Happy Tuesday!
Did you know that “Tuesday” is based on the Norse God Tyr whose hand was eaten while trying to contain a giant wolf named Fenrir who was prophesized to kill Odin?
It’s also where we get the saying…
If you wanna make a not eaten leader, you gotta feed your hand to a wolf.
That makes so much more sense now.
Speaking of getting things done…
The “Zero” Rules That Make My Life Not Not Good
I have certain base levels of operation that I always try to maintain. These are things that, by themselves, are not entirely necessary nor do they directly connect to the stuff I want to get done.
But they are “rules” that keep me in check. (And I didn’t know I was going to give them the “Zero” naming scheme until I started making the list. So maybe I need to call these The Zero Rules or something.)
Inbox Zero
I know not everyone finds this necessary but I actually try to maintain inbox zero. I often fail but generally have zero to five or six emails sitting there. (Currently, there are 3 emails, and they’re all newsletters I WANT to read. It’s beautiful.)
Basically, I unsubscribe to any spam and HEAVILY archive emails.
-After I respond to something and it’s up to the other party to keep it alive: ARCHIVE IT!-When I decide it’s no longer relevant: ARCHIVE IT!
-Spammy stuff: unsubscribe and ARCHIVE IT! (or delete it)
-Newsletter issues I’ve read or decided to abandon: ARCHIVE IT!So anything that’s sitting in there either serves as a reminder or is something I still need to take care of (and actually WANT to take care of).
And I try to avoid using the inbox for reminders. I’ll usually transfer reminders to a separate app, like the Calendar, Notion, Things, or what’s that called… oh yeah, writing it down on a piece of paper.
Maintaining inbox zero does a number of things. The obvious is it makes my email less of a hellscape of unnavigable nonsense.
But it also helps keep me proactive. I’m more likely to take action just so I can arbitrarily have a nice clean inbox. Urgent stuff gets taken care of sooner. Easily forgotten stuff ISN’T forgotten! (at least until I do something about it so I can archive it and forget it). And stuff that truly isn’t important is more quickly recognized as not important when I archive it!
And perhaps most importantly, my inbox really isn’t a source of stress as I imagine it might be to others.Desktop Zero
I’m not talking about my physical desktop. That’s in the next category. I’m talkin’ computer desktop. I basically treat it the same way as my inbox.
It seems that many people don’t seem to mind a cluttered computer desktop. (The desktops of many a past roommate and current roommate (my wife) look like a nightmare to me.)I always try to reset mine to be completely empty or have a few pending things. Right now I have 2 files sitting on my desktop, the audio and video of the latest recording of my and Greg Benson’s podcast, Two Guys Talking About Lettuce.
Having it right these serves as my reminder to put it together, upload it, and schedule it for release.But that’s like the only time I use it as a reminder (for Lettuce stuff). Usually, it’s just a temporary place for files in transit. I set my download folder as my desktop and then I decide where the files are going to go (since I’m usually downloading a wide array of different things for different projects.)
Having all sorts of different files for different projects scattered across the desktop would just be a stress inferno for me. I gotta sort that stuff in unseen files, and then take them out when I’m actually working on the thing.Surface Zero
Now moving into the real world, I strive to keep surfaces clear. This goes for my desktop, kitchen counters, bed, etc.
This one is often quite a challenge, cuz well, I don’t live alone. So as far as counters go I just have a few “areas” that I always try to maintain because it would be too much work to have everything clear all the time. (Plus I would end up moving things that aren’t mine and then Chyna wouldn’t know where they are.)
I think the main reason I do this is simply internal. I just feel better when there’s more “clearness” and I feel like the walls are closing in when there’s a lot of clutter.
And it’s more comfortable to be able to sit anywhere without moving stuff, look around and not see unfinished tasks, and actually wipe down the surfaces so they don’t got sticky sludge on them.
But also, defining this baseline of “clearness”, again, keeps me proactive. Dirty things won’t sit and fester. I won’t run out of clean things. I won’t lose things if I’m forced to designate a place for them. And if clutter is ignored too long it will pile higher and higher and be even more intimidating to clean.
Health Zero
Okay, the zero in this one doesn’t really make sense but I had to stick with the naming scheme. This one is simply defining certain numbers you want to maintain and periodically checking in and striving to get back to them.
Things like weight, size, steps per day, workouts, what you can lift, pushups…
And diet. Macro, micronutrients, etc.
It all seems obvious but it can be easy to forget to define it. And if you fail to achieve it, it can be easy to just give up.
I find that it’s just about phases. I start out by defining what level I want to get to (weight, steps, etc.) and try to get there. And then once I maintain for a while I will inevitably fall off the trail cuz I also want to freely enjoy life. Then after enjoying life freely I might take a look at those levels I defined and try to get back to them again.
The important thing is to ACTUALLY DEFINE them, but don’t worry to much about always achieving them. Find the “inbox zero” of health for you and perform periodic maintenance.
That’s about it. I should stop because this one is getting longer than my arbitrarily defined limit for this newsletter.
Craig
STUFF I’M DOING
The latest main channel video is Chyna fixing my wardrobe! Working on the next video about how I stay motivated to work out.
The 2nd channel WheezyNews has been pretty active lately.
Doing acupressure on a pokey mat every day (will be a video)
Working on a documentary about Japanese Green Bay Packer Fans
The podcast I do with my pal Greg Benson, Two Guys Talking About Lettuce, is now a YouTube partner!
Playing Zelda, duh.
I used to have “zero” inboxes and surfaces as well, then life got the better of me and currently things are a bit cluttered. Thanks for the reminder though that I should really get back to that. Certain things are definitely a lot less stressful and it’s easier to keep track of things when when they’re at “zero”.
That Health Zero approach is a pretty useful one! I always set up metrics, but don't have much framework for when I want to stop paying attention and just live my life (like on vacations). I'm gonna give it a whirl.
Those acupressure mats look intimidating. My mom had these soft-nubbed sandals once and they felt like death to me. I can't imagine harder plastic nubs, or that one that looks like a climbing wall. Looking forward to that video...