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2006-10-19
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.IF DSK1.C3
.CE 5
*IMPACT/99*
^^^^by JACK SUGHRUE
^^^^Box 459
^^^^East Douglas, MA 01516
HOW TO ORGANIZE YOUR LIFE
I love the questions people ask
me in letters. Though the advice I
give is usually as valuable as
pyrite, I give it anyway. Most
readers of these articles these past
seven years know I teach fifth grade,
that I write books, that I drive very
inexpensive standard shift cars (my
four kids were in college at the
same time a couple years ago), that I
love to read James Joyce,
P.G.^Wodehouse, and Gertrude Stein,
that my favorite musician is Keith
Jarrett, that I love to watch movies
and cook and swim and create string
figures. But mostly I love to teach
and do things related to teaching and
TI computing (writing programs for
school; creating environmental tools
[like PLUS!] for adults on the TI,
still my favorite computer and my
favorite tool/toy).
All of which is a long way around
the questions I've been receiving of
late. At least fifteen 99ers this
past half year have asked me how I
can organize my life in such a way as
to accomplish all the different
things I like doing. "Where do you
find the time to do everything?" is
often the way it's finally
expressed.
Well, let me tell you how to
organize your life.
Let's go back a year or so. My
computer desks are always in a
shambles. Stuff is piled all over
the monitor and PBox and printer.
Before I compute each day I gather up
and take this stuff to other parts of
this room and add to the piles there.
I can never seem to get ahead of
this. Those TI friends who've stayed
overnight in this "spare room" have
only seen it in the cleaned-up stage.
Or almost. The bed is cleared off
for the occasions.
I asked myself, "What IS all this
stuff?"
Being modemless, I write LOTS of
letters. About 35 a week. Many to
fellow 99er computer loonies. I get
lots of mail back I really look
forward to and lots of mail I'm
really sorry to see: the kind where
you get on so many mailing lists you
grow concerned over the world's tree
population. The using up of the
world's paper supply for the kind of
junk mail I get is incredible.
As soon as my Fairware PLUS! disk was
reviewed in MICROpendium and COMPUTER
SHOPPER with my address, I began to
get on lists of all the Bughouse
Batties. Get rich schemes are the
most frequent: send just $5.00 and
mail the enclosed form to just 10
other people, etc. A modern-day
version of the illegal pyramid clubs
of the 50's. Then there are the
"contest winner" or "you have been
selected to receive" at some nominal
cost or required purchase a "prize."
The next most popular junk is to
contribute to somebody's religion
(preferably converting in the process
- but not essential so long as the
money is there). The fourth-most
pile of junk is the catalogs. I get
put on lists for the most
extraordinary catalogs (provocative
longerie, crocheting implements,
tulip bulbs directly from Holland,
abrasives [I figure MY personality
doesn't need any.], joke items [like
plastic doggie doo and bow ties that
squirt water], and so on). And,
lastly, the charities. Now, like
most Americans, I contribute to quite
a few favorite charities such as
Greenpeace, Common Cause, Amnesty
International, Cancer Fund. But, a
few years ago I started sending my
contributions in with misspellings in
my name. Jack Zughrue or Lughrue or
Dughrue or whatever. Now I know
exactly where any new piece of
junkmail got my address and I just
don't contribute there anymore. (None
of the above, by the way, has sold my
name yet.)
So a lot of this kind of paper
garbage comes in every day. And I
usually toss it on top of my printer
desk or on top of my computers. If I
take a minute before supper to sort
the stuff out, I usually dump my
briefcase full of my mail and papers
to correct from school on the desks
first, then put ESSENTIALS on top of
the computers, so I won't start
anything without having to remove
these piles first. Then I put the
next pile right next to the computers
as this stuff has to get done later,
though still immediately. The next
piles are for the things that can
wait. They just join the already
waiting piles. The last pile or two
is composed of stuff I will probably
throw away if I take the trouble to
look at it: most of what was
mentioned above.
I really organized myself last
fall and got grocery bags and marked
them "#1" and "#2" and all the way to
"#6", as I had six large piles by
that time. The #1 bag had to be
dealt with right away. And so on.
This seemed to be working okay,
except the bags numbered 3 and higher
began to overflow. My computer room
took on a look of post-Apocalypse
desolation, and, Elaine, my patient
wife was having difficulty with the
patience. "Aha!" I thought. "I'll
use the Sughrue Method of Educational
Organization": what I do in my
classroom. Why I hadn't thought of
it before I don't know.
I jumped in my VW Fox Wagon and
zipped down to the nearest
supermarket and asked for a dozen
banana boxes (which they throw away,
so I was recycling to help the
environment), loaded the car, and
raced homeward. I don't know if you
know what a banana box is. It's a
wide, squat, very sturdy box with
handle slots and an equally sturdy
cover. I keep ALL my disks
catalogued in banana boxes for nice
storage and easy access. The boxes
can be stored under beds or safely
atop one another. Just about
anything fits into them. You can
paint or wallpaper them to match
anything. My fifth-grade students
refer to them as "wicked-awesome
cartons."
And so by last month I just finished
putting the contents of Bag #1 into
Box #1, Bag #2 into Box #2; all the
way up to #8. (By this time I had two
MORE bags I called "MISC.") The other
four boxes are for all the good
things: TI newsletters, personal
mail, manuals for the disks that
require them and things relating to
PLUS! and the public domain programs
I write. These four kinds of things
I sorted first using alphabetized
file folders.
The only trouble is, I've had to
add TWO MORE banana boxes this past
month to house the overflow of Boxes
#3-8.
Now here is the secret to How To
Organize Your Life:
Once you have done all the above
- from piles to bags to boxes - you
will have noticed that the tops of
your desks and computer equipment
stay relatively clean.
Then take Boxes #3-10 to the
dump. Save the empty banana boxes
for later. Use the time you would
have wasted dealing with the stuff in
Boxes #3-10 by taking piano lessons
or teaching your aardvark to fetch.
It's amazing what you can do with
all that spare time. You might even
get back to Video Chess or some of
your oldies but definitely goodies.
(Diablo and High Gravity being my two
favorites.)
Matter of fact, I think I'll play
with High Gravity right now.
See how easy organizing your life
can be?
[If you print any of these IMPACT
articles please add me to your
newsletter exchange list. Thank you.
J.S.]
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