Half-Baked™ May 24th, 2005 Jan Suchomski Creative Realist BizSmart phone: 404.314.8094 email Jan BizSmart / contact Jan / comments welcome! / subscribe / past issues of Half-Baked half-baked Just like the pizza we ate last night! This electronic newsletter is 100% opt-in. You are receiving it because you subscribed and requested it. You may cancel at any time by following the instructions are at the bottom of this email. If you cannot read html formatted email, go to:http://www.bizsmart.net/Half Baked052405.htm to view. Welcome, To this issue of Half Baked! It feels like a few lifetimes have passed by between issues! Thanks for your kind words around the marathon. I successfully ran the marathon at a comfortable pace, if you know what I mean. I had such a great time that I am eyeballing signing up for marathon #4. I'll keep you posted. Thanks Jill for being you and doing this with me... :-) I have a new computer. My old laptop, Slick, (yes, I name my electronic equipment) went tumbling down onto the not nearly soft enough carpet in my living room on last Monday evening. Bye, bye, Slick. I'm happy to report that my new pc, better known as "Seemore" is a notebook/tablet pc combo. Something I've wanted for a while anyway. The mishap did unfortunately contribute to the delay in getting this issue out, but many good lessons were learned along the way. (Some of which I might even share) No pictures this week, more in upcoming issues... Drop me an email, I always welcome the chance to connect! Jan jans@bizsmart.net ---------------------- In this issue: The table of contents was created using MindManager® X5 PRO software. Napkin Entrepreneur™ One cornerstone of the NE is: "A one page model or template that communicates a process, a plan, a system, a way of thinking, or a way of living." This week's template is a checklist that I use each and every time I create an issue of Half Baked. It saves me time, saves me energy, and gives me peace of mind - I don't have to worry about forgetting something. It allows me to focus on the areas of the newsletter I enjoy most - creating content! As always, I would enjoy your thoughts and ideas on this column! Half Baked Newsletter Checklist Tool(s): MindManager® X5 PRO Inspiration: Half baked, the newsletter you are now reading... I realized that I was spending much time re-creating the newsletter each month. I wanted to simplify the process, and focus not so much on the logistics, but in the creation of content. Creation time (the checklist): This checklist has evolved over the past several months. I estimate in total, I have spent 60 minutes creating the categories and words, 10 minutes for the formatting. My next step: I might add estimated time for each section and then somehow tie it to my Outlook calendar...or maybe not. I might make it more visually appealing to me. How to use: Use as an example on how to format checklist type information in a non linear fashion. I don't have a 1,2,3 step process for getting the newsletter complete, but I do complete each and every one of these sections for each issue. Blue lines represent sections in the newsletter; black lines represent other actions I must complete. ---------------------- Feature Article: Laptops 101 The little silver box on my desk is lined with glowing blue lights. The lights illuminate in variation, based on an ancient code. It is an exceptionally complex system, and much too sophisticated for me to actually understand. All right, I'm joking. But I do in fact have a little silver box on my desk. The box is three inches by six inches... On Monday evening (two weeks ago), I found my legs and the rest of my body moving in separate directions. In my hands, I held my laptop computer. Sadly, at least one thing was going to fall onto the floor, and I knew it would NOT be me. My laptop's display was completely shattered in the fall. I felt as if my world had just been broken. After all, my computer did contain a significant portion of my professional life. All my brilliant maps, my emails and correspondence with clients, my websites, my writing, my passwords, and my personal and professional contacts were stored in my laptop. What exactly would happen if all of this was gone? Hmm? Would I shrivel up and stop existing? Would I loose clients? Would I loose contact with best friends? Would I have to start over professionally? I know, it all sounds a bit dramatic, doesn't it? But let’s face it, as a self employed professional, the contents of my laptop represented a bit more than information. The contents represented a way of thinking, a security blanket of knowledge and contacts, and a sense that the future would be similar to the past. All these thoughts and more crossed through my mind that night as I tried to sleep. I also hoped that the morning would bring a clear plan of action, a sense of optimism, and a new perspective, in reverse order... The next day, after a good breakfast, I went into my partner's office, and plugged my notebook into an external monitor. And just as simply as that, I was able to log onto my computer and access my hard drive. Whew, a big sigh of relief!!! I then felt a sense of urgency. I felt as if I had only three (3) minutes to move everything to a backup computer. Then, after the first ten minutes I realized my computer hard drive wasn't going to get up and walk away. Seriously, the contents seemed to be just fine. Then, as I started moving files I had very strange feeling. I suddenly looked at the contents of my hard drive in a very different way. I realized how much I hold on to old information and how much that day holding on seemed like such a burden. I didn't feel like I had enough time or the desire to backup every single thing on my computer, so I had to pick and choose what I would keep and what I would not save. And finally, well before I actually "completed" backing up files, I realized I was complete enough. This experience reminded me that no bit of information is more valuable than what is inside me. I realized that I really didn't need all this "stuff" to go on creating an exceptional life. I just need the pieces that are permanently attached - my heart, my head, and the pieces in between. My heart and my head can't be found in a computer. What was in my computer was simply a result, a side effect of who I am. I realized that I can be just as smart today as I was yesterday, I can be just as light hearted, and I might even have an even more brilliant insight. :-) All said, and through all that drama, I was eventually able to access the majority of information on my old computers hard drive. Thanks to modern technology and about $60, the contents of my older laptop are now portable, and accessible by most computers, including my new one. The little silver box with glowing blue lights houses this information. Later that week, I also came to understand that that everything doesn't HAVE to be reinvented. You might choose to, or want to, but for me there seems to be a kind of balance involved in merging the past and creating a new future. I know if I can get all that out of dropping a computer, imagine the lessons I find in walking to the mail box, or driving down the street! Hope you won't have to drop your laptop to get this one... No bit of information is more valuable than what is inside you! Warmly, p.s. Comments, thoughts? email me here... Creativity Quote "Television -- chewing gum for the eyes." --- Frank Lloyd Wright Shorts 1) Do you ever email yourself just to ensure you get email from someone important? :-) 2) One of the coolest thing about this tablet PC so far is being able to handwrite emails! 3) Happy belated birthday to my Dad and niece Audrey. Dad, please go fishing this weekend! You will need the practice. :-) 4) Happy Memorial Day to readers in the US, or anyone who wants to celebrate it. Thanks for reading - see you on June 14th! p.s. pass this along to a friend or colleague. THANKS! Copyright © 2005 by BizSmart LLC All rights reserved. The content of Half-Baked™ may be forwarded in full without special permission provided it is used for nonprofit purposes and full attribution and copyright notice are given. Our mailing address is: BizSmart LLC, 659 Auburn Ave, NE, Suite G-21, Atlanta, GA 30312 For other purposes, contact jans@bizsmart.net.
Half-Baked™
May 24th, 2005
Jan Suchomski Creative Realist BizSmart phone: 404.314.8094 email Jan
BizSmart / contact Jan / comments welcome! / subscribe / past issues of Half-Baked
half-baked Just like the pizza we ate last night!
Welcome,
---------------------- In this issue:
The table of contents was created using MindManager® X5 PRO software. Napkin Entrepreneur™ One cornerstone of the NE is: "A one page model or template that communicates a process, a plan, a system, a way of thinking, or a way of living." This week's template is a checklist that I use each and every time I create an issue of Half Baked. It saves me time, saves me energy, and gives me peace of mind - I don't have to worry about forgetting something. It allows me to focus on the areas of the newsletter I enjoy most - creating content! As always, I would enjoy your thoughts and ideas on this column! Half Baked Newsletter Checklist Tool(s): MindManager® X5 PRO Inspiration: Half baked, the newsletter you are now reading... I realized that I was spending much time re-creating the newsletter each month. I wanted to simplify the process, and focus not so much on the logistics, but in the creation of content. Creation time (the checklist): This checklist has evolved over the past several months. I estimate in total, I have spent 60 minutes creating the categories and words, 10 minutes for the formatting. My next step: I might add estimated time for each section and then somehow tie it to my Outlook calendar...or maybe not. I might make it more visually appealing to me. How to use: Use as an example on how to format checklist type information in a non linear fashion. I don't have a 1,2,3 step process for getting the newsletter complete, but I do complete each and every one of these sections for each issue. Blue lines represent sections in the newsletter; black lines represent other actions I must complete.
----------------------
Feature Article:
This experience reminded me that no bit of information is more valuable than what is inside me. I realized that I really didn't need all this "stuff" to go on creating an exceptional life. I just need the pieces that are permanently attached - my heart, my head, and the pieces in between. My heart and my head can't be found in a computer. What was in my computer was simply a result, a side effect of who I am. I realized that I can be just as smart today as I was yesterday, I can be just as light hearted, and I might even have an even more brilliant insight. :-) All said, and through all that drama, I was eventually able to access the majority of information on my old computers hard drive. Thanks to modern technology and about $60, the contents of my older laptop are now portable, and accessible by most computers, including my new one. The little silver box with glowing blue lights houses this information. Later that week, I also came to understand that that everything doesn't HAVE to be reinvented. You might choose to, or want to, but for me there seems to be a kind of balance involved in merging the past and creating a new future. I know if I can get all that out of dropping a computer, imagine the lessons I find in walking to the mail box, or driving down the street! Hope you won't have to drop your laptop to get this one... No bit of information is more valuable than what is inside you! Warmly,
p.s. Comments, thoughts? email me here...
"Television -- chewing gum for the eyes."
Thanks for reading - see you on June 14th!
p.s. pass this along to a friend or colleague. THANKS!
Copyright © 2005 by BizSmart LLC All rights reserved.
The content of Half-Baked™ may be forwarded in full without special permission provided it is used for nonprofit purposes and full attribution and copyright notice are given. Our mailing address is: BizSmart LLC, 659 Auburn Ave, NE, Suite G-21, Atlanta, GA 30312 For other purposes, contact jans@bizsmart.net.