SHOTGUN
Hyper-Scheduling For Maximum Effect

Hello, this is lostnbronx.

Just a quick note here.  In a previous episode of HPR, I talked about 
podcasts and podfading, but in the midst of it, I mentioned a philosophy 
I hold called AIC, which stands for Ass-In-Chair.  Basically, it's a 
call for a better work ethic as applied to those hobbies and avocations 
we all have too many of for the time we tend to have available.  
Everyone has interests, and many of us have something of a scatter shot 
brain, and the attention span of, well, someone considerably younger -- 
in fact, if there IS a fountain of youth out there, I suspect it has 
something to do with extending our childish foibles, and staving off 
wisdom for as long as we can.  Certainly, childishness is as close as I 
get these days.  Be that as it may, AIC basically is an agreement with 
myself that that I will -- somehow -- keep my nose to the grindstone, 
regardless of the outside circumstances.  That's only within reason -- I 
live in the world, after all.  But I believe that more people WANT to 
pursue their interests and dreams than those who ever actually do; or, 
that more people would like to do more OF the things they enjoy.

Now, it's not to be confused with a productivity system, since AIC 
states NOTHING about the methods and techniques one might need to employ 
in order to achieve the desired state of productivity.  For that, I've 
decided to try a little experiment.  I've come up with a schedule for 
myself that breaks down all my possible free time into 30 minute 
intervals, and I've filled all those time slots with projects I have 
either started and not gotten very far with, or ones I intend to start 
in the near future.  The level of micro-managing involved here is 
deliberately extreme and takes into account absolutely no outside 
interruptions.

Obviously, this is an absurd plan, the failed outcome of which is clear 
from the start, right?  Well, probably, but hear me out.  Remember, this 
is NOT a work schedule -- as in, a career, a business, or some kind of 
paid employment -- no, this schedule covers only my many projects and 
interests, all of which I INTEND to pursue, and few of which I actively 
do because of time, attention, and/or energy constraints.  So how could 
hyper-scheduling my free time actually help this situation?  Well, 
because it's not really a schedule, but more like a guide.

What I've done is put each and every task or project on the schedule 
multiple times throughout the week, always at staggered or different 
times from day to day.  I am under no personal obligation to follow the 
schedule at all, which frees me up to handle outside interruptions like 
family time, or anything of the like that is not explicitly on the 
schedule already.  Once my time is my own again, I consult the schedule 
and the clock, and do whatever it is that is penciled in for THAT time.  
Since the interruptions and distractions I have are unpredictable and 
chronic, the shotgun effect of this type of scheduling might...might... 
ensure, more-or-less, that I will have worked within and upon my myriad 
projects and interests, not every day, but at least once or twice a 
week.  Now that may not sound like much, but it beats the situation I 
have now hands-down.

There are those jobs that I want to do, maybe even NEED to attack and 
dedicate myself to, but which, somehow, get left by the wayside.  It 
happens to us all, to one extent or other -- but I'm very accomplished 
at it.  Mysteriously, the half-starts of my life may well outnumber all 
the attempts put together.  Okay, that's not very good math, but it's a 
perception I'm talking about here.  In a way, this is more about 
alleviating stress and minor guilt, rather than actually accomplishing 
anything concrete -- that'll just be a side benefit.  If I can increase 
the amount of work I'm doing, OVER ALL, then I've accomplished my goal.  
I want to be able to look back on my week and actually be able to tally 
up something -- maybe not much, but something.  There are weeks that 
flash by so fast, I have a problem remembering if I was even a part of 
them.  That kind of crap has to end.  Now, there ought to be an easy way 
to keep track of this part of it too, to see which jobs are getting 
attention, and which are slipping through the cracks.  Maybe some sort 
of time-tracking software?  Well, it wouldn't be about the final goals 
of the various projects, anyway, or, at least, not at first.  Maybe 
later, when I start to see some OVER ALL progress, but if there was a 
way to have it all at once, I certainly would make use of it.  Then 
again, if I WAS that accomplished, I wouldn't need this to begin with.

When this is done and over with, if there could be one thing I gained 
from it, that would be to find out, not so much if this system works, or 
even if something else might in its place, but rather, to learn if an 
active approach to the issue can be a solace of its own.  That may seem 
like a lot to ask from a half-baked idea, but why not?  This could be 
just the thing I'm looking for, or it could be a waste of time.  From 
this side of the river, I suspect it will have some merit, but not be a 
panacea.  A COLLECTION of things with merit, though, overlapping and 
complementing each other, might well do what no single half-baked idea 
ever could.  And this might be a piece of that.  I'll know in a few 
weeks.

I'll be phlogging about this as I go.  That sounds vaguely perverted, 
but a phlog is just a blog hosted on a gopher server.  Phlog: P-H-L-O-G.  
Anyway, if you have an interest in productivity schemes, you may want to 
check it out from time to time over the next month or so.  That's:


gopher://gopher.info-underground.net/1/lostnbronx/lostnblog/.  


I'll have a link in the shownotes, for your convenience.  Because I'm 
that kind of guy...a giver.


You can also email me at: lostnbronx@gmail.com, that's (SPELL IT).  And 
on Identi.ca, I'm -- you guessed it -- lostnbronx.


Talk to you soon.


Take care.