Making lists, etc.

[feuervogel]

In order to reach the goals I've made (see yesterday's post), I'm going to get all organized and shit.

Step 1: Acquire planner. I had a planner once, back when I was in pharmacy school, but I have no idea where it ended up. I searched the most obvious places, but I couldn't find it. I may have gotten rid of it. So I'll run down to the last independent office supply store in the area (possibly even the state) and browse his wares. I remember when Office Supplies & More lived in downtown Chapel Hill, but I'm sure the rent at Timberlyne is less ridiculous.

Step 2: DIY Planner (.com). I assume a planner I'd buy would include the inserts, but I like some of the optional ones at this website. They have a creativity pack, which has things like story ideas and submission trackers, and I like some of the pages included in the core pack. I'd like to print them double-sided to a) save paper and b) make it easier to turn pages without double-sided tape.

You're probably asking why I need a planner; if I have dates and lists and deadlines, I have a framework. I've tried digital organizing, and it doesn't work. Not for me. I don't check my GCal every day. Though I'm not sure I'd check a planner every day either; but if I have physical things on my desk (another thing what needs decluttering again) and lists I can manually tickybox, it can help. I know GCal has a to-do list function; see above re not looking at it. And if I do, it's on my phone, which doesn't support Tasks.

Step 3: Use planner. Set deadlines for revisions, outlines, learning taiji things, etc.

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I've come up with one even remotely feasible idea for moving to Berlin eventually, and I'm going to have to be really fucking organized to do it: Become a taiji instructor. That's far more portable than pharmacy, if far less lucrative.

I've tried looking into what I'd have to do to become an Apothekerin, and it seems that I'd have to do something like 1500 hours (1 year) of internship/apprenticeship (Ausbildung) and sit the license exams. I ... have zero desire to go through that shit again. And it strikes me that getting a work visa as a pharmacist, when surely there are pharmacy grads in Germany, would be rather difficult.

According to my school's website, I just have to have been studying for five years and have the sponsorship (approval?) of one of the main teachers. Searching my old entries indicates that I started at MTT by March 26, 2007. So I've been there four years now. Or soon. Cool.

For yellow sash, I need to find the first taiji classic attributed to ZSF. It might be in Master Jou's book, which is still on my shelf, partly read. I also have to learn a whole bunch of theory stuff. As far as the actual taiji part is concerned, it'll be posture, whole body movement, and energy, as well as flow and smoothness (ie, no pausing at the end of each posture.)

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So in my planner, along with the writing goals (and gardening and house cleaning), I'll be making tai chi notes. One of the DIY Planner kits included an exercise tracker, and I can easily repurpose that to keep myself honest for taiji practice.

Comments

planners

[warmfuzzyfreudianslippers.com]

I loved diyplanner.com when I used it. I'd print their templates out on blank index cards for my hPDA, based on Getting Things Done (I tell you, if I knew about GTD ten years ago, my life would be totally different). Anyway, I just started writing on the index cards longhand and have been doing that ever since. Between my lists, weekly calendar, I'm pretty on top of what I'm doing--or not doing. Depending on tech for my planning worked about as well as depending on tech for writing. I get to a point where the trouble of dealing with a machine has stopped me from getting an idea down. (I still use it in my process, but not having it doesn't stop me.)

I don't necessarily advocate this for others, but I use the Working Writer's Daily Planner by Small Beer Press for my writing stuff. I'm weird, but compartmentalizing works for me.

Good on you for taking taiji notes, too. I have this 2" binder that my old training partner called my "ninja scrolls"--notes on forms, combos, tips, seminars on everything I studied from about 1999-2003.

Re: planners

[feuervogel]

I haven't looked at Getting Things Done, but I kept seeing the acronym on DIYP and couldn't figure out what it stood for. (It looks like I have to buy a book? Humph.)

I got a 2010 WWDP at ReaderCon last year, and I liked it, but I had the problem that my summer writing setup is a small desk, and it got buried under my notes.

I should really take notes on forms. I learn quickly, and I'm not analytical about it; maybe if I write down notes it'll help me get better.

Re: planners

[warmfuzzyfreudianslippers.com]

You could actually learn a lot about GTD from 43Folders:
http://www.43folders.com/2004/09/08/getting-started-with-getting-things-done

The book is pretty simple. Somewhere in my vaults, I have an audio presentation by David Allen where he basically walks the audience through the entire system. If you can stand the 80s smooth jazz transitions, it's pretty good. I listened to it first and bought the book anyway. Let me know if you're interested--maybe I can Dropbox it to you or something.

I didn't start out being analytical w/my martial arts training, except when I started seeing similarities between silat, empty-hand Filipino martial arts, and the kungfu system I started out with.

Re: planners

[feuervogel]

I ended up buying two little binders, which are the same size as Filofax, because the office store only carries filofax, and I'm not going to spend $30+ on a binder that I'm not planning to use. So I'll see what I can get done with just these little $4 things and go from there. I don't know if someone else's system will work for me, though from 43folders, it looks fairly hackable.

I remember in, like, 6th grade my teachers giving us this system of note-taking that involved drawing a line down the paper and making essentially headers, and I thought it was stupid. I can see it being useful for *retaking* your notes (especially if your teacher/prof is non-linear), but not so much in class. So, I'm open to existing methods - no need to reinvent the wheel, after all - but they may not mesh with my brain.

I have notes on the entire two-person set I learned, and I could quite likely recreate it from them (clunkily, to be sure), but Chen long form, Chen dao, stick, fan, and the wudang/yang dao are all in my head. If I want to teach, I'm going to have to get them out. I learn movement very readily, so I'm not used to having to think about it.

And if nothing comes of this teaching thing, I'll have improved my form...

[skogkatt.livejournal.com]

That does seem like a possible way to do it, and even if it isn't very lucrative, it sounds like a job you'd really enjoy. So. Best of luck.

[feuervogel]

I have no idea if it'd be easier to get a work visa as a taiji instructor, though that's something on my list of things to look into. And in the meantime, if Dr Jay thinks I'm good enough, I can make a little money teaching. (My main teacher, Dr Jay, is a bit nuts. He'll randomly quote Monty Python in the middle of class. I haven't taken class with him since I started weapons, though, because the Chen class meets at the same time.)

And there are a thousand reasons moving to northern Europe is a crazy idea (it's COLD, and climate change is making it COLDER; all my people are on this continent; what the hell will Ben do?; what the hell will we do with all our(ben's) stuff?). But it's something I want to work toward, even if it ends up not panning out for whatever reasons (like work visas, Ben really doesn't want to go, whatever). I do kind of go through phases of OMG get me out of here NAO, but this one keeps nagging at me.

[amakarie.livejournal.com]

Those are some big goals... good luck!