JBot Mania

Sometimes I think the whole life-hacking genre gets a little out of control. One person can only be so clever before they spend all of their time tweaking their life instead of living it. Uggh… it gives me palpable anxiety just thinking about it.

But I still get the urge to tweak what I’m doing on occasion so I’ll peruse the newest posts on sites like 43Folders. I was there today and I found a great quote about this whole life-hacking thing and what it’s all about, sort of. It’s short and sweet and made me laugh, so here you go.

I’ve said before that, in my estimation, a life hack is any kind of trick that forces the Smartypants part of your brain and the Dumbass part of your brain to stay in proper communication.

The rest of the article

And as a little side note, I read this site’s Creative Commons License before posting. Ooooo…

Look at me, I’m LINKING. This is post #1 in my questionable quoting recovery program.

Here are some interesting ideas from DIYMaven on Curbly.com. Curbly.com is “a Web community for people who love where they live. Curbly is the best place to share pictures of your home, find design ideas, and get expert home-improvement advice.”

How to Turn a Tote Bag into File Tote

How To Make a Plastic Bag Keeper

How to Make a Folded-Paper CD Case

In my first post about my search, I decided to alter something that I had bought at Staples to construct my ultimate tickler file. The item was a good start, but it needed some modification.

I grabbed some cardboard, some decorative paper, spray adhesive and a glue gun. I was ready to get down to business. After about an hour, I managed to construct the model you see to your left. In general, the final product looked pretty close to what I had wanted. It was stylish, small, and freestanding. However, the sides ended up being a little larger than what the frame could hold. As you can see here, they also did not reach all of the way to the bottom.

In the end, my swell construction completely collapsed under the weight of the file folders. Not all together shocking, but disappointing nonetheless.

Despite poor construction, I still have faith in the design. And if the edges could support hanging folders, it would be the ultimate tickler. Hmm… Ultimate Tickler™ sounds like a GREAT superhero.

After I was done with this first attempt, I thought that it might be wise to see if I had just wasted an hour of my time and a good portion of my specialty paper on something that I could have simply bought. What I found was that I may have wasted my time, considering the resulting quality, but that I really didn’t have any other options either. Read the rest of this entry »

So, I’m trying my best to implement GTD (Getting Things Done) and it’s going somewhat well. Things are out of my head certainly. Now my biggest hurdle—procrastination and a lack of discipline. These would be the harder hurdles to overcome.

As I found myself, yet again, being somewhat overtaken by my bills, I decided that I really needed the tickler file component. I had gotten as far as the lists, using a great site called Vitalist, but the tickler file was a little harder to get started. Why? How could a collection of 43 folders be that difficult to accomplish? Well, I’m in my first house and it’s pretty much in shambles so I have gotten pretty picky about the way things look because some things just look plain bad. I wanted something swanky and chic, and, oh, I don’t know, functional. Something I could neatly fit in my kitchen or living room and that did NOT involve black plastic. I was saddened by how few choices there were.

My major criteria were:

• Attractive
• Small
• Freestanding

After much searching, I found the following:

The pros:

• Sturdy
• Freestanding
• Attractive
• Small
• Portable

The cons:

• Does not have 43 slots
• Current slots are too small for letter sized folders

It’s not a total failure, though. It’s close… and hopefully there is a cigar.

What I am proposing might seem a little radical BUT, with a small pair of scissors, some cardboard and a glue gun, I think this could work.

First, I am going to strip out the superfluous innards of this stylish tote. Then, I am going to get some nice sturdy cardboard to add in my own sides that will be wide enough for letter sized folders. That should just about get what I want.

This design not only retrofits this particular carrier, but it also allows you to easily maneuver your daily and monthly file folders without having to readjust the whole pile every day. Imagine having 43 slots that you’d have to rotate a good chunk of every day. Not a pleasant thing to look forward to. In fact, it might make you quit this all together if you’re at all as easily stymied by life’s little challenges as I am.

I’m excited by this prospect. So easy and so attractive, kind of like m… Well, anyway. It’s worth a shot.

I’ll let you know how it turns out, with pictures and all.