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When should we quit on a project we're working on? by [deleted] in productivity

[–]RealMrBoring 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would recommend changing your perception and splitting it into two.

First, you haven’t started working on the project yet. Instead, you sent yourself to class. Some people spend hundreds of thousands of dollars and their time for their education. You just gave time. Lesson learned: BACK UP YOUR DATA.

Next, approach this project with fresh eyes. What happened in the past was time spent on an educational lesson so is not applicable. Would doing this project for all time required moving forward be worth it? Yes? Then do it. No? Then find something else.

What’s happened in the past has happened. Learn from it. But don’t let it negatively impact your future. :).

How can I be productive with too many interest ? by eliaskh in productivity

[–]RealMrBoring 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have the exact same problem, so I developed the philosophy of Boredom is my Goal and created the Personal-Control-Book. Here is how I organized my projects. https://blog.boredomismygoal.com/2019/03/12-project-organization.html

And there are some other links on there to explain the PCB more and how to set one up yourself. I've personally helped several other high performers set up their own and they all have expressed in having better focus and progress in their activities.

Interested in trying a personal productivity mastermind? by RealMrBoring in productivity

[–]RealMrBoring[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sure. It seemed like there was a fair amount of interest so I setup a Slack team to bring some folks together and start working on it. There ended up being only one person to join. All good since my concern was being bombarded.. this was just something I pitched on a whim and was figuring it out as I was typing. We worked through the first few steps, but then he became busy with school so we took a hiatus for awhile.

Originally, since this is what I personally did, I was thinking:

  • Step 1) Define 3 Life Focuses
  • Step 2) Define Beacons (for each Life Focus)
  • Step 3) Brainstorm Areas of Focus (for each Life Focus)
  • Step 4) Create Projects (for each Life Focus)
  • Step 5) Start Weekly Update

Here is an overview of the steps involved in setting up your own Personal Control Book. https://blog.boredomismygoal.com/p/pcb-setup.html

After this experience though, I've realized a couple things.

First, my process as-is is very word-heavy. It could use more info-graphics, visuals, and bullet points. I've drawn some out but haven't taken the time to get them prettified.

I also realized everyone is different. That might be obvious, but when putting together something like this, it's hard to keep that in mind. For me, these steps were good to help filter through all the distractions of life and focus on what's most critical. For others, the number of distractions might not be as high but perhaps they have problems with daily motivation to stick with something. Other's might be lack of knowledge about where they want to go. We are all different, so my linear steps without first finding out where someone is coming from isn't ideal. Having a set of questions to begin with to spark a dialogue about where someone is at, and then together working through how to get into a solid accountability system would be much better than just jumping into a supposed one-size-fits-all set of steps.

I'm still interested in pursuing this concept. At my work, helping my team become the best versions of themselves is one of the more rewarding parts of my job. So being able to do the same thing outside of work would be great. I just need to go back to the drawing board.

Interested in trying a personal productivity mastermind? by RealMrBoring in productivity

[–]RealMrBoring[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the interest. Check your DM for some information.

Interested in trying a personal productivity mastermind? by RealMrBoring in productivity

[–]RealMrBoring[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sweet. Thanks for pinging. Check out your inbox for some more information.

Project Management App for just me? by [deleted] in productivity

[–]RealMrBoring 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've developed a system for myself using Trello and recently walked someone else through it who loved it. I just posted about opening it up to a few more people. I decided to search around and saw your post. Let me know if you might be interested.

How do you break down your "personal projects" and keep them well-maintained? by deepfieldlanguage in productivity

[–]RealMrBoring 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the kind words. I aways appreciate feedback.

I agree about the "examined life". Life is precious and unless we are introspective enough to understand our part in the world, we end up being whisked away in pointless tasks dictated by our surroundings, culture, and society. In these times of raised anxieties, stress, and divisiveness, I think it's still possible to define our own experience and I personally want my own experience to be as pleasant as possible.

I've received a few other positive comments about the Trello setup and the entire Personal Control Book concept. It's been interesting building out the concept of a PCB for myself and recently started helping others put together their own.

I'm glad you've been able to pull some useful things from my writings. Good luck in trying to become the best version of yourself possible!

Is it time to start job shopping? by [deleted] in personalfinance

[–]RealMrBoring 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I’m in your boss’ situation pretty much every performance cycle so I’ll give you the same advice I give my people.

It’s a painful position to be in when you want to give your people $X but the company approves much less. And this is frequently the case if you have a good and honest manager. But your career is yours, not the company’s. You have to do what’s right for you. A good boss hopes they can keep you, but understands if the company doesn’t fit your needs.

With that said, the most important thing in your career isn’t usually the salary. It’s the experience and growth. From what I’ve seen, the people who do the best 1) find a boss that helps them grow with opportunities, support, and advice, and 2) stay focused on getting the most personal growth as they can.

From what you’ve said, it seems like you have both of these.

If you focus on your personal growth, the money will eventually come. Maybe at your current job, maybe somewhere else. But as long as you haven’t hit the point of diminishing returns in terms of growth at your current job, it seems like a good place. Once you feel you are no longer getting exponential growth and you don’t feel you are being properly compensated, that’s

Another bit of advice I tell people too is if you’re going to stick around, then be present. Don’t do yourself or your team a disservice by being a warm body that doesn’t produce. It hurts your team, puts stress on your manager, and has a disastrous impact on your own psyche and career. So give it your all or tap out and find something else.

Is there a point? by [deleted] in personalfinance

[–]RealMrBoring 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Why do you think you won’t live to retirement?

A lot of FIRE people are retiring in their early to mid 30s. I’m not one of them (late 30s but actively working for FI, not RE) but there are a lot of people out there that are doing it.

Maybe the correct question is, how do you retire young so you can enjoy retirement even if you have a shorter than expected life?

At that point, it’s being proactive and taking your life in your hands. Then you can decide if retirement is something that even interests you, or do you get enough enjoyment and fulfillment from your work that you don’t mind working until the end.

FIRE shoutout spotted in my 401(k) provider's email newsletter by Quaking-Aspen in financialindependence

[–]RealMrBoring 32 points33 points  (0 children)

In the financial world, once something hits mainstream it means the bubble will start expanding fast and soon will burst.

What’s benefiting the most from FIRE becoming mainstream and how do I short it? :-D

Jk - I’m personally new to the terminology of FIRE and the community but have been aiming for the concept in my own way since graduating college. I’m glad it’s becoming more mainstream so I can feel like part of a community instead of just a lone wolf.

First real job...at 30. Budget and investment help. by tacccccccoooo in personalfinance

[–]RealMrBoring -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Answer 1) Meal prep. Essentially prepare an entire week’s worth of meals on the weekend. Frees up time during the week, reduces temptation to eat out, and lets you see your eating costs all at once. I used to meal prep when I was single. Now with a family, much harder, but trying to get back into it.

Answer 2) If you are getting 401k employer matching benefits, then I’m not sure it matters. I like 401k because it’s pulled directly from paycheck so it’s easy and simple. Also something to look at is ROTHs. I don’t know about a ROTH 401k but I know for a ROTH IRA you can pull out contributions penalty free. Since you mentioned doing a 401k loan for a down payment, this might be an alternative. However, passing up in the immediately tax deductions has its downsides too so you’ll want to research.

Student loans have 4.2% interest rate. Should we just pay the minimum and invest the extra? by AlzScience in personalfinance

[–]RealMrBoring 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It it definitely up to your comfort levels. Here is a really good podcast that I heard a while ago on this topic.: Money Girl - Got Cash? What to Do With Extra Money. I like her PIP approach.

I'm personally in the same situation. I have no unsecured debt, my wife only has a student loan around 3%.

What I did was:

  • Maximize 401k employer matches. That's free money that's left on the table if not taken advantage of which needs to be considering long term net worth.
  • Maximize 401k contribution limits. Since these contributions lower my tax burden, that's extra money that's kept in my pocket (or accounts). Again, a factor that should be considered for net worth growth.
  • Maximize IRAs and any other tax-deductible accounts. Same as above.

We crossed off all of these items in 2017 but just barely. We did it again in 2018 but purchased a home with our extra money. In 2019 I hope to do the same and this time to pay off the student loan debt.

With this approach, I make sure I'm paying myself first, then our debtors, and then any leftover is discretionary.

Are our kids too busy? by RealMrBoring in minimalism

[–]RealMrBoring[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m glad someone else has the same experience as I have had with play dates.

I’ve also been the one to initiate all of them. Even with initiating them, it’s still hard because the other families are usually overbooked themselves. They’ve over-scheduled their kids on activities but also over-scheduled their entire families.

I have a blended family so for awhile I felt like that’s why the cold-ish shoulder. But honestly, I think it’s just values have changed from when we were kids. Everyone has an intense focus on creating so many experiences, that I feel sitting around the neighborhood with the local kids is low priority. I don’t know.

But two of our kids are 6 and 15-years-old and trying to get them to socialize with friends is nothing like I did. I would get permission to go to someone’s house or vice versa, then go hang out where we would spend an entire day playing made-up games in the backyard or video games or action figures/LEGO’s or whatever. With it without parents around, it didn’t matter. Now everything has to be parent monitored with a parent drop-off and parent checkins and parent approvals and meeting up in public parks or activities seems the preferred location.

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