap form of therapy and education right here. I don’t mind that this blog has not yet taken off; I’m just happy I get to meet all of you interesting folks who comment here.

What has been your best personal investment? Did you spend time, money, or something else?

Posted in Personal Finance | Tagged , | 3 Comments