“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” -Thomas Edison

Just like everyone else in the world, I’m “celebrating” the end of the year by reflecting on the ups and downs of the past twelve months. Unlike everyone else, however, I’m not sugarcoating anything — in the realm my own life, 2007 was a failure of catastrophic proportions. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane, shall we?

Projects:

• Dream Machine

Of the five projects on which I made any headway this year, the Dream Machine was probably the most successful… though that’s not a major feat given the competition. Beyond my original prediction that the project would take two weeks (it took six), I’ve also failed to attempt any sort of virtualization. Nowadays, I pretty much just stick with OS X. The laptop runs beautifully, but I’m simply not using it to its full potential. Lesson learned — Tweaking doesn’t need a purpose; it’s fun for its own sake. I’m itching to try out the latest versions of Ubuntu and Fedora, though…

• Fitness

Though the Fitness project admittedly wasn’t the extent of my focus on health (more on that in a moment), it’s safe to say that I bombed it. I didn’t exactly get off to a “running” start (get it?), and I eventually got bored and stopped recording my progress. In the weeks following, I noticed a slowdown in improvement (and even some slight deterioration), to the point where I eventually decided that it wasn’t worth my time and I would have to re-work the project. Lesson learned — Health isn’t a project that can be tackled half-heartedly.

• Polyphasic Sleep

This project was a failure only in the sense that I didn’t achieve what I set out to achieve — two hours of sleep, every night, for an indefinite period of time. I did, however, master such feats as napping around the clock (for varying lengths, averaging about 90 minutes), waking up drenched, and making my roommates think that I escaped from an asylum. Lesson learned — People have no idea what to do about others who don’t share their sleep habits.

• Resolutions 2007

Last year, I claimed that I would score 20 “productive” hours (whatever that means) each and every day. No, I wasn’t under the influence or playing a prank. In some aspects, I’ve achieved that, but what I’ve truly failed at doing is documenting my time or using any form of accountability. I definitely feel better about myself in this regard than I did a year ago, but I don’t really have anything to show for it. Lesson learned — When it comes to productivity, choose quality over quantity.

• Write, Write, Write!

Write, Write, Write! was never an “all-year” project, but it’s worth mentioning. I wasn’t at all frequent or consistent with publishing (especially during this fall); not usually for a lack of writing material, but for a (perceived ;)) lack of time. I wish to carve out a certain amount of time every day for Don’tASQ instead of waiting until I have “a free minute.” Lesson learned — A great thing about writing is that it can be done any hour of the day.

Areas of Focus:

• Finance

Despite having worked a full-time job for seven months (instead of taking classes), I’m arguably not much better off financially now than I was last year. However, there’s no question that I’ve learned a lot about finance from all of the little things — savvy co-workers and roommates studying business, and even the process of finding the right credit card. Lesson learned — Debt in America is bad news!

• Fitness

In addition to the Fitness project (briefly reviewed above), I’ve made some serious attempts to change my diet. While I’ve had a bit of success, my biggest problem is, once again, not documenting that progress. Lesson learned — Fitness and Finance are mutually exclusive (healthy food can be expensive!)

• Relationships

Compared to a year ago, when I lived alone, this year has been incredible from a social standpoint (living with several good friends). Hermitization is on the decline and procrastination is on the rise! On the romantic side, I decided earlier in the fall that the timing wasn’t right to pursue any romantic relationship; surprisingly enough, I’m glad I made this choice, and it’s actually been kind of a stress relief. Lesson learned — Okay, so maybe not everything in 2007 failed.

Happy New Year! 2008 will be your best one yet!

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Those of you who have been following the Resolutions 2007 project know that I made a New Year’s Resolution that, by the end of the year, I would be spending 20 out of 24 hours of every day doing “productive” activities. At the time I made the resolution, I issued a challenge to readers to try it themselves. I don’t think many of you took me up on it. But I’m here to convince you that it’s not only possible, but easier (and more fun) than you may think.
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For more information about my year-long Resolutions project, check out this post and this one.

On a personal level, the month of July was frustrating, to say the least. There’s loads of content I’d like to start adding to this website, but at the same time, I have to keep poring my energy into more “offline” projects (namely the Dream Machine and Polyphasic Sleep), since I anticipate that completing them first will be the most beneficial in the long run.

• 20 Hours (of Productivity): 8
• The Good: July was actually an extremely productive month for me, though you would never know it by skimming the month’s Blurblog posts (all two of them)! I’ve not started tracking hours yet, but I’ve been averaging around five hours of (polyphasic) sleep per day, and have been reasonably good about not wasting the other 19 hours. One unexpected positive side effect of the Dream Machine project is that the polyphasic schedule has come more easily — it’s easier to stay awake when you’ve got a well-defined to-do sitting right in front of you.
• The Bad: Admittedly, Don’tASQ has suffered some neglect. While productivity is great, I’ve got to strive to be more balanced. “But what exactly is ‘productivity?’” Yeah, yeah, I’m getting there…
• Finances: 6
• The Good: I’ve put some serious thought into financial planning, and may consider turning it into a project (maybe even a global one).
• The Bad: I haven’t actually done the planning yet.
• Fitness: 4
• The Good: Bonus points for being very intentional about eating healthy — and succeeding (most of the time).
• The Bad: The Fitness Project is on a hiatus. See this post for more info.
• Social/Relationships: 3
• The Good: I try to see the good in things, even when there isn’t necessarily any to be found.
• The Bad: On this front, not much has changed since… well, since January.

I’d prefer to avoid writing constant updates about projects which are personal rather than global in nature (by “personal” I mean those which only directly involve me — currently, all of them). Don’tASQ is not about me but about us, and it’s important for readers to understand where that focus lies. Nevertheless, I also feel it’s important to keep you informed when I virtually disappear for a month without warning. In this roll-up, I address the status of all current and a couple of near-future projects — not to explain where I have been (though that will be answered), but to give you an idea of where we will be going. (more…)

For more information about my year-long Resolutions project, check out this post and this one.

We’re halfway through the year! Time for a midterm report card?

• 20 Hours (of Productivity): 6
• The Good: I’m actually doing the projects I keep promising to do… albeit with delays, in some cases.
• The Bad: Write, Write, Write! doesn’t count. More on that later.
• Finances: 5
• The Good: I’m fortunate enough to work with people who are young enough for me to relate to but old enough to be able to give some financial advice — and it certainly seems sound.
• The Bad: I may have overspent on that new laptop. Oops… got to control those impulses!
• Fitness: 6
• The Good: I’m still doing the Fitness Project.
• The Bad: I’m not doing it well, and I’m starting to lose motivation. Changes will be needed soon.
• Social/Relationships: 5
• The Good: I’ve recently made major progress in forcing my own de-hermitization.
• The Bad: Let’s be honest — I’m still single, and not doing much looking. The relationship goal may actually be one that I end up altering, for the simple reason that a relationship is never something you want to force. Exercise, on the other hand…

Sidenote: I realize that I haven’t been doing much writing (Writing, Writing, Writing?) lately. I don’t want to sound like yet another drab personal blog, so I’ll spare you the details — I’ve been busy. It will change.

For more information about my year-long Resolutions project, check out this post and this one.

For May’s update, we’re going to try something new and give you all of the bad news first. Read on, and you’ll see why…

• 20 Hours (of Productivity): 3
• The Bad: Despite getting a “free” 8 productive hours five days a week, the rest of my time has pretty much been wasted.
• Finances: 3
• The Bad: My co-op ends in less than three months, and I will have absolutely no income after that. Not that I’m completely broke, but it’s going to take some willpower to sustain myself until I graduate college.
• Fitness: 8
• The Bad: … Building muscles takes time. Lots of time. (Yes, I could have included some good news here, but I had to stay with the theme, right? )
• Social/Relationships: 1
• The Bad: Sometimes I’m pretty quiet, but my summer roommate is even more of a hermit. Combine that with the fact that I’ll be in work/class for over half of the day, and the social prospects are looking pretty dim.
• The Good: The theme of the month is “it’s in the works.” April and May were both fairly rough for a number of reasons (I’ll blame it on Spring Fever ), but things will improve… for your sake, if not mine! For starters, I’m going to keep better track of time, if for no other reason than to prove that I really am taking the “20 Hours” thing seriously. The Fitness Project will be ramped up even more, and a number of new projects will come into existence (I’ve got at least three on the cards right now). One of the summer’s big challenges will be seeing if I can combine the Financial and Social/Relationships areas into one really cool project… but you’ll just have to wait and see, won’t you?

The only thing missing now is a kick in the pants… but that’s most effective coming from you!

For more information about my year-long Resolutions project, check out this post and this one.

The fact that I’m writing April’s update on the sixth day of May ought to tell you something about how the previous month went.

• 20 Hours (of Productivity): 5
• The Good: In the month of April, I wrote a total of seven entries in the Blurblog, which is the same number as February and March combined.
• The Bad: It’s still not enough. I haven’t put nearly as much effort into writing as I’ve been hoping for, and I’m definitely not hitting that 20-hour mark (ten hours if I’m lucky!) Perhaps some more concrete goals are in order…
• Random Sidenote: The two projects I’ve previously hinted at are still in the works. They were delayed due to various constraints — mostly beyond my control — but you can expect more information on those toward late May/early June. Yes, I’m just building hype. Sue me.
• Finances: 4
• The Good: I’m still working. 40 hours per week. Doing the same thing. Making the same salary.
• The Bad: Rather than focusing my efforts on increasing my income, I’ve resorted (well, not really — I’ve thought about resorting) to simply spending less. However, nobody ever changed the world through frugality, so I can’t be satisfied with stagnation.
• Fitness: 7
• The Good: Fitness Project. ‘Nuff said.
• The Bad: I’m still a twig, and there is still a mystical force preventing me from waking up early to run.
• Random Sidenote: I’m considering switching up my workouts a bit. Here’s something to chew on.
• Social/Relationships: 1
• The Good: A 1 is the lowest score on the scale, which means I’m not obligated to come up with any positives about this aspect. Unfortunately, I may not be able to, anyway.
• The Bad: I’m just too darn introverted, and I hate it. Not that introversion is necessarily a bad thing, but in my case, it’s a barrier, and it’s a barrier that will need to be removed. Coming up next: The Charisma Project! (No, this project is not a reality, but maybe it’s a good idea…)

For more information about my year-long Resolutions project, check out this post and this one.

In the month of March, I wrote a grand total of three Blurblog entries, which is even fewer than the number I wrote in February. But considering that I spent two weeks of this month upgrading the server, and a third week in New Orleans, I’d say that’s not half bad.

Rather than simply writing a sentence or two, from this point forward, I’m going to attempt to rate my monthly progress on each of the four resolutions on a 1-10 scale.

• 20 Hours (of Productivity): 6
• The Good: You’re reading this. The fact that I was able to meet my self-imposed deadline for getting the server back online scores major points. It wasn’t as easy as I’d hoped…
• The Bad: Earlier this month, I officially stopped sleeping polyphasically, which obviously caused a dip in productivity. I’d been struggling with it for awhile due to my work schedule, but I knew it would be nearly impossible to keep up with it in New Orleans, anyway. As you might expect, though, the hiatus will not last long…
• Finances: 5
• The Good: I haven’t been fired yet!
• The Bad: I haven’t secured any income yet beyond the job. Not that that was a goal, but since I’m only working full-time until August, it would be best to create some long-term earnings potential. Tuition will also be due soon. Funny how that works, isn’t it?
• Fitness: 3
• The Good: Early this month, I began a morning exercise program.
• The Bad: Two weeks later, I halted it… and haven’t looked back since.
• Social/Relationships: 4
• The Good: I met a lot of people and formed some great ties over Spring Break.
• The Bad: Since then, I’ve pretty much been a hermit. A large part of that is, of course, due to the server upgrades, but I’m not going to allow myself any excuses from now on.

We’re now three months into 2007, and I’d like to find out how many of you are still keeping up with your New Year’s resolutions. Did you make any, and if so, what were they? How are you progressing, or how long ago did you surrender?

For more information about my year-long Resolutions project, check out this post and this one.

In a nutshell, it’s been a rough month. On the surface, it doesn’t look like I’ve done so bad - I haven’t been fired yet, I started an exercise program a couple of weeks ago (though it remains to be seen how well I’ll stick to it), and despite being deep in debt from student loans, I’ve still got a SMILE on my face. However, from a productivity standpoint, things aren’t looking so hot. I wrote only four posts in the entire month of February, one of which was my late January update. I’ve also been slacking off in other, perhaps less noticeable but oh-so-dangerous areas… such as cleaning the fridge.

The Good News: It looks like March will more than make up for February’s slack…

In December, I wrote a couple of blurbs about New Year’s resolutions and how to keep them. To show that I really wasn’t kidding about the “20 hours of productivity” bit, I’ll be writing updates about my own resolutions at the end of every month. If you have a blog, you might consider doing the same. (You haven’t given up on your resolutions already, have you? )

If I had to venture a guess, I’d say that I currently spend anywhere from 8-16 hours a day on productive activities. During the week, work automatically adds eight hours to the total, and I’m also counting non-necessities such as cleaning house or writing (as long as it’s helpful writing). I’ve got a long way to go, but I feel that I’ve made progress as far as motivation and energy are concerned.

In addition to the goal of 20 hours of daily productivity (my definition, not your boss’s definition), I also chose three “areas of focus” to improve within - financial independence, physical fitness, and relationships. My greatest strides, by far, have been made in the financial realm. With the start of a co-op (a full-time job for a semester and a summer, and a break from classes), not only am I making enough money to fully support myself, but I’m not paying tuition for the spring semester. I won’t go so far as to say I’ve already met my goals in this area, but I’m going to remove some focus from it and bring the other two areas up to the plate. Unfortunately, I don’t have much to report on those.

One month down, eleven to go… How much progress are you making on your resolutions?