What am I doing in 2006?

Work.

A new computer that isn't 100% healthy.

Work.

Bought airfare to get to Whistler in early April.

Work.

Rented a 300 along with some buddies and enjoyed the North American International Auto Show and White Castle Slyders. Can't say the same about downtown Detroit.

Work.

Ottawa Winterlude in February... ?

...
Yup, I'm extremely busy with work lately and will continue to be until I take my vacation (presumably!). I shall become a J2EE monkey by then.

Who Needs a PDA?

I'm going to share with you a tip or a 'cool thing I do' with Google's Gmail. (Surely you have an account by now!)

Labels are Your Friend
Some people don't use labels but I've been using them from the start. They're basically folders and get around the inability to cut-and-paste or drag-and-drop email within a Web-based interface. If you use Flickr or del.icio.us (both now owned by Yahoo!), then tagging is the same idea as labels. Labels, tagging, social software, metadata, and folksonomy - get used to it!

Since ~99% of my archived messages are labeled, I like to keep a small Inbox - my Labels panel is much taller than the Inbox. I also check my Gmail daily - maybe hourly - and I am well aware of how many unread messages are in my Inbox.

Now, what do I do with Gmail labels that helps me out so much?

So... I don't archive incoming messages when:

1. it requires action on my part (e.g. reply back, or do something because of the email, or label it)
2. I need to be reminded of it

Thus, I have the label named: REMINDERS. I use REMINDERS often. If I have an appointment/meeting, or something on my TO-DO list, I'll send myself an email with "REMINDER: " as the subject's prefix. I'll leave it as "Unread" and archive only after it has been completed.

It's a simple system but unfortunately I haven't seen Gmail - Inbox (0) in a while now...

It's That Time of Year Again

So back in June 2005 I listed three personal development goals (PDG): read 5 books, work-out regularly, and don't sleep in on workdays. I've accomplished the first two, but the third goal is not so 'easy' to maintain.

I'm currently enjoying Michael Crichton's latest novel, "State of Fear." Who knew global environmental issues could be so intriguing...

I will continue to maintain or strive to reach those goals in 2006 along with a few new PDGs:

4. practice playing the piano again
   
5. complete at least the first 3 Toastmasters 'projects' (Wednesdays after work are possibly the worst time slot to meet)
   
6. cut back on frivolous expenses and track all expenses to monitor spending habits - which leads to...
   
7. become a first-time home buyer (or car buyer, too)
8. spend more time with family
   

The last one will be hard to measure so it's more like a reminder than anything else.