Work Lean

Crush your ADD tendencies using a Pomodoro.

ADD. Attention Deficit Disorder. You hear this term so often now “She’s so ADD” or “Oops, that’s my ADD kicking in again.” Seems like many people have just self diagnosed. I believe most are just suffering from ADD tendencies created by our time crunched, multi screen lifestyles. The constant stream of Facebook updates, Twitter streams, and 24/7 streaming video, news, weather, celebrity updates. It’s difficult even for the most focused of us to get stuff done. There are a lot of “get stuff done” systems out there. Sure!!!! Just add one more checklist or website I need to go to to get stuff done, right? No thanks.

The High Intensity Answer

I’ve stumbled upon what I believe is an excellent solution for those with ADD tendencies. The answer lies in high-intensity training methods. Recently, I switched from traditional workouts, maybe two or three times a week to daily workouts, incorporating high-intensity training for short 20 minute periods.

This has been very effective for several reasons. When you know you can get something done in 20 minutes, there’s less dread involved in the task. Using high-intensity training, my workouts are so quick that they’re over before they feel like they’ve gotten started. The big advantage here is that I can always find 20 minutes to squeeze one of these in daily. This versus the two or three days a week I was trying to fit in a 60 minute workout which was significantly more difficult.

This worked well for me, so I began thinking about how the theory behind high intensity training could be applied to other everyday tasks. In my search, I came across the Pomodoro technique.

Are you ready, because it kicks ass.

The Pomodoro technique was named after a popular kitchen timer called the Pomodoro. This is a basic 25 minute kitchen timer. The Pomodoro technique involves focusing on single tasks in 25 minute intervals. The technique is designed to block and manage distractions during these intervals. (Don’t worry, you don’t need to set a kitchen timer on your desk. You can use any timer, or your smartphone, to time your intervals)

The technique works by training you to block distractions during, and completely focus on, the single task at hand during each 25 minute period or “Pomodoro.” Once you start a Pomodoro, you’ve committed to avoiding any distraction until the 25 minute period of focus is completed. It’s fine to mentally acknowledge a distraction and then train yourself intentionally avoid it. See – just now I acknowledged a distraction to search for the Molly Cyrus Wrecking Ball video I heard someone talking about. By the time I finish typing this, that distraction may be forgotten. If not I can just get to it after this interval.

Over time you learn to use these Pomodoros effectively, assigning one or more to each project you need to get done during the day. You’ll learn to quickly estimate how many Pomodoros certain tasks will take. For instance, this blog post may take two Pomodoros with a break in between.

Eliminate Burnout

Just like in interval training, the breaks are important. Essential to the Pomodoro method is the notion that taking short scheduled breaks while working helps eliminate task burnout and keep you focused.

Conclusion

The endgame is you get more done and take more breaks. You’ll find that the 25 minutes of focus makes it a lot easier to ignore phone calls, tweets and other distractions while that timer is running. It also helps you identify the distractions. When I first started using it, I had to set my phone, with the timer running, in clear view so if I had the urge to check something online or pick up my phone, I quickly saw I had X number of minutes left in that interval.

The more you do this, the better you’ll get. Check out the video and read the book on becoming a Pomodoro Master. Clearly something you’ll be able to brag to your friends about. “Wow, who would’ve thought Brad would ever become a Pomodoro Master.”

Put a Knife in the Heart of your Junk e-mail

10/13 by The Frug Leave a Comment

Do you hate unsolicited e-mails? I’m not talking about straight up spam, I already know you hate that. I’m talking about e-mails you may have signed up for intentionally or unintentionally. It kind of works like this, you purchase something online, donate to a political candidate, request some information from a company like healthcare, banking services, widgets etc.

The Hook

You may have even checked off the please do not send me any more information box at the bottom of the from. Somehow they find you. The biggest abusers are often companies you gave permission to. So, for instance, I may follow my favorite hotel for special offers, the next thing you know I am receiving offers from three or four other hotels in the same chain.

Or, I may have donated to a certain political candidate and now I’m receiving multiple e-mails from candidates and other talking heads in his party. I definitely did not want to hear from these people. I could haplessly search at the bottom of these e-mails for the minuscule hidden unsubscribe link. Then login with more information and attempt to unsubscribe, often a fool’s errand. I could just mark the e-mail as SPAM or JUNK, however, I may be blocking actual e-mails I want to receive. This also often fails to block or trash e-mails from others in this group.

The Suckiness

Okay, regardless of how many ways I describe this, it sucks. It’s also unfair to bloggers, organizations and companies that spend some time creating newsletters, offers, and information you actually want to receive. This pisses some people off so much they declare e-mail bankruptcy and just shut off their e-mail address only to create a new one and start all over. Another trick I’ve used in the past is to use a “junk persona” or just a working junk e-mail address on Yahoo or Gmail, for those times you need to receive confirmations or links but don’t want to use your personal e-mail. This is also a pain in the ass.

The Solution

Now that I’ve completed my rant, I will share a FREE solution I’ve been using for the past year. It’s called Unroll.me. Once you sign up it scans your in box automatically searching for e-mails that you’ve subscribed to either willingly or unwillingly. Unroll.me then asks if you would like to consolidate these e-mails into a single rollup.

Unleash Your Inner Ninja

This is where the fun starts. This is where you get to exert your new found knife wielding powers on your unwanted e-mail guests. Unroll.me will present you with a list in alphabetical order of all of the e-mail subscriptions it has found in your e-mail account.

You don’t need to deal with them right away. They will stay in your inbox until you mark them as,” add to rollup” or “unsubscribe” you also have the choice to select “keep in inbox.” As you can see, my work e-mail was out-of-control. I actually unsubscribed to 174 lists so far. As far as all the other lists they go, into the roll up which is sent to you once a day allowing you to quickly scan any of the e-mails you’ve chosen to keep. My current rollup includes 481 lists. Some of these lists you may only hear from a couple times a year and they will neatly be placed in the roll up. My daily rollup averages about 5 or 6 rolled up messages. You can always unsubscribe or move them back to your inbox at any time.

Here’s what the subscription page looks like so you can quickly go through and unsubscribe, add to roll up or keep an inbox as new lists appear. You will be amazed at how many lists you’re actually on.

Some of these lists you will want to keep in your inbox and others you’ll have never heard of, and can dispatch them immediately forever with a click of the mouse. Generally, I won’t recommend something that I haven’t used for quite a while. I can say that Unroll.me is really onto something here.

End Game

If you’ve ever been distracted by an e-mail, this is the tool for you. It allows you to batch all of this less than important stuff into a quick daily single e-mail you can quickly scan through or trash. There are definitely organizations, companies and bloggers I want to hear from but don’t need them filling up my work inbox.

As you click on items to read in your daily rollup, you will be taken to a page where they are all consolidated by day. You can also sort them by category.

If you’re not sure about this, try it with a personal e-mail or one of your old junk e-mails. You’ll quickly see the value in unsubscribing and working lean with a much trimmer inbox.

Buy Your Next Car Like it’s your Last.

10/13 by The Frug 2 Comments

One of the best ways to live lean, work lean and travel lean is to own a classic car. What?! Okay, about now you’re saying the Frug is nuts, classic cars are exotic, expensive and require lots of work. Well I’m going to debunk that myth and redefine the term “Classic Car.”

A recent Forbes article profiled Mr. Money Mustache, an early retirement guru. When asked about his top recommendations for early retirement, number one on this list was cutting automotive expenses. One eye-popping number in the article was the additional $150,000 he saved towards early retirement by cutting automobile expenses to a minimum. Yes, he still owns a car. (His formula, quoted in the article, says to multiply your weekly auto expenses by 752 to get the cost per decade)

I believe it’s possible to save this kind of money and, at the same time, drive a classic car that you enjoy. It really depends on how you define “classic car.” So, here’s my definition of a truly classic car. And seven steps to get you there.

It’s paid for. Pick up any personal finance book,( a few of my favorites here), and you’ll undoubtedly come across the great benefits of owning your vehicle and making it last. If you buy your next car like it’s your last, plan on paying it off in three years, that’s when the real benefits begin.
It’s at least 10 years old. There’s something about a great looking well-maintained older vehicle. These aren’t exotic cars, just your average, Fiat 500, Ford Bronco, Jeep Cherokee, SAAB 900. Look for cars with classic lines, a cult following, and basic features.
Bottom of the line. When purchasing a new or gently used car that will become a classic, you want to avoid a lot of bells and whistles. For example, GPS systems and satellite radio are largely being replaced by smart phones. Trust me, you don’t need all those extras. Fewer bells and whistles means fewer things that can go wrong later. As an added benefit, the smaller more efficient engines come standard in these vehicles.
You don’t drive it as much. When you add the time-related cost of commuting to the cost of vehicle-related expenses, the savings for a couple can be closer to $300,000 over a decade. Find a way to work from home more often, or bike to work, and you can make this number a reality much quicker.
Taxes and insurance are minimal. If you live near city with high insurance rates like I do, or in a state with personal property tax like I do, then you can cut costs further with an older car. Insurance companies use factors like monthly mileage and age of the vehicle. Personal property tax in states like Virginia is also based on vehicle age and value.
Know your mechanic (he doesn’t work at a dealer.) Auto dealers have very high overhead and a lot of these costs get passed through their service department. Do some research on Angie’s List or ask around and find a good mechanic who works out of an independent bare-bones operation. If you’re turning an old Audi or Saab or other imported vehicle into a classic, look for specialists who work independently on these brands and come highly recommended. You can start on craigslist and nextdoor.com.
It’s the only car you drive so you keep it in like-new condition and track its recommended service intervals on a mobile app or website like www.driverside.com. Most of those dire warnings about older vehicles becoming money pits are from people who drive too much or treat their cars like garbage dumpsters. TLC will get you that extra 10-15 years you’re looking for so you can look forward to driving a classic!

Next time you see a great-looking classic Datsun 280Z or Jeep Wrangler, take a close look. That could be you behind the wheel in your completely paid for classic car. You’ll also be part of a tribe like the “SAAB 900 Tribe” or the “Ford Bronco Tribe.” People will stop you, ask you about your classic car and admire your great taste. Start now, after 10 years, your like-new car will start to look like a classic, in 20 years it will be a classic. All that money you saved on car payments, insurance, and taxes will be in the bank, working for you.

My 10 year old Audi A4 is rapidly on its way to becoming a classic. It doesn’t look a week over five years old and paid off 7 years ago.

Have you turned an everyday car into a classic? I’d love to hear your story.

The Frug

Feed The Pig

09/13 by The Frug Leave a Comment

This photo does not do justice to SuperK’s seafood gumbo. It tastes even better the next day. I’ve always been a huge fan of leftovers. In our family, groceries are our second-largest expense, so as The Frug, I am always going out of my way to make sure nothing goes to waste unless it’s absolutely necessary (mold growing on it, stinks, slimy to touch etc.).

The average family of four in the US spends about $1025 a month on groceries. In urban areas, like the DC Metro area, this number is closer to $1250. My wife SuperK tells me our grocery bill is even higher due to the fact that we eat lots of Meat, Seafood and other high protein delicacies.

So, it’s a bit of a conundrum to be a Frug and still really enjoy giant lumps of crabmeat floating in your gumbo! One way we like to deal with this is maximizing the leftovers. Years ago, I came across the website http://www.feedthepig.org/. It has links to some simple calculators and ideas to put your savings in high gear by skipping all kinds of things, including expensive lattes, $13 lunches and premium cable plans. Feed the Pig also lists all types of expense slashing ideas (by habit) to help you reach your savings goals.

Replacing some lunches out with leftovers is a great way to do this. One big advantage of working from home, or an office with a nice fridge, is the ability to really tap into the leftovers and skip a few lunches out a week. You’ll also find that, if you do it right, most of the leftovers will be a lot healthier than what you might find at that gourmet burger joint or KFC.

Here’s a quick look at some results from the lunch calculator. Notice I still eat out once or twice a week. The key message here, is that you start to apply these frugal tools to other expenses in life, like a latte-a-day habit or shoe addictions, you can really start to see results. As you get closer to financial independence, you’ll find that you’ve applied this type of thinking to many parts of your daily life and have started putting those dollars to work for you. Keep in mind every dollar that you save and invest will continue to work for you and produce returns year after year long after you’ve stopped working for a paycheck.

The Dead Zone

09/13 by The Frug Leave a Comment

In the advertising business, agencies like to avoid pitching after 3 PM. 3 PM is known as the beginning of the “dead zone.” However, if you worked in an office on the client side or were attending a presentation, 3 PM was the ideal time. That’s generally a low-energy point in the day for many people. You could just come in sit back and listen, pretend to take a few notes, be polite and enjoy a few snacks.

One thing I’ve learned is that many people have different dead zones, for instance, for my wife SuperK it’s from 7 AM to 11:59 AM. The key is knowing exactly when you’re dead zone is and planning your best work outside of it. By “best work,” I mean things that will require the most focus and brainpower. Knowing your zones is equally important if you work at home and need to stay self-motivated, or if you work in an office where people are clogging up your calendar with useless meeting invites.

Over the years, I’ve attended all kinds of time management seminars, they generally revolve around making long list of things to do and prioritizing them.

I have come up a simple process that basically divides the day up into three parts: Prime Time, The Dead Zone and Home. You can call them what you want, the key is to identify your zones.

Prime time- when you are at your best, ready to roll.
The Dead Zone -when you hit the wall.
Home- winding down the day attending to life so you don’t go to bed worrying.

Before we start filling in a day, let’s talk about “the list.” l’ve seen all kinds of crazy time management and prioritization schemes just for making lists. Some of them are in 300 page books that leave you with “managing the list” as your biggest chore of the day.

The best to do lists are simple. Apps and smart phones got some very creative people rethinking how we make lists. The key component in any list is simply remembering stuff you need to do. The list should be thought of as a giant catchall of things you need to do as you remember you need to do them. The best solutions automatically sync your smartphone with your desktop app and/or tablet. Basically, one list available in many places.

I use Apple Reminders on my iPhone and that automatically syncs with the app on my desktop and in iCloud. Prior to that, I used gTasks which syncs nicely with Google tasks in the browser as well as on Android phones, iPhones and other devices.

The key here is not to look at your whole to do list at one time. You want to use the list and pull off the most important items of the day and things you are passionate about and put those into Prime Time. Try not to load your Prime Time up with too many items or any long meetings. Most office meetings should be pushed into the Dead Zone or avoided if possible.

Make sure you block out a chunk of your Prime Time on the calendar so you can avoid someone scheduling a meeting during that period.

The third zone on my list is “Home.” Home is in the evening is when some people get their second wind. These are the things that we look forward to, dinner with family and friends, catching up on reading, attending to hobbies and around the house projects. Generally, I enjoy doing a lot of these things so the energy comes more naturally to get them done.

Okay, here’s what mine looks like. Keep in mind your Dead Zone may be at an entirely different time of the day. I plugged in a few examples of to do’s and types of to do items.

One item that works well for me in the Dead Zone is 20 minutes of exercise. This can be as simple as a walk or high-intensity training, it’s up to you. The key is that it happens daily. A quick workout or walk is also a great way to bust through the wall of fatigue that often hits people in the afternoon. Even better is a power nap or, as many older wiser cultures practice, a siesta. Or in my case, both.

A note about commuting; If you spend more than 40 minutes a day traveling to and from work you may think of your commute as a Dead Zone. Unfortunately, this coincides with many peoples Prime Time, especially if you are a morning person. There are fantastic tools available to recapture this time including free podcast subscriptions on any topic, audiobooks from companies like Audible.com. You can get a Bluetooth adapter for most cars that lets you listen to this over your car’s speakers. Please don’t be the person that drives around with headsets or earbuds in.

Try not to waste this time with morning DJs or talk radio. The only thing worse than listening to the news (with a humorous or politically biased twist) on your radio is having to listen to the people who call in with their various rants and opinions on what we should do about taxes, the Middle East or the price of gas. If you have an interest in the news, that’s fine, there are a lot more efficient ways to get caught up during your “Dead Zone”. Don’t waste your Prime Time on news or talk radio.

I use a Moleskin notebook to pull for five- seven important items off my digital to do list and prioritize them. Then, I plan my top priority items for Prime Time. Simpler, or low priority items can go in the Dead Zone. For example, I usually plan my next day at the end of my Dead Zone, as pulling items from my list is a pretty easy activity. I also clean out emails, and check industry blogs in the afternoon. These two items work well together as cleaning out my email usually generates a few to do items for the next day. It’s a good idea to batch similar types of activities (blogs,email,to do’s) together as you’ll find it helps you get into a daily flow especially as you need to push through your Dead Zone.

So, at the end of the day, my schedule for the next day looks something like this, The items on the right, I pulled off of my catchall to do list, and then simply batched them into my Prime Time, Dead Zone and At Home categories.

Well, that’s it, my entire time management system to get stuff done in less than 300 pages. I’d love to hear if anyone else has come across something similar or wants to share what works for them.

21 Things My iPhone Replaced

08/13 by The Frug 2 Comments

Most people would think one of the worst money-saving tips I could offer would be to purchase an iPhone. We constantly hear about expensive Apple products, overpriced data plans, unnecessary upgrades, monthly overages, wasteful app store purchases and how overpriced smartphone plans are in the US versus Europe and Asia.

Yes, the Frug family has 4 Apple devices on an AT&T family plan, three iPhones and an iPad. True, the bill does make me cringe, especially the three different types of telecom tax. The phone and the taxes add up to about $55 per device per month. That’s not really what this post is about.

I was recently trying out Listly and created a list of all the things my iPhone replaced. I have dropped in the list below. Basically the iPhone since its introduction in 2007 has allowed me to get rid of a lot of stuff including some of the worst kind of stuff that has monthly recurring fees.

You’ll be able to tell from the list that I’ve always been a bit of a gadget addict. The iPhone is really helping me with that, replacing 20+ gadgets with just one and using free apps to do all the work. I mention a few of these apps below.

Here are some big items right off the bat.

Landlines – I was going through some old files the other day and came across some of our old phone bills. $65, $120, $85. This was back in 2006 when we were still using a landline and then later digital on Comcast, Vonage etc. My home number is now my iPhone and I give out a Google voice number to solicitors, websites, banks, etc. My wife does the same and we list each other as emergency contacts. If someone leaves a message on our Google voice number we get a nice transcribed email we can delete. We used to get calls at 6 PM every evening like everyone else. Now silence.

International long distance – We travel a good amount and I remember international long distance charges anywhere from $120-$350 per trip. That quickly added up to over $1000 per year. True, some of this was business-related, but as a business owner it was still my expense. I now use the Skype app or Facetime via hotel or restaurant Wi-Fi. It’s gotten a lot easier since I first tried this out in a Starbucks in Mexico. On a recent trip to Barcelona, I had daily FaceTime calls with the family, total international long distance cost $0.00. Only problem with FaceTime is that even my youngest can tell when I’ve had a few beers.

SiriusXM Satellite Radio – Satellite radio had ratcheted up to about 19 bucks a month before I discovered Pandora on my iPhone. Now can I can listen to truly commercial free music via Bluetooth. The iPhone automatically connects when I get in the car and any calls that come through pause the music. The music and calls are delivered via Bluetooth over the cars sound system. I just needed an adapter installed for my radio. The quality of Pandora and iTunes over Bluetooth to my car stereo really surprised me. I find it to be better than CDs or HD FM radio. Savings of about $200 a year after the annual pandora fee is subtracted.
Garmin GPS – The iPhone replaced my handheld GPS unit. I really enjoyed it for hiking, finding my way around strange cities, even on the water. Problem was it required CDs, expensive downloads that only worked on a PC, international city packs etc. etc. I understand that some GPS units even had a monthly fee. That’s all gone now. Not only is the iPhone a fantastic GPS device, it’s apps integrate information sharing like speeding cam locations on WAZE. WAZE should save even the most conservative driver a ticket every few years or find you a great local diner with low prices. Google maps free GPS is the best I found and, most importantly, covers walking and cycling directions that the others don’t. For hiking the everytrail app is awesome as you can share and discover great walks.There are a ton of options for hiking and running these are just a few.

When I add all this up and multiply it by several family members, I really believe the iPhone allows us to get rid of a lot of stuff. See the full list below and save a lot of money on unnecessary monthly fees that creep onto your credit card bill every month.

As I look at the list below I also realized all the time that was necessary to deal with all this stuff, racks of CDs, busted digital cameras and video recorders (now we just bust the iPhones) annual BS increases in satellite radio fees, and landline or digital long-distance fees. Lots of extra crap to pack when traveling like headphones, books, magazines, cameras extra batteries, etc. All replaced by an iPhone.

The message here was that the iPhone is worth every penny of the costs as it is something I use every day. And as a bonus it actually saves me time and money every month.

Live Lean. Work Lean. Travel Lean.

This camera took great panoramic shots. But used traditional film which sometimes I rarely got around to ever getting processed. I love photography and the idea of film but I found the best camera is the one you always have with you. iPhone. And I can also get a great panoramic shot as well.

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