Time is Important to Slackers too.
Posted by Jacques - November 29, 2008A couple days ago, I wrote a post about procrastination and what it really means. While I don’t take back anything that I’ve said, I want to make sure that everyone understands the importance and value of time. Afterall, if time wasn’t a factor, procrastination would be a little difficult to define, don’t you think?
Time is ticking and moving forward whether we like it or not. Although being slackers, we often want to spend our time in a way that feels comfortable to us, we need to make sure we are commanding our time. What I mean is, we have to be sure that we are in control of our time. The only way that we can do that, is to ensure that our time works for us. One of the ways we do that, is by recognizing that there are some more “productive” things we can do with our time. Although, “relaxing”, “vegging out”, and “catching up on myspace or facebook” are wonderful things that we want to do with our time, they’re the kind of thing you can do at any time and don’t really have a limit.
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Slacker Method for Getting ALMOST the best price using the STEM rule.
Posted by Jacques - November 29, 2008Now, this may almost certainly change over time, but for right now, one of the biggest and most diverse marketplaces is Ebay. Also, I’m talking about new products, not used, so you don’t have to worry about getting someone elses headache. Not everything is cheaper there, and it isn’t always the best deal, but if you can get close to the best deal for minimal effort, why not? That is why I created the STEM rule.
If something is Small, Typical (or common), Electronic (or related), and More than $20, then you should buy it off of eBay. For products that follow the STEM rule, eBay will beat 95% of the prices out there. Keep in mind that I’m willing to accept refurbished for this formula but to me it is considered new because it also comes with manufacturer warranty.
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Slacker Method for Trimming Your Commute.
Posted by Jacques - November 25, 2008How many times have you asked yourself what the extra 10 minutes to study, 10 minutes to prepare for that interview would’ve cost you. Slackers usually don’t like to waste time on the road, we’d rather waste it at home or with friends. So, if there’s a place you commute to on a daily basis it’s likely that your typical route isn’t always the most efficient. For example, I personally had a commute that I brought down from 30 minutes to 20 minutes by trying 10 different routes. Some of the routes shared part of the same road, but from point A to B there were 10 different ones.
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Why do we procrastinate?
Posted by Jacques - November 24, 2008At this very moment I am delaying a long list of tasks that I could be doing right now. At some point, people will tell me that I’m procrastinating. But at what point does postponing become procrastination? Is it a period of time? Is it the importance of the task at hand? Some people would say it’s a combination of both. Many dictionaries would define procrastination as needless or unnecessary delay or postponement. Still others who are somewhat more intelligent would add, that people who delay doing things because they are inconvenient, annoying, loathed or feared would be procrastinating. By that definition a delayed birth isn’t biology, it’s procrastination!
But who can judge whether something is needless or unnecessary? Who decided that the task is delayed simply because I chose not to have a huge buffer between the day I completed the task, and the final day that task was due?
What I’m trying to get you to understand is that procrastination is an arbitrary label placed on slackers by society. True, some people will avoid taking out the trash or doing their work because they are lazy. But those aren’t really the kind of slackers I’m talking about nor the type of people who read this blog. I purposefully and intentionally choose not to perform tasks for two reasons. First, I know that I will use more time if more is available to me to perform a task. Secondly, I’m not always in the mood to do certain things and when I force myself to flow against my karmic energy, I will get moody.
Yes, I said karmic energy, but there’s no other way to explain why sometimes I feel like working and sometimes I don’t. The moodier I get, the less efficient I work, and eventually I will not be able to work at all. So, stop telling me I’m procrastinating, and just understand that this is the way tasks flow through my pipeline. We are not straight pipes, we have twists and turns, feelings and emotions, so sometimes we will work hard and sometimes we won’t. Sometimes we’ll begin tasks as soon as they are available to do, and at other times we will simply wait until there is not much time left to do them in.
I just want everyone to know that this is okay and that in the end, our accomplishments do not balance out the harsh reality of life, they do not help us overcome ourselves, and we can’t take them with us where we are all eventually going.
The pencil shading trick works!
Posted by Jacques - November 20, 2008So, I wrote down this password to an encrypted file that I was given over the phone. When I realized I was probably never going to get the file, I threw away the post it note containing the password into the trash. The receptacle was then promptly emptied by the janitorial staff.
The next day, my contact finally sent me the file. I looked through the trash where it obviously wasn’t when suddenly it hit me! I could go back to the stack of post its, find a pencil (this was probably the hardest part for those of us in the modern age), then shade the post it lightly by angling the pencil to reveal what you previously wrote. What happens is that the pencil will shade everything but the grooves of what you had previously written, revealing an inverse image. I didn’t get everything but I got enough numbers to remember the rest of the password which helped me immensely.
I wish I could say I learned it from some place cool like a James Bond movie or Macguyver episode, but in actuality, I saw it on The Big Lebowski (you don’t want to watch this scene, trust me!).
Slacker Method for Taking Credit.
Posted by Jacques - November 20, 2008Simply ask the knowledge holder very politely. When you are rewarded for your deeds or when you’ve accomplished what you’ve set out to do, give credit to the person who helped you and ensure that they will be happy to serve as a future resource. You will save time, headache, and stress.
i.e. Ask your sister for her famous lasagna recipe and then make sure to tell everyone that she gave you lots of tips at the dinner party while she’s there.
i.e. A colleague comes up with a great solution to a problem you were having. Go ahead and take credit for it but let everyone know that you and your colleague were “brainstorming” and discovered this wonderful idea.
i.e. You don’t know how to fix a flat on your bike, simply ask your friend to show you and save the money on buying a book or trying to figure it out from the internet. Thank him immensely and compliment him on his knowledge of bikes.
First Post
Posted by Jacques - November 17, 2008This is my first post on The Slacker Method. I’ll start by saying that this blog isn’t going to be about doing nothing for the sake of doing nothing. It’s going to be about doing less while conveniently accomplishing more. If it isn’t convenient, I’m probably not going to do it.
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