Here are a few things I learnt last year:
- To-do lists work. For me, at least. Having a to-do list always present on my desktop helped me to sort out the most important tasks instead of wasting time on tasks that can wait. It is also satisfying to delete an item when you’re done.
- Having large screen real estate helps. After years of putting it off, I finally bought a monitor to use as a second screen. It shot up my productivity. After I got a laptop with a 17-inch screen and a better monitor, I experienced even higher productivity. Imagine less scrolling, been able to look on one screen for input in work on another, or entertainment on one screen and work on another. So convenient.
- Old tech can still be good tech. The monitors I bought cost less than GH¢250 apiece. The first one got fried by a power surge that’s why I bought the second one. They were both old models and used. They were great value for the return in productivity I got for the price I got them.
- A clean workspace helps. As much as possible I now ensure that my work space at work and home is free of clutter. A cluttered work space sometimes makes me feel like I have more work to do than I actually have.
- Self-Hosted WordPress beats WordPress.com. It costs me significantly more money and takes more time to self-host my blog as compared to using wordpress.com but it’s worth it. I have more control over my blog design, I can use google analytics and I can include ads. (Disclosure: I’m not even breaking even from the ad revenue).
- Save first. I hit my savings target by making sure that my allocation to my investment portfolio was the first thing to come out of my income.
- Keep a record of income and expenses. Using the Spending Tracker app on android I was able to track all my income and expenditure for 2016 and the results have informed my planning immensely.
- Fun does not have to be expensive. Most of my fun activities consist of spending time with the people I care about. The food, drinks or music is secondary. You don’t need to spend much on them to have fun.
- Ask for help. I asked for help a lot last year. From family, friends and even acquaintances. When I need to get something done but I do not have the time, contacts, skills or knowledge I have asked and received great help for which I’m grateful. It has taught me too to help people as much as I can when I can.
- Blog posts don’t have to be long. Out of the 98 posts on this blog last year, a few were infographics I shared from other platforms, a chart, or a link to another article or a video. Keeping your blog active is important. You don’t need all the time in the world. You just have to share with your readers information you think they will find relevant.
Happy New Year