Ciak diary

The new year has arrived and many new things will have to be started. One of them is a new diary. Oh, I could hop onto the Moleskine bandwagon, but I don't really understand what is so good about them.

I ask my wife to get me a diary as she was going to be in town, and she came back with a red diary, and I must say I am starting to really like it.

The diary is made in Italy,and it is handmade. Yes, Handmade in Italy as it says on the back of the diary. The cover is made of leather and is bounded around the outside in one sheet. It gives a nice soft feeling when I carry it about. There is a book tassel that you can use to mark the current page. One problem with have a leather bound like Ciak is that the diary cannot be opened flat. Some pressure will need to be pressed onto the diary if all the area on the page is to be used.

It a simple diary that has an elastic band that is locked into position via couple of notches on the cover. This simple mechanism is patent protected. As he elastic band is quite tight, it snugly holds a pen within the diary. The soft cover also allows the diary to mold itself onto the

There is a nice review of a Ciak notebook over at Black Cover, and it claims that it has a much higher quality that the Moleskines. Although I haven't used Moleskines before, the Ciak does give it a nice luxurious feel.

Firstly, the Ciak that I got is a planner rather than a notebook, as my purpose for it is planning, and taking notes. As I open the cover, the first page has four lines, allowing for your immediate particulars to be noted down. The rest of the diary are broken down into the usual bits of information such as a world map with time zone information, a calendar for 2009 and 2011, holidays for the major western countries etc. The majority of the planner arranged into a day of the year.

On each of the day page is simply laid out. On the top outside corner is the date number, and the day of the week. The body of the page are lined and are comfortably spaced a part. These lines are prefixed on the right hand side with some times of the day. On the bottom of page the week number is displayed. The way it is organised, each page provides plenty of space for numerous notes to be take, and events to be planned. It does not cramp the page with information that I don't really need. It is left up to me on how I want to use the page, but still has all the essential information on it.

Towards the end of the diary is about twenty pages with an alphabet index on the edge of the paper. This section can be use to store phone numbers or addresses.

I have used the Ciak diary since the start of the year, and I am starting to really like it. I augment the diary with postnotes to mark pages that contain frequently used information.

Ciak diary home page is http://www.ciak.fi.it

GTDing the GTD

I have been trying to embrace the notion of getting things done (GTD). Although, I don't strictly follow the methods that David Allen's books, there are a number of things that you must do to ensure that it works. This is true no matter what GTD system you are using.

• Write down all everything - In your list, make sure that you write everything that you want to do. Be as specific as you can. Writing something like, build a toy for my son, is probably not useful as it is too generic. Something like, build a small swing in the back corner of the yard for my son, is probably something that you can aim at.
• Prioritise the task - Attach priority to each task that you have. With the priority, you are associating importance to the task. A task like picking your son up from child care this afternoon is more important than remember to buy the milk on the way home from work.
  
• Read your list everyday - At the start of each day, don't just look at your list. Make sure that you read it, and check if you are able to complete any of it.
  
• Simplify the tasks - If some of the tasks on the list has been there for a more than two weeks, it is a good chance that the task is too complex, consider breaking it down to simpler tasks.
• Carry your list with you all the time - Having your todo list with you at all times allow quickly jot down that task whenever it pops into you head. For me, I found that if I don't jot it down immediately, I tend to forget about it and it never gets done.

My current system is the todo application my Palm T3 organiser and Outlook at my work desktop PC. Every morning, I synchronised the todo list with Outlook's tasks. I would spend some minutes in the morning and going through the list, perhaps re-prioritise some tasks or add more tasks. I have found that I am ticking off about 10%-15% of the tasks by the end of the week. This well short on meeting my number 1 goal for 2008, but I am making headway.

By the way, David Allen has published a series of free articles which you can conveniently download and read offline.

which GTD system to use?

In my quest for getting a GTD system up and going, I came across many different types of GTD system, it ranges from a simple todo list using a manilla folder and post-it notes to an elaborate system using a Moleskine notebook.

I started out using an online system backpackit but it doesn't help much if I am not at my computer. with internet access. It is excellent for the lists of items that can be done form a computer, ie sending an email to Jim for this weekend's BBQ or wirte that article on the blog.

I then moved onto to my Palm T3 PDA. I have had a PDA of one sort or another for almost 8 years now but have only really used it for calendaring and address list. I am starting to using the todo list application on it, and coupled it with something like Outlook, it forms a productive tool. However, I have found that the battery life on those things really suck. I take it away over the holidays period and the battery power was down to almost zero after 10 days. I guess the backup todo list is still the pen and paper until I can recharge the battery when I get back to my desk at work.

I am starting to favour some of the Moleskine hacks around for a GTD systems. They look that they should work OK provided I form a habit of consulting it frequently and make note in it frequently. I think that I like about the Moleskine GTD hacks is the it is accessible all the time and it only relies on having a pen/pencil with it to make a note.

Peter at Getting (Some) Things Done has an interesting spin on the why the Moleskine notebooks. Peter noted that he chose them as then cost a bit more and, psychologically, we will take care of it a bit more because it DOES cost a bit more.

The PigPogPDA is also another popular Moleskine GTD Hack, and it also looks promising.

Goals for 2008

Well, this is the third day into year 2008. After feasting on the ever increasing meals that occur over the festive season, we are at home and just enjoying the last few days of the holidays before returning to normal house life.

In betweens the fits of laughter with my incredibly active son and lovely wife, I had some time to reflect on some of the goals to aim for in 2008. We all have the same goals year in year out, the ones such as trying to attain a happy life or achieve financial independence. These are all well and good, but I think if I focus on some smaller achievable goals, it may help me make some headway. The goals that I am aiming for small goals but has a large impact on my life (hopefully!).

1. Get a GTD system going and tweak it so that it works. If the system allows me to achieve 85% of the weekly tasks, than I would consider that a working system. Currently, I am using the todo list on my Palm Pilot organiser. It is working so far. Getting a GTD system working will also stop me from making mistakes, delaying things, missing bills etc and it should save me some money along the way. My goal is to complete 85% of all the tasks for the week.
   
2. Ensure that the emergency fund is at correctly level. The emergency fund is one area that I have be neglecting in 2007. This year, with all the credit card biils paid off, I want to maintain a good level of emergency fund. My goal is to determine what our emergency fund level needs to be and maintain it at this level.
   
3. Seriously starting making a dent into the mortgage. Louise at My Journey to eliminate debt is doing a marvelous job reducing her debt, especially her mortgage. She gives me inspiration, and hopefully I can be as passionate about mortgage reduction as her. My goal is to reduce our mortgage to 10% of what it is today.
   
4. Crank out some articles for this blog. I started this blog as a way of exploring some of the financial decisions that I have the make. I know that the number of articles has reduced to a trickle over the last few weeks. My goal is to have 2 articles per week.
   

As with any new year goals or resolutions, it is largely dependent upon the personal situation and may change as the personal situation changes.

If you have made some goals for 2008, I wish you every positive luck in meeting them.

Finishing at five

In today's busy life, I have always wished that there were more hours in the day to fit in all the things I want to do. I would like to have an extra hour to read that new sci-fi novel, or just to fix that problem at work.

What usually happens is that we hardly ever put a dead line on the things that we want to do. However, by putting a dead line on things we want to do, we actually have a better chance on doing it. At work, I aim to finish what I have to do by 5pm every day. So what this means is that every morning, I have a simple plan to complete what I have to do. There are a few major time during the day that I use to get my things organised.

8:30am: I arrive at work, review my notes from yesterday and spent the next 10-15mins working what I want to achieve. This is in general terms like, I want to complete writing the first draft of design analysis report for my manager by the morning. I also want to review the meeting minutes from yesterday and action some items.
12:30pm: After lunch, I would assess if I am on track. Make some changes to my plan.
5:00pm: Make some notes for tomorrow, and go home

That is what I hope would happen every day. But what actually happens is that during the course of the day, I would get interrupted by request and questions which would throw my idealised plan out the window. I usually complete about 85% of the work I want to achieve for the day. I will always leave at 5pm unless there are something really urgent that needs to be worked on. It also gives me the necessary time I want to spend on more important things like my family.

This idea of finishing at five is something that I read in one of Scott Adams' Dilbert book. It might have been The Dilbert Principle.

Would this work for you?

Photo by Josep Altarriba

Things that money can't buy

Story girl over at My money and my life posted article Money and happiness. She challenge us to list down what is it that we would like to do more that does not cost much money. Thinking through the challenge, it could be quite difficult to come up with a list. There are a lot of things that cost money, either directly or in-directly. Having said that, there are also many things you could do without any money, or with a small amount of money.

My list would be something like this. Remember that these are things that would be bring happiness.

Taking the time to read a book with my son, and listen to him trying copy me reading the words.

Send a SMS to my wonderful wife during the day to say that I miss her and can't wait to see her after work.

Spending hours in a bookshop, just browsing. I love books and the information that it contains.

Hike through the forest in the nearby Victorian Alps during spring time, and smell the wild flowers blooming.

Talk with my wife about what our future holds, I really enjoy this as she is such a positive person and always gives a positive spin on what our future holds.

Making a nice hot cup of home brewed coffee and enjoy it with a slice of banana cake.

I want to be able to help at least five people every day. Simple things like picking up rubbish that someone else has dropped to going to beyond the call of duty at my work.

What would your list be?

Carnival of Money, Growth and Happiness #8

The Carnival of Money, Growth Happiness #8 is on over at Credit Card Lowdown.

There some nice articles posted in the carnival. Two interesting articles that caught my eye are

1. OrganiseIT posted What Influences Our Priorities In Life. There are many influences in life and our influences are context driven as well. The article outlines some of the major ones. Good article.
2. I will change your life.com posted 5 Reasons to Grow Rich. It discusses 5 reasons for wanting to be rich. It is a nice tie in the article I wrote on What you are really saving for?

The host was kind enough to select article on Cook and Save. Many thanks.

Get over to Credit Card Lowdown and check out some of the great articles.

photo by Mee Lin Woon

Are your hanging out with other frugalist?

I have just finished reading the chapter on asshole poisoning in the book "The No Asshole Rule" by Robert Sutton. Basically it says that our behaviour will alter and be influence by those that we have close dealings with. The arabic proverb sums it up nicely.

A wise man associating with the vicious will becomes an idiot.

The opposite is also true, in that a wise man associate with wiser man will become wiser himself. This is a basic human behaviour, and some calls this behaviour the herd instinct . It is present all animals, including humans. It is one of the main reasons why we don't want our kids to hang with the wrong crowd as they will become one of them.

What has to got to do with personal finance, you may ask? Well, for us to be successful in our frugal adventures, we need to hang out with other frugalists. Hanging out with the other frugalist may not give you a monetary gain, but will give you a solid personal infrastructure.

1. Mindset change - To be a good with your money, your mind needs to focus and to be passionate your personal finance. By exploiting the nature of herd instinct, after a period of time, your mind will be tuned to be thinking about personal finance, and that is a good thing.
   
2. Share ideas - Good ideas are really difficult to come up with by yourself, and a lot of good ideas are rarely original. It is typically a variation on other ideas. Sometimes, a really bad idea can become a fantastic idea with a little variation. By sharing ideas, you may help out a friend with a great idea.
   
3. Share mistakes - By learning from the mistakes of others, we can avoid from making the same mistakes.Some financial mistakes will literally kill you.
4. Feedback on your strategy - Personal finance works best when you have a strategy towards a target. By getting feedback from your fellow personal financers, you can gauge on how successful your strategy will be.

So what can you do to start hanging out with other frugalist.

1. Internet Forums - JD at Get Rich Slow has a forum specifically for discussing personal finance. Get other there and sign up an account. You may want to start by just reading the entries. Some of the discussions are emotional and passionate. A nice usenet newsgroup, misc.consumers.frugal-living, also has plenty of discussions. If you know of any other personal internet forums, share them in the comments section.
   
2. Start a blog - A blog allow you to publish your thoughts on the personal finance, and also a way of solicitating feedback on your ideas. You can start with a blog on blogger or wordpress. Best of all, you are publish your views.
   
3. Talk to your work mates - Most people I know love to talk about finance as it is one of the things that everyone needs to understand. Work mates are generally good candidates for frugalist as they are working because they need the money, just like you and I.
4. Talk to your partner - Your partner will definitely want to share your personal finance adventures with you as it will affect your partner as well.

I have written about one asshole rule from the same book as well. This book is a very interesting read.

Making it happen, part II

A couple of posts ago, I wrote about making it happen as a way of keeping things in focus and an in right perspective. I have just read a nice article by Stephanie at Poorer Than You. It is written from a different perspective by attempting to write a final article about personal finance. She said that to reach the end, a start needs to be made.

Stephanie said that

"none of that really matters, if you never actually start."

I think that really sums it up.

Making it happen

As I was reading the other personal finance blogs, I was thinking that there are absolutely millions of advice on how to be frugal, save money, generate wealth etc, etc, but how many of you actually take the advice on board and act upon it.

I mean, all the these financial advices are good to read about, and perhaps it may have even caused us to think a little bit about it but unless we act upon it, we might just as well have listened to the opera. The net effect on our finance would be the same, zilch!

I have come up with some points that will get us going and start down the path to saving some money. Let me know if you agree with me.

1. Make a start. This is by far the most important step to take. No matter how small of a step you take, it is still in the correct direction, and is certainly better than taking no step at all.
   
2. Have realistic goals. It is much easier to achieve realistic goals that will benefit you than having a set of unrealistic goals that will only be a waste of your precious time and resource. Achieving these realistic goals will create financial inertia and confidence to tackle larger and more complex goals.
3. Get the right tools. A carpenter would certainly not use his hands to bang in a nail as it is not the right tool for the job. This is the same for making it happen. There are many great tools on net to help you along. GTD among of the tools that will help you along. Check out some of the list at the end of post. Your tools could be as low tech as a notepad and a pen. Just list the things you to do, and tick them off as complete each one.
4. Set aside some time to actually do it. There are many times that things just doesn't done because we don't have the time. Well, bite the bullet and make some time to complete these tasks. Focus on the fact that completing the task will be a step to having a better life in the long run.
   

List of GTD resources

• If you use gmail and firefox, gtdinbox is a great tool.
• the folks at Zen Habits has a massive list of gtd resources.
  

Good luck!