Responding to "fan" mail.

Wooooohooooo! (That's for you folks. You fellow bloggers amaze me everytime.)

So I'm being a little bit exuberant when I use the words "fan mail" to describe readers' emails, questions, and comments.

But just let me bask in the invented limelight for a few minutes. I've received an increasing amount of email in response to some of my posts.

I'll address a few recurring questions that appear in various forms here, and retain the anonymity of the curious:

1) "Love your blog. But I wanna hear more about what it's like to be a PHD student in psychology! .... "

Okay, I'm happy to oblige. See my re-branded web banner and profile description. Grad school is a magical place, and I feel I would be doing a disservice to the world if I didn't shine some insight on what goes on. Stay tuned for what that's like...

2) "Life optimization? C'mon, haven't philosophers been talking about that for 1000s of years?"

Probably. Yet, I'm more of a hands-on kinda guy. The only way I'm going to read any more philosophy is if Dr. Seuss returns from the dead to make his own series of translations in pictoral cartoony form. Would it be embarassing if I were to admit that most of my knowledge of philosophy (the stuff that is unrelated to my research) comes from wikipedia?

See this, for a recent example that found its way into my life: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseus

Yeah, this makes me love wikipedia.

3) "I'd like to interview you for my recent... " [blog, podcast, radioshow, book, etc.]

In lots of cases, I'm probably going to try to ignore this. Yeah, I get the whole "but it's free publicity" argument... But, I'm not a career blogger. So that doesn't really motivate me.

However, if it's 1)related to my research or my philosophy of life, and 2)you have an audience who is enthusiastic about that topic, and 3)you can convince me that what I have to say will help them. By all means, why haven't you asked me yet?

That's all for today.

Thanks for your kind emails, notes, comments, etc.

Making the most of your workday (Part 1)

So you're not feeling as efficient as you could be? Here's a few of my favorite things to do to make the most of a day's work:

With these, you'll find yourself powering through more tasks on a day to day basis:

1) Squeeze mini-tasks throughout your schedule (aka: Use EVERY Minute).

Got 15 minutes between meetings? Use that time to send emails. Or print papers. Or get started on an article or paper.

I try not to waste a single minute.

And here's why:

An extra 10 minutes of work recovered per day can add up to over 40 hours of work per year! That's a whole workweek!!! Don't believe me? Do the math....

Yeah, I know. That's awful! You can think of your time as a large box. If you fill it up with a bunch of projects, there's inevitably gaps within those spaces. Mini-tasks are like grains of sand to fill in the gaps. You can certainly squeeze them into your busy schedule, and multiply your work-power.

2) Plan your day / Protect your time / Do it now.

Distractions hurt. So if you don't require a phone in your office, don't get one! Do emails in batches, so you're not checking it nonstop. And turn off the email-alert. Want even less distractions? Just work with your office door closed, if you can get away with that...

Why so much emphasis on protecting your time? Because it's limited. What you don't do today, you'll do tomorrow. What you don't do tomorrow, you'll have to do after that. So if you procrastinate for 10 minutes, you've effectively pushed your whole career back 10 minutes. You've delayed the completion of the project for 10 minutes. You've delayed your promotion 10 minutes. You've delayed your early career awards 10 minutes.

And as I just mentioned, all those little procrastination habits add up.

The next time you are procrastinating. Think about how you're stalling yourself. Then try not to cry.

So just do everything immediately. Now. Go. You're probably procrastinating while you read this. . . Get back to work.

3) Be helpful / Trade powers

You have to use this one wisely, (time is important). But it's the principle of reciprocity. If you help others, they'll probably help you when you need it. But don't help others with the expectation that they owe you something. Then you'll just be perceived as a jerk. (Which, of course, if you're reading this blog, you're probably not one of those). So develop a good reputation, and others will want to work with you too.

Of course, you can be explicit about this trade and harness the power of comparative advantage:

If you happen to be the resident expert at statistical analyses, and your coworker happens to be the resident expert at computer programming, there's no reason why you shouldn't assist your coworker with statistical analyses in exchange for programming help. Leverage your strengths and trade for aid in weaknesses. Saves everyone time.

So that's just a few secrets to how I tackle my workday. What are yours? Feel free to share in the comments below. I'm always looking for ways to optimize.

Amp up your game

Fellow blogger Dave Navarro at http://www.thelaunchcoach.com has posted a rather useful article on "7 steps to playing a much bigger game (with free workbook)"

I checked out the workbook too. You might find it useful.

Share your schedule

So here's a new life optimizing tip I've stumbled upon, and I sorely wish more people would do this: Share your schedule.

Because I don't want to sound like a hypocrite, here's mine: http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=scottedwardjacobs@gmail.com&ctz=America/Los_Angeles.

Why does this help? It cuts down on the number of emails / phone calls / time spent trying to figure out when people are free.

And if you want to meet with me, you're much, much, much more likely to achieve success in a single request if you ask for a time that appears free in my calendar...

How cool is that?

Now, go publicly share your schedule. And feel optimized.

How I got back into shape (For less than $20 bucks)

As with any fitness plan. Consult your doctor.

All disclaimers aside, here the three things that I use to stay fit.

1) Body by Jake: Total body workout ($7.00!!!!)


http://www.amazon.com/Body-Jake-Total-Workout/dp/B0004Z3260

It's probably the best video workout I've ever encountered. (If you don't mind cheezy music and off-attempts at humor. But it's really upbeat, motivating, and is a serious workout). The first time I did the routine in this tape, I was sore (in a good way) for days.

2) A jump rope. ($7.00!!!)

http://www.amazon.com/Valeo-Deluxe-Speed-Jump-Rope/dp/B0007IS6ZG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1252009113&sr=8-1

Doesn't look like much, does it? But jumping rope provides some serious cardiovascular benefits (and burns lots of calories).

3) Eat healthier. (Will post about this some other time).

So if you buy those two products off amazon like I did, you might want to throw in a good book so that you have enough to get free shipping.

------------------------------

So how do I combine all these? I do cardio (& total body workout DVD) 3 days a week. And light strength training 2 days a week.

Weekends are for fun stuff, like hiking and bike riding.

Think about it.

mid-yearly success update

You may recall that earlier this year I set a few goals that I had hoped to accomplish.

I'll reproduce the list here, summarize what I've done, and elaborate on them:


"Looking ahead at 2009, here's a few things I plan to do:

1. start a blog (welcome!)

2. write scholarly articles on a more regular basis

3. take a competitive kickboxing class

4. learn to DJ

5. contribute to science"
==========================

So how am I doing?
==========================


1) I've started a blog (welcome again!), and managed to contribute to it at least a few times a month--- and I've learned a lot of cool things in the process.


2) While I have yet to publish any of these scholarly articles I had set out to write, I am, indeed, making progress on these on a daily basis.

3) I took a competitive kickboxing class, and it was a rib-bruising good time. The emphasis was on endurance and counter-attacking. I'm happy to spar with anyone who is at least polite about it.

4) I acquired this mixing software, this mixing board, and a fantastic speaker system from this site; and I have thrown a pretty stellar dance party at least once a month in various locations. (For close friends, my rate is $0, for anyone else, $125 an hour)

5) Contributing to science is, like goal #2, an ongoing project. I've run a couple of large studies over this past year, and will be following up on them to their logical conclusions. And I've got a review paper in the works that will be summarizing and advancing a field of research that, in my mind, has been sorely neglected for sexier topics.


==========================

In writing these mid-year summaries, I realize that these personal goals were pretty broad and nonspecific.

I'll revise some of these now.

1. start a blog (becomes) -> post an entry at least once a week.

2. write scholarly articles on a more regular basis (becomes) -> at a minimum, set aside 1.5 hours a day for writing-related activities.

3. take a competitive kickboxing class (becomes) -> take another (possibly more advanced) competitive kickboxing class.

4. learn to DJ (becomes) -> DJ for fun (personal parties) and profit (private parties)

5. contribute to science (becomes) -> learn to program in Flash and other relevant languages so I can conduct my experiments over the internet (i.e. collect more data, with less effort)
==============


So there you have it.

A list of goals I made 6 months ago, and my progress on them.

Why don't you go make a list right now of things you hope to accomplish in the next 6 months.

It's a life-optimizing experience.

Decorating my apartment: on a budget

So when I moved into a new apartment a few months back, I got a chance to rethink what I wanted to do with all the bare walls in my new place.

Here's a few options I endorse that are way cheaper than buying original artwork, and allow you to have a bit of fun in the process.

For the living room:

1) Purchase a large piece of canvas. You can get this at a local hobby store. Throw on some paint, magazine cutouts, glue whatever you want to it really, it's your own work of art. Put that on the wall and you'll have lots to talk about when your friends show up at your next party.

For anyroom:

2) Buy colored contact paper. Glue it to the wall in any arrangement you like. Use bright colors and aim for a repeating pattern, but not too obvious.

3) Hang photographs in a very structured, organized manner. It can add color to any boring wall:




4) "Rasterbate" a photograph, then put it on a wall. Think of this as your own personal Seurat-like painting. See pictures of what these look like, here.

Here's an example:





So that should get you started with how to add some spice to your wall-space.

Go out there, have some fun, optimize.

I'll upload some photos once I've finished.