Weekly Targets 23rd July - 29th July

So after the bad start this week, I managed to complete most of my targets. The only ones I missed were finishing the analysis notes, finishing the targets from last week that I didn't manage and the one about linkedin. I have actually joined, but I can't work out how to use it. Now that my stepdad is back from Brighton, I am going to ask him to have a look at it with me, so hopefully I will have more luck with that soon. I did go through some more of my notes, but it has been so warm that I've been finding it hard to concentrate on anything other than trying not to melt and just enjoying the sun. My chalkboards are nearly finished, they just need a couple more coats of paint I think. I would have trimmed the hedge at some point had my stepdad not beaten me to it...

Here are my targets for this week:

1 - Write story cube story
2 - Write types of numbers post
3 - Write a post about work experience at nursery
4 - Paint the fence
5 - Work out how to use linkedin and start finding people to contact
6 - Work my way through at least the next chapter of the accountancy book
7 - Go to Festival Drayton and try to arrange some work experience
8 - Perform at open mic night at the Beer Festival
9 - Read at least one chapter of the Bedside Book of Algebra
10 - Go for a bike ride

As I'm not really sure about how well I've managed time slippage, I am going to set that as my bonus target for the week.

Weekly Targets 10th July - 15th July

I am going to try an experiment. I really need to stay motivated this summer to be productive and make the most of the time I have over the holidays. The first thing I'm going to try is to publish a weekly list of targets every Wednesday on my blog, and to give a midweek update on my progress at the weekend. There will be different types of targets, designed to help me achieve the different challenges I want to face. Hopefully breaking it down like this, and having it out there on the internet will make me feel more accountable and more likely to stay motivated and productive. Also, it could help me when I go back to Uni to work the best that I can and get a good grade in my final year!

So, here are my targets for this week:

1 - Write story cube story (for Writer's club)
2 - Write up 25 things I like about me post
3 - Write types of numbers post
4 - Read as much of the accountancy book as I can (especially chapter 6)
5 - Finish writing the generic cover letter
6 - Send out the cover letter to at least 2 local companies
7 - Go through the first week of Analysis notes
8 - Run the Dearnford relays
9 - Finish making my chalkboards
10 - Trim the hedge

I know I've already done one of those things, but I'm a little bit late publishing the list! Will update at the weekend :)

Getting back into the swing of things...

Since the Easter Holidays, I haven't been keeping up my blog at all. It's not because I haven't had anything to write about, but rather that I haven't had the time or energy to write about all the things that have been happening.

In the last couple of months, I have:

• Been to Comic Con
• Visited my father in Portugal
• Went on the world's tiniest spinning teacups with my brother while my family participated in the Market Drayton 2013 10K race
• Watched the Exorcist
• Been voted Vice President of Warwick Glee
• Won Performance of the Year with I Knew You Were Trouble by Taylor Swift in Glee Club
• Finished all assignments and exams for my first year of University
• Had my younger sister visit me for a couple of days
• Bought an iPad with my birthday money

And probably a whole lot more that I can't think of right now.

So, my plan for the Summer is to get back into my blogging. I will start it off by writing posts about my C date and D date, then see where we go from there!

Astrid Task and the Summer Blog Challenge

This summer is my last summer before I head off to study maths at University. I really want to make the most of it before I have to leave everything I'm comfortable with and head into the big wide world. To help me make the most of things, I use to-do lists. It is very satisfying to each day cross off all of the things that I wanted to achieve. To make the to-do lists, I downloaded an app.

I recently got a new phone for my birthday. I've never had a smart phone before, so I'm still getting used to it. My favourite thing about smart phones is that there is an app for almost anything you can imagine, including to-do lists. The one I downloaded is called Astrid Task. I'm not going to lie, I only picked it because it was free, it was at the top of the page, and it had a red octopus thing as its logo. However, I'm glad I did, and here's why.

1. This little dude is so cute. He pops up with little motivational messages such as "I like it when you are productive!" when you tick off tasks. He sends you reminders when you have a time set on a task, and sends one at 6pm (although you can choose the time) for each task without a due time that hasn't yet been completed. For me, having a cute mascot just makes it that bit more fun, so it is less of a chore.

2. You can access the app on Android, iPhone or online (astrid.com). I have an Android phone, my sister has an iPhone, and my mum has a brick phone that isn't a smart phone, so we can all get to the app one way or other. My sister actually downloaded the app after I showed it to her. She wanted the motivational octopus too! My mum was a bit upset that her phone can't download apps because she wants it too, so I imagine she'll be very happy when she finds out you can get it online too!

3. You can share tasks with other people. I admit I haven't yet tried this, I'm still playing round with the app to find out what it can do, but I imagine it will come in handy when organising events, such as the writing club I've recently joined with my sisters. We will be able to make sure we all know when it is on and what we need to have done before we go to the next meeting.

 

4. The layout is simple. I like things that aren't overly complicated. A clear layout is important for ease of use. Astrid task has a clear layout, with tasks set out in a list, different colours for different levels of priority of tasks, a check box to tick off tasks that you have completed, and different styles of check boxes depending on the type of task (e.g. a recurring task). The recurring task feature is useful for something you want to do every day, or every other day for example, because you don't have to set up the task every single time, it is done automatically.

5. There is a widget available that you can put on your phone homepage. It allows easy access to the tasks you have set up for the day as well as allowing you to create new tasks quickly.

There is a lot more to this app. For example you can organise tasks into lists, add notes or comments onto tasks, sync lists to Astrid.com, Google Tasks or Producteev, and not to mention the added features when you buy the premium version of the app. Like I said before, I'm still exploring the app, but I am very much liking what I've found so far. Who wouldn't want a motivational red octopus to congratulate them on completing things really?

Part of my to-do list for the writing club is to complete a summer blog challenge. I want to write (at least) one blog post a week. I can tick that off for this week now.