I’ve used lots of note-taking apps over the years. Online apps, offline apps, gui apps, command-line apps, mobile apps, personal wikis–pretty much everything. But I keep coming back to plain text files for my notes when I take them on my computer. I do a lot of stuff (journaling, meeting notes, etc) the lo-fi way (pen and paper) these days, but when I do take and record notes via keyboard, plain text just works. It’s small, portable, easily converted to rich-text, and no-hassle. Seems almost too simple given the plethora of outstanding note-taking applications out there, but it does continue to work for me.

On Ubuntu, the default text-editor Gedit works great, and has a few extra features that make taking plain-text notes a bit more convenient, like a side-bar file browser so you can easily open multiple files, and automatic time/date insertion if you’re keeping a journal.

Am I the only one that keeps coming back to plain-text for my digital notes?

So here’s the thing…new year’s resolutions don’t usually work. They’re generally nebulous, often unrealistic, and most of us make way too many of them for our own good. Despite this, I think change is good, and we should all want to be better people. Why shouldn’t we set goals to motivate ourselves? To avoid the usual disappointment/guilt/frustration that comes with resolutions, though, I’m going for something a little more fine-tuned this year: habits. Why? Habits are specific and long-lasting lifestyle changes that provide more long-term benefit than one-time resolutions. Losing 15 more pounds is a resolution I could make, and it would be good one. Even if I accomplished it, however, what’s that giving me long-term? Not that much really. What if instead I said, “I am going exercise 15 minutes, 3 days a week, after lunch?” That would be a habit. And would be something that would allow me accomplish my goal, and then would carry me beyond that goal to an overall healthier life. So without further ado, here are my 6 habits I’d like to develop in 2010:

1. Weekly Scripture memorization. It’s time I started taking hiding God’s word in my heart more seriously, I think. I’ll be doing one to two verses per week (trying to keep everything attainable and manageable) from the Navigators’ Topical Memory System. My plan is to review my verses daily by placing them on my computer screen, bathroom mirror, etc.

2. Regular work on my aural Skills. Ear training has always been a frustration to me. No doubt, I’m better at it than I used to be, but my skills aren’t at the level that I’d really like them to be at, and as a musician I know there’s only one path to perfection: practice. I’ve got to commit to making this practice part of my life routine. I’ll be using MusicTheory.net, my own collections of CD ear-training courses, and other computer-based tools. I’ll be spending at least 15 minutes on this 5 days per week, trying to get it done right after breakfast–making it one the very first things I do each each day.

3. Once weekly journaling. Journaling is important to me, but I rarely make time for it. I’ve never regretted it when I have carved out the space in my schedule, though, and I really want to preserve the new memories I’ll be creating with my wife and son once the little guy is born. Besides, it takes a surprisingly little amount of time once you liberate yourself from having to write complete sentences. I’ll be doing this each Friday…either in the morning or in the evening.

4. Run 3 times per week. Although I used to hate it, running really is the perfect exercise for me: I can do it anywhere, alone or with Amber, indoors or outdoors, with a minimal amount of equipment or preparation–I even enjoy it now! I’ve really let my running/jogging habit slide, though, and it’s time to take it up a notch. I don’t care what days, but I will be running for at least 15 minutes three times a week in 2010. Of course, I want to do it even more than that, but once again, I’m trying to keep thing relatively easy to accomplish, so I don’t just give up when the going gets really tough right at the beginning.

5. Get up at 6:30 a.m. each day. I’ve been working on becoming an early riser, and even though I think I do pretty good (I’m up before 8 practically every morning now…) I’m far from where I want to be. It begins tomorrow, even though I’ll be up ’till midnight tonight to usher in the new year.

6. Get rid of one physical possession per week.. This is going to be difficult, but at this point I’m pretty committed to a much more minimal life when it comes to physical possessions. Briefly, here’s why: I don’t want to take care of bunch of stuff I don’t use, I’d rather not have to move a bunch of stuff that I don’t use when the time comes, and I want make sure I’m using what I own…I don’t want to be wasting stuff that other people could be using. So. Here’s what I’m thinking…One item per week, until I only own items that I use at least once per week, with the following exceptions: Seasonal clothes (winter coat, etc), seasonal items (the Christmas tree, lights), library items (books, dvds, music), art (sculptures from Africa, etc). I’ll blog about it so you guys can tell me if I’m being stupid or chickening out. I suspect it’ll force me to start using stuff I really want to keep (like my recording rig!!).

And that’s that. 6 New Habits for 2010. Are you developing new habits to inaugurate the new decade?

Photo Courtesy http://www.flickr.com/photos/stage88/ / CC BY 2.0

After doing a lot of thinking about focusing on the most important things, I’ve decided that I really do need to make some more time in my day. Since I’ve extracted virtually all my extraneous hobby activities from my daily routine, really the only thing left that I can take out is sleep.

Ok, you can stop laughing now…those you that know me well know that I have no problem sleeping late…in my younger years sometimes ’till 2, 3, 4, or even 5 in the afternoon! I am not a morning person. But…I’ve been doing pretty good lately…I’m usually up before 8am. Now I want to take it to the next level. My goal is to be out of bed each morning by 6am, adding an extra two hours to my day. (I thought briefly about attempting polyphasic sleeep, but I quickly dismissed the idea ;)

What am I going to do with the extra time? Get my required tasks out of the way, that’s what. I’m certainly not going to fill it up with the hobbies I just cut out. No, I’m going to focus on doing what I’m doing now,  just doing stuff better. A bit of extra time composing, taking longer to really absorb the non-fiction I’m reading, giving myself permission to linger over dinner to enjoy my wife’s company–these are just a few ways I hope to make use of the extra time in my day.

I’m actually on day two of this exercise, and it hasn’t been easy. I’m following Steve Pavlina’s method (get up at the same time each day, go to bed when tired) and it’s definitely taking discipline. I’m sure it will take at least a couple weeks for my body to adjust, but man…it’s tough rolling out of bed! That being said, I’ve already been so much more productive during my morning that I really do think it’s worth it so far. Amber has committed to do this with me, so we’re trying to keep each other accountable.

Are you an early riser? Would the productivity/stress relief benefits of getting up early even be worth it to you? Let me know what you think in the comments.

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/victius/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

I recently had a nice long video chat with a really good friend. We spent a pretty significant amount time talking about priorities and the things that were really important to us…the things really worth our time. I noted that while I am passionate about Free Software and Linux (don’t get me wrong…I believe software freedom is a critical issue in our culture) I am ultimately more fulfilled spending most of my time composing music and pondering things that help me become a better minister.

My friend and I talked about the hard truth that there are only so many hours in a day, and sometimes you’ve got to give up things that you really enjoy–in his case sportswriting, in my case Linux blogging–for things that you know add more long-term value to your life. Of course, some people would give up their music hobby for their technology career, and that’s totally fine. I’m not saying that music has more intrinsic value than technology–so if you’re a tech buff, don’t get mad :) What I’m saying that is that for me, music and ministry are the greater passions, and so I’ve chosen to focus on those things in order to really give them my all. So I quit blogging about Linux. I cleared hundreds of Linux news RSS feeds out of Google Reader, and I unsubscribed the vast majority of software development mailinglists I was on.

It’s still tough though…old habits die hard. I still spend way too much time making sure I’m totally up-to-date on the latest and greatest news from the Free and Open Source Software world, and even though my computer works perfectly fine, I end up tinkering with it quite a bit…because, for me it’s just so fun! I have no desire to purge Linux or the enjoyment I get from using it from my life…on the contrary, I plan to remain a vocal advocate for Free Software, and I’ll probably always use Linux exclusively as much as I can. But I still really need to cut back, to care a bit less. Sounds kind of silly writing it out, but I’ve really built up some habits around my hobby that are–ultimately–huge time sinks that I do need to purge. Instead of endlessly fiddling with themes, scripts, and the latest-and-greatest web browser release, I should be tinkering with melodies, memorizing Scripture, and honing my ear training skills.

I don’t want to be a workaholic, but I do want some of my “leisure” habits to feed more naturally into those things I am most passionate about.

Have you ever had to scale back on something you really loved, to focus on things you love more? Did you find balance in the midst of it all, or did you have have to draw a hard line in the sand?

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fixe/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

I just finished reading The Little Guide to Your Well-Read Life by Steve Leveen, and I have to say it’s a nice little volume.  It will probably take most readers less than three hours to get through, but despite its brevity, it is full of inspiration and useful advice for getting the most out of your books and your reading ritual.

I offer here some of the points that I found most interesting and useful.

• Choose books deliberately (Keep a “list of candidates”)

• Don’t feel guilty about not finishing books that you aren’t enjoying

• Take notes on books, non-fiction especially (write in the margins or in a notebook)

• Read books that relate to your current life circumstance, situation, or even location

• Keep an annotated bibliography of books you read for future reference

• Be open to audiobooks – 1 per month could mean 12 extra books read per year!

How do you get the most out of your books?