#Adventures in Procrastination & Productivity: Confessions of a Workaholic
Monday, November 28, 2011 at 6:35PM<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Rachel. I LOOOOOOOOOVVVVVEEEEEEEEEE this chick. Like LOOOOOOOOOVVVEEEE her!! She's really rad, and totally down to earth. Pretty much everything a solid girl crush is made of. These are the thoughts inside her head, and her life in the realm of procrastination and productivity. Hit it Rachel!! </editorsnote>
#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @IamRachelWho
I don’t know about you guys, but getting back to work after a FOUR-DAY HOLIDAY is tough, even for a workaholic like myself. I mean, really, really… pass-me-some-more-mashed potatoes… tough. In order to mentally prepare for the hell that is the office after a short vacation, I called out to my nearest and dearest for help and motivation … the world wide interweb. There is almost always an app for “that.” No joke.
Sunday night, I got a nervous tick as I thought about all the calories I had consumed over Thanksgiving and Dranksgiving (the alcoholic version of Friendsgiving complete with two buck chuck and a never-ending game of Phase 10). It was a lot. So I set my alarm for 6:30AM and whipped out my iPhone. I downloaded Nike+GPS, added some songs to the ‘PowerSongs’ playlist and brushed off my running shoes. For a person who really hates exercise, I was PUMPED. This is why I love technology. Everything becomes a little more interesting if I’m armed with a new toy.
Monday morning I actually woke up a few minutes BEFORE my alarm clock went off. And in my world, that might as well be a magical moment with unicorns leaping over sunbeams and puppies licking my face to wake me up.
It still took me around twenty minutes to stop checking everything I could on the internet (thanks a lot #cybermonday), but I finally crawled outta bed for 2.09 mile run (my app told me that!). Okay, jog… okay, jog/walk… But it was something! I think my favorite part is the announcement when I hit one mile and then two. Progress!! #yaylife
I wish I could say I survived the rest of my day on the high of that accomplishment, but around 3:30 I felt the dull pain of a full workday kicking in. My “easy things to do with a tryptophan hangover” list was already slimming down, so I pulled up one of the greatest web applications of my life. ASANA! I love making lists, so when this sucker showed up on Mashable a number of weeks ago, I had to check it out. It’s seriously a list-maker’s wet dream…
This application basically allows you to collaborate on lists with different groups of people in “Workspaces”, assign tasks to yourself and others, and track updates by ‘following’ the tasks. This means if your task is “Look up cool new productivity apps” and your co-worker already knows about Asana they can comment with their suggestion in an “Activity Feed” section (which includes a handy time and date stamp), and you’re in business!
I tried out Asana in a number of different environments and I’m pleased overall.
1. @girlsIRL Asana has been a really useful tool during our weekly meetings at @theberrics. In real time, we were able to list and assign personal goals with deadlines for the different girls at the meeting. My favorite feature, for this purpose, is inviting new people to the workspace. Just click ‘Assignee’ and start typing. The program will try to predict a previously used email address, but you can type whatever you want and then click invite! No extra step required!
2. Work I wasn’t sure if I could use Asana in my office because it’s so small. I work with two to three people in house on a regular basis, and there’s not much collaborating to be had with our colleagues working abroad because another production supervisor is managing their tasks on a day-to-day basis. So, I figured I would keep it even smaller. I use it to communicate with my office production assistant who works part time. This is great because I am able to assign new tasks when she is out of the office, and I see that she has completed things when I’m distracted by my Internet surfing –AHEM! – work. As satisfying as it is to use a physical checklist, it’s completely addicting to see the tasks populate and disappear with email updates popping in ever so often to report that something is COMPLETE! Woohoo!
3. Side Projects This might be my favorite way to use Asana. Everyone knows how hard it can be to squeeze in extra projects to get freaky with your creative self, but it’s SUPER important for my sanity! Right now I have a number of film projects in the works and a new website to launch with @itsmejoolie. It’s very cool to have accessibility to teammates throughout the week when there isn’t time for another meeting. Today, I posted a reminder to schedule drinks with a colleague and almost immediately received an email with other suggestions from @mikecruz84 (Follow him!!!). #watchout2012
And to wrap-out, if you’re not on Spotify yet, you’re really missing out. The fact that I can peruse my friends’ playlists is incredible. Today, I powered through a stack of office bills while listening to ‘Camp’ by Childish Gambino aka Donald Glover… Swwwwoooooon. #evenmorecrushworthy
