Where’s the Key?

You know how, in some office buildings, you have to use a key to access the restrooms? If all the keys go missing, it can be a bad thing.

That would never happen if one of the following ideas was used:

  • The fob on the keyring contained an RFID chip
  • The fob was the kind of thing restaurants use for waiting customers: flashing lights and a vibration mechanism

I bet these could work for hall passes in schools too … hmmm …

 

Originally posted July 24, 2009 on White Tree Ideas

Categories SBI

Bullet Journal

Have you heard about Bullet Journal?

bulletjournal

Its creator, Ryder Carroll, calls it “an analog system for the digital age.”

I’ve been trying it for the past few weeks, and I like it pretty well. I had been trying to use a calendar on my phone, since that’s always with me but, like many other people, I got frustrated at not being able to see the calendar while I was talking on the phone. So now I’m back to paper.

I’m using a medium-sized Moleskine with grid ruling, like he shows in his video, but it feels a little too big – too tall and wide. I looked for one a little smaller but couldn’t find anything that still had the 31+ lines you need for the monthly list of days.

Comparing this to the way I used to use paper planners, the biggest difference I see is in my own attitude: if something doesn’t get done, as long as it was a “nice to have” or a “possible option,” I just leave it behind. I have waaaaay too many ideas to actually do them all. Perhaps this means I’m making peace with that in a new way. 🙂

I added Post-it tabs for two sections: Collections, and (unique to me) Scathingly Brilliant Ideas – I have five of the latter so far, some of which will appear on this blog in due course.

Another thing I did was to glue a traditional calendar into the back of the notebook. It just helps me to see the 7-day grid, especially when planning activities with friends … sets things in a context. I use that calendar to record events in future months, then add those to the Bullet Journal monthly list of days.

So far, so good. June will be my first full month with a Bullet Journal, so it will be a better test. I’ll let you know toward the end of the year how it’s going.

If you’re looking for a system, why not check it out?

Lessons from POTC

A light-hearted post for the holiday!

Those who know me well, know that Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies are some of my favorites.

While I don’t want to say, “Everything I need to know I learned from POTC,” I’ve spotted some big life lessons in each film.

“POTC: Curse of the Black Pearl”

Be yourself.
If you know what you want, you’ll find a way to get it.

“POTC: Dead Man’s Chest”

If you don’t know what you want, sometimes your friends can help you get it.
Go ahead and face your biggest fears; you might find yourself saying, “That’s not so bad.”

“POTC: At World’s End”

“It’s not just living forever, it’s living with yourself forever.” (spoken by Captain Teague in the movie)
Good people keep their promises.

What did you learn from “Pirates?”

Originally posted July 4, 2009 on White Tree Ideas