Weekly Review – This week I’ve been mainly…

Buying new Mac’s

My poor Macbook Pro took a serious turn for the worst this week. The ailing screen went from partially broken, to completely unusable. I bought a new screen back in October last year, so thought a quick fix was all it needed and a replacement. Sadly though, the screen I’d bought was the wrong one. The main connector being a different size. It is of course my own fault. I should have checked this when I bought it. Not months later.

Now as fate ( or destiny ) would have it. An iMac appeared on the local buy and sell group, and before I knew it, there it was on the dining table. I have to say, we’re really pleased with it. A 21in iMac with a 1TB drive, with bluetooth mouse and keyboard. Much better for my back and my posture than the laptop.

It didn’t stop here though, as I still need a laptop for travel and working away from home. Similarly on the buy and sell group was a Macbook Air and so by the evening we’d grown our Apple family by another two. I can always sell one laptop later when the screen is fixed on my Pro. As a consequence I’ve been devoured by software installs, config and sync this week as I get them how we like them. The iMac has already been put to good use, it’s so much better for watching movies.

Productivity

I’ve revived my routine of getting up early to get stuff done. This was something I started in Hawaii while on a break. I found it hugely productive, as well as good for the soul. In recent months I’ve let it slide, as I just don’t have the responsibilities I used to. On Monday I thought I’d have another go and had completed my annual review draft before my partner had even got out of bed. This morning I also got up early, not quite the 5am though and completed the final review of last year and my goals for this year. I love Susannah Conway’s review process and I’ve been using it for the last three years. I find there’s something a bit spiritual about the whole process. Not something that’s easy to put into words, just that I feel so much more inner peace putting away the last year ( this one particularly ) and motivation to achieve in the coming year.

I’ve been reading about the bullet journal technique today and yesterday, I’ll cover this next week.

Ive also been staying up late on a few nights. It’s something I’m not good at, so I feel it’s a bit of an anomaly. It does however have positive side effects sometimes as its when I’m most creative and come up with the best ideas.

Working with an Accountability Buddy

Based on last weeks mention of procrastination I’ve been trialing using an accountability buddy. In this case my friend Andrew. We’re both in a similar situation and the theory being that making ourselves accountable to the other would help with motivation and achievement. Its had mixed results so far, but we’re continuing into our second week next week. We’re both being a little scuppered by things outside our control, but I guess the trick is to find ways around these. I guess its going to take some time before we can see patterns and solutions to some of the bigger stuff.

Networking with Web Developers

.. and learning that there’s no one who teaches Project Management for developers here in Cambodia. This point alone has conjured up all sorts of ideas for the local development community. From training to building organisations here in Cambodia to rival Hughes, Infosys and others in India.

Being Ill

You can never quite tell when a stomach bug will strike here, or where it came from. Just part and parcel of living in a developing country. Suffice to say, I’ve not been operating at my best these last few days.

Tea

While we were on holiday in Malaysia I rekindled a liking for tea. I’m not sure if it was the fact there wasn’t much else to drink or that I’d just resurrected a past pleasure. It always seemed to arrive in a glass mug, red and no milk. But always with sugar. Perhaps the visit to the tea plantations of the Cameron Highlands had something to do with it. So now with my own box of Boh Tea, a cuppa is a regular accompaniment to, well, just about everything.

Related Posts