RE: How do they do it?
Dominic writes, "How in the world do they (Java bloggers) not lose their mind doing all these non-work related projects/activities such as: writing books, opensource development, consulting, etc." Since I do a lot of non-work related activity, I left a comment on his site, basically saying that I have no time-management skills and that the only way I get stuff done is to stretch the bounds of my relationship with my wife. This is because usually I tell her "I have to work tonight" and I get on the computer around 7 PM and join her in bed around midnight or 1. Then I get up at 4 and head into the office, only to do it again the next night (if necessary). I find this really sucks, particularly if I'm working a 40-hour week in 4 days. Since I have a new deadline looming (edit/return Wrox Chapters by Monday), I'm going to try something a bit different. I'm going to work an hour and a 1/2 at night (5:30-7), and then again in the morning (4-5:30) . I'll work an 8 hour day, getting off at 3, then I'll hit the gym and be home by 5. That's just this week, we'll see how it goes. In reality, I've found that the following things work the best for "getting things done."
- Quit blogging and reading blogs. Same goes for e-mail - this can save 1-3 hours a day for me.
- Plan your day and leave your computer/location when you say you're going to.
- If you're reading a book or writing a paper - take it to the library. Go early and stay all day.
- For me, working on Windows is a good 2-3 times faster than working on my Mac or Linux. Stay with the OS that you're most productive on.
- When something small comes up that you need to do, just do it.
OK, now I'm going to follow a bit of my own advice and close Outlook and Phoenix.