Agile spare time

This last six months I have focused a bit more on managing my spare time. It started out well, with me doing a bit more work on Wikka Wiki, maintaining a monthly (board) gaming evening and getting a bit more out of my evenings. Then it started to slip out again, as usual. Too many projects started, none ended – not even to a milestone or one measly todo-list item.

I suck at organizing myself outside of work, and I know it. What it usually boils down to, is my phasing creativity and motivation. It helps having people working on the same thing, or at least inquiring into my work. I guess this is one of the reasons I get things done at work. That and coffee, guilt and integrity.

So, I’ve decided I need to get to burning bridges aga… things done again. I have Getting Things Done standing unfinished in my bookshelf, I know how to do agile methods in projects, reviews and stuff. I just don’t apply it outside of work. Something must change.

I’ve been reading David Seah’s blog for a while, and at least one of his good ideas have registered over time; his Groundhog Day resolutions. I first thought I’d try something like that, but as I am trying to fix up my spare time, I wanted a bit more time on my resolutions. Quarterly or something like it. That being an awful lot of time, I thought to have some sub-goals sprinkled in between – monthly or some such. Right. Back at the start.

Last week I read Corvus Elrod’s Hats in the New Year, and decided that; yes – it is time to get something done around here. After a brief chat about one of his projects I managed to derail the conversation in on keeping focus on one project at a time, and he suggested taking an agile approach. As that actually makes sense, I’ll try it out. Quarterly (fuzzy) goals filled with two week sprints. This, with accountability from blogging, should keep me focused on a (few) projects at a time. If not, the problem probably is the wetware aprox. ten inches from the screen…

As it is in the middle of the holidays right now, I won’t commit just yet. Though I’ll say this; there is an overwhelming chance that my first goals will be related to me getting into blogging regularly. I need that.

Have a nice time.