What does the app do?

This iPhone app allows the user to track achievements that contribute to their goals, for instance quitting smoking or exercising.  The app could be used for any goal where you want to track progress on developing good habits and the app allows multiple users so that information can be tracked for multiple people.

The app has a simple start process and is self-explanatory when you initially setup your specifications.  I especially like the way a calendar graphically displays your progress such as the screen pictured on the left.  Each habit you are tracking has a separate calendar where you can change the background and use different icons on days of the week that you have an achievement.  There are about 60 different icons to choose from.

What I really like

As I mentioned, I love the calendar display.  It reminds me of a chore chart from when I was a kid, or a basic calendar where you apply gold stars for days when you achieved something!  The icons make it fun as well.  For instance, on my exercise calendar I’m tracking the days that I make time for exercise and there are several colorful icons to choose from for different activities, so at the end of the month I have a great mix of pictures to show how I stayed active!

I also like that there is a notes feature for each calendar that I can have a quick reminder of an overall goal or a quote for inspiration.  There a number of useful possibilities for this feature.

What I didn’t like

I love the icons, I don’t love the selection.  Some of the pictures seem quite odd to me (like a motorcycle helmet, a cruise ship, and something that looks like a cow) and the app could use another page of icons to expand the options.

It also takes quite a few steps to assign more than one icon for a calendar.  The app is set up with a default icon and you have to switch between several screens to use different icons on different days.

Overall assessment

It’s a nice, basic app for tracking goals and achievements, yet not as classy or fun to use as Getting Dreams Done, which I previously reviewed here.  it would be nice to see more icon options and an easier interface to change the icons as you continue to track goals.  But if you’re looking for something simple and easy, this app definitely does the job.

This post is part of OPTED Magazine’s “iPhone Tuesdays” series, where we’ll feature a new iPhone app that helps with productivity, tasking, goal setting, or organization.  These posts will include a review and all the information based on a personal test and evaluation.  Watch for the series again on a future Tuesday!

After some self-criticism of my time management skills, I identified what I consider a weakness: spending too much time planning and not enough time acting.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of evaluating the most effective, productive habits to have, faithfully organizing project plans into a trusted system using GTD, and embracing a love of lists.  What I’m finding is that the amount of time I’m spending planning and methodically gathering thoughts and ideas for future tasks has prevented me from actually DOING those tasks.

How could someone so productive and so organized take so long to realize this?  What good has it done for me to complicate the organizing and productivity process only to lose time that could be spent creating valuable things?

My latest chinese food dinner served up the following fortune cookie slip:

The secret of getting ahead is getting started

I drew a lot of inspiration from this quote, and I’m challenging myself to evaluate how I spend my time, but in a new way.  Now that I’ve explored productivity tools such as printable forms, tweaked my Gmail account to fit my needs, and developed some new habits — it’s time to simplify.

Ideally, productivity strategies should enhance time management by capitalizing on effective practices to free up more time to do other things.  This only works if the system is simple and easy to maintain. While it’s important to test out new strategies and continue to improve, the system is all for nothing unless you’ve freed up time to spend with loved ones or enhance your life with the projects that bring you joy.

I also began wondering about others who strive to be productive and devote time to blogging and sharing their experiences with others.  Have you faced this same dilemma?  Any suggestions?

As the fortune cookie slip says: the secret is getting started.  I won’t have much success pursuing my life goals if I’m held back by the planning and brainstorm stages.  If I’m spending time organizing my progress rather than making more progress, the productivity system has failed me.  It’s time for me to get started.

Some of those principles are the foundation of a minimalist lifestyle and it sounds appealing.

If it sounds appealing to you, I encourage you to purchase Leo Babauta’s new e-Book called The Simple Guide to a Minimalist Life by clicking here.  At $9.95, this is a steal and will be delivered to you in PDF format so you can read it immediately.  Leo is an incredible writer and his insight is invaluable when I consider making life changing decisions or even small changes to my everyday practices that make a big impact.

The sales of this e-Book also benefit the non-profit organization called Guampedia.

So, it got me thinking: readers of OPTED Magazine may be in the same place that I am.  Looking for advice or community that is working on the same goals as they are and yearning to learn more about strategies and tools to achieve their dreams.

Thus the September poll:

Based on OPTED Magazine themes, what is your highest priority goal right now?

Besides wanting to know the answer to hear about YOU and your life, this is also helpful for the site to provided relevant content for all the readers!

Vote in the poll by checking out the left hand sidebar and selecting your choice.  And while you’re at it, write me an email using the contact form and let me know what you think of OPTED Magazine content so far and what you’d like to see more of!

Moving horror stories are a dime a dozen, ranging from the wrong furniture delivered to your house to possessions held hostage until undisclosed money is paid.  Fortunately, my moving experiences were not this dire, but they certainly could have been.  Putting trust in people is difficult for some, easy for others — but with moving comapnies it pays to dot every i and cross every t and make sure everything is on paper.

As part of a CBS story, Joe Harrison, president of the American Moving And Storage Association offered some important tips to protect yourself from mvoing scams:

Avoid Low-Ball Internet Quotes - If it seems too good, it probably is. The Internet is full of crooks posing as movers, so get at least three estimates and discard the low ones.

Get References From Family/Friends - The best way to know if company is reputable is to talk to people who’ve used them such as friends, family and neighbors.

Check Company’s Record - Look up their complaint history with the BBB; contact the Federal Department of Transportation to see if they’re licensed and reputable; and get a list of reliable movers from local or national movers association like the American Moving And Storage Association and State Associations of Movers.

Get In-Person Estimates - Many people get estimates over the phone or online. It’s a big mistake. Always have the company come to your house and see firsthand all the belongings you want moved. That way the estimate will be more accurate.

Ask About Extra Fees - Your mover will charge extra for packing materials such as boxes, tape, wrapping foam, and padding. Ask how much that costs and to save money, do most of the packing yourself. If your new house is on a narrow street, many movers will charge extra if they can’t fit their truck on the street, so ask how much that will cost.

Get Everything In Writing – Many people make the mistake of signing a blank contract – that is a bad idea. The mover should put your estimate and all extra fees in writing on your contract upfront, as well as your pickup and delivery dates. Read your contract from top to bottom and make sure that all your belongings are listed.

In addition to these important steps, I’m a big proponent of researching ahead of time.  In the age of “everything being available on the internet” there is no reason not to do a little digging on the moving company you’re considering.  Try doing a Google search with the full moving company name in quotes to see if someone has written a positive or negative review of the company.  Of course, this would be in addition to a reference of that company from a friend or family member (which would be ideal).

Here are some other sites to help you with your research:

• www.movingscam.com
• The Better Business Bureau
• American Moving and Storage Association

Don’t be the next victim of a moving scam!  As busy as you may be, taking the time to thouroughly investigate the company you are entrusting your life to is well worth the effort.

This week is “moving week” on OPTED Magazine and this post is part of a 5 article series.  Check out the previous post about creating a moving necessities box and check back tomorrow for the final part of the series!

For many OPTED Magazine readers, as well as myself, I call us to the challenge of the “steps method” of self-improvement.

You’ve probably heard of the phrase “two steps forward, one step back.”  Examine that idea for a moment.  If you’ve taken two steps forward, even a small setback of one step means you’re still one step ahead of where you were when you started.  2 minus 1 is still 1, which is better than zero (your starting point).

Which brings me to the title of this post: improvement is what is important.  Setbacks are to be expected, and even planned for.  Sometimes one day can quickly escape you and in the evening you find yourself frustrated by the inability to accomplish what you set out to do.  There’s always tomorrow, and tomorrow is a new day that holds numerous possibilities.

OPTED Magazine is a resource for five particular areas of self-improvement, and here are a set of examples for each of the five areas that demonstrate how one small task can keep you moving forward and securing those important “2 steps forward” to counter the normal and expected “1 step back”:

• Organization — one organization solution is an easy thing to achieve.  It can be as simple as organizing materials in your car or getting your work bag under control.  Once you have invested the time to achieve an organization system, taking 3 minutes each day to maintain your hard work is all that it takes to lock in improvement towards reaching your goals.  For example, once you organize your work bag or purse, taking 3 minutes every Sunday night before the work week to clear out trash, clean out unnecessary items, and restock any depleted items guarantees that you maintain a higher level of organization than where you were when your bag was a disaster.
• Productivity — take the time to identify 3 things you consider your top distractions.  For me, it is email, TV and mindless web browsing.  Once you identify distractions that prevent you from staying on track, all it takes is one small change to enhance your productivity.  For instance, if you are a Gmail user, install the “email addict” labs feature and give yourself a forced break from email.  Saving yourself even 5 minutes a day means more time for other tasks, work related or not, and will give you a sense of personal satisfaction
• Tasking — don’t you just love the thrill of checking something off your to-do list?  I do.  But it’s important to remember that sometimes checking one thing off your list (a big project you’ve been putting off) can be more satisfying than checking off ten items.  If you need to fly through a large to-do list today, try batching tasks for increasing efficiency and adopt it as a regular habit to bring constant improvement to your hectic agenda
• Exceptionalism — while this category of OPTED Magazine is holistic, and refers to an overall improvement in health, well-being and happiness, it’s lack of specificity doesn’t change the fact it may be the most important.  These are lifelong, daily habits where adopting just one of these brings enormous benefits.  Staying on track of your correspondance with greeting cards, and also with thank you notes, builds positive relationships with friends, family and colleagues and are easy ways to show generosity and thoughtfulness.
• Decluttering — try ascribing to the idea that if one thing enters your house, something must be removed (trashed, recycled, donated, sold) in its place.  If you buy a new book or magazine, is there one that can be immediately recycled or donated to reduce the amount of reading material in your house?  Can you make a conscious decision to acquire new reading material digitally?  Small steps like the one item in, one item out rule will reduce items you have to organize that take up precious space.

Personally, each of the above categories represent both goals for myself AND a learning experience.  These goals are ongoing and hopefully achieveable, but I recognize now that there will be some days where I might make no progress, or may even take a step backwards.  But overall improvement is what is important, and it should be celebrated.

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Are you like me?  An A-list personality that charges through life taking on too many commitments, setting numerous goals and succeeding at many of them, only to move on to the next thing after only a quick pat on the back?

We should celebrate accomplishments!

The fact that a goal has been set, a plan has been established and a result has been achieved is no easy task.  Losing weight, sealing a deal at work, buying a house, or acing a crucial exam are worthy of celebration.  As I mentioned in an earlier post about daily time constraints, the fact that a goal has been achieved means not only that it was important enough to dedicate time to, but also that a substantial amount of energy and commitment were invested in producing the result.  That means it deserves some recognition!

Why celebrating success is important

For many goals that we set, the outcome of our hard work alone is the reward for success.  But in many instances, we’ve pursued goals, and in the process made difficult trade offs and sacrifices that deserve recognition.

For example, chocolate lovers aiming to reach their goal weight may be intent on significantly reducing their intake of chocolate in the name of overall health and the vision of achieving their goal weight.  While you or I may not have a spiritual connection with the cocoa bean, this sacrifice may be significant to the chocolate lover!

Executives in the business world may realize fluency in another language will boost the appeal of their company’s products internationally when staff are able to effectively communicate in another language.  Years of language training  to excel and pass language courses are no easy feat, and the time, energy and trade off between daily work requirements and optional career development training are a personal sacrifice that deserves recognition.

Whatever goal we may pursue and however we achieve that accomplishment deserves celebration because in most instances, we’ve made sacrifices, donated time and energy, and produced a result that contributes to our overall happiness.

How should we celebrate?

For the sake of the audience, I’ll keep this low key and respectful, but we each have our own ways of celebrating success or if we lack in ability to relish in success, we’ve seen it in the movies!  Here are some concrete ways we can make a lifestyle change to celebrate and recognize accomplishments:

• Reward ourselves: take a day off work, buy a new outfit or book, book a spa treatment, or pop the cork on some champagne
• Scrapbook or journal about the journey: it’s difficult to remember where we’ve been if we haven’t memorialized it.  Journal the progress as you work to reach your goal or explore your creative side with a scrapbook page (or five) archiving the incredible achievement
• Share your success: tell a friend, family member or coworker.  Sometimes with goals like weight loss or quitting smoking, it can be difficult to reveal intentions to change and the dedication to reach a goal for fear that if we slip up, we appear to fail.  For these goals and accomplishements, as well as many others, it can make your heart soar and release a huge burden by publicizing your achievement.  Hey, write about it in your blog!

This post was prompted by a conversation with a friend who confessed the inability to celebrate success and moving on too quickly to the next task at hand.  It wasn’t until the topic of conversation was brought up that the fog cleared, the light bulb went on, and I realized: I’m the same way.

How do you celebrate your accomplishments?  Do you reward yourself for success?  Let’s hear about it in the comments — myself and the readers could use the advice!