:Michael Anuzis

Just finished recording an mp3 that I’ll be using in place of an alarm clock every morning when I wake up. I’m using Jakes MP3 Alarm, free software which will play an MP3 at a time you specify. I used Audacity, free MP3 editing software, to record the mp3 and overlay a pleasant background to my voice.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I didn’t stick to my last morning routine for even a week. I think the weakness was that all too often when I’d wake up I just wouldn’t have the instant self-discipline to tear myself out of bed and start exercising. The night before I could always sit there for a moment and say “When I wake up I WILL exercise and meditate,” but by the time my alarm would go off the previous night’s determination would have faded away.

I’ve always thought Jackie Chan had it easy in this regard. His dad threw cold water on him and forced him to wake up and work out for an hour. Chan didn’t have a choice, so sure enough he got up. I might not have someone over here throwing water and then forcing me to get up, but I’ve always liked the idea and leveraged it in the Mp3.

Another weakness of the previous routine was that all the items in my first option set were hard-core cardio, and some mornings you simply don’t wake up feeling cardio. This time I’m including the hard cardio option (Kung Fu), but also including Tai Chi and Qi Gong as options. Millions of Chinese people wake up to Tai Chi every morning and enjoy stellar health. It should at least be an option.

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Signed up for Jott.com only three days ago, but it’s already proven its worth in the fields of both productivity and peace of mind. Jott.com is a free site that translates voice messages into text and e-mails and/or SMS’s them to yourself, your friend, or an entire group of contacts you designate.

When I first heard about this I questioned how useful it would be, but since signing up I’ve found it utterly convenient.

[While walking to work]
-call Jott-
“Who would you like to Jott?”
“Myself”
-beep-
“Remember to get more Fancy Feast for Barine”
“Got it!”
[hang up with peace of mind & resume a leisurely, care free walk]

The ‘Got it!’ after your message is great. You subliminally feel like you have a secretary ready to take notes for you at a moment’s notice. Your secretary’s got perfect integrity and will pop the note right into your Inbox, and she works for free.

At least check it out – Jott.com

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6-7am option set
option 1: Kung Fu forms forward 5 times, Tai Chi 1st loop twice.
option 2: Kung Fu forms mirror 5 times, Tai Chi 1st loop twice.
option 3: 500 hand techniques (50 each side x 5 techniques)
option 4: 500 foot techniques (50 each side x 5 techniques)
option 5: biking

7-8am option set
option 1: 30 mins meditation, 30 mins reading.
option 2: 20 mins meditation, 40 mins business.
option 3: 60 mins meditation
option 4: 20 mins Quadrant 2 Introspection, 40 mins business.
option 5: 60 mins Quadrant 2 Introspection.

8am shower/breakfast; arrive at work 8:30am.

action items
- get the meditation clock from dad’s place, set it for 5:55am.
- in the mean time, set cell for 6am.
- disable alarm in bathroom.
- track adherence and option set preferences in Google spreadsheet

auxilliary action item play nice music for Barine while I’m not home.

props to Steve Pavlina’s article How to wake up feeling totally alert

a bit of insight – if you’ve ever tried a morning routine and failed, perhaps it was because the morning eventually comes where you don’t feel like doing the same task. providing an option set provides flexibility and options can be cycled in and out as needed.

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I write down and share my goals at the beginning of each new year. Looking at years past, I tend to achieve around 90%. This year, I’ve kept the goal count low and hope to achieve them all. Thanks to those of you who help keep me accountable.

“Whether you believe you can or believe you can’t, you are right.”
- Henry Ford

Professional:
- Employment at Google in a Knowledge Management related position, likely affiliated with their recent JotSpot acquisition.
- Plan B: Implement five knowledge management systems in university settings, or for companies with over 100 employees.
- Enrollment in UofM’s School of Information if not working for Google in CA.

Personal:
- A romantic relationship with an intelligent, funny, & beautiful girl.
- Become 3rd Dan in Go.
- Program three Google Gadgets in Python that are used by at least 10,000 people.

Spiritual:
- Meditate 10 minutes daily.
- Practice two Kung Fu forms daily.
- Practice the first loop of Tai Chi daily.

Community:
- Raise $15 million in donations to Kiva.org, one way or another
- Design and live an ecologically sustainable lifestyle.
- Implement wikis for five NPOs.

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This IT Conversations podcast on collaboration tools is particularly well done. Most of the software mentioned is free & all of it enhances efficiency\collaboration in the right setting. Whether you’re talking about project management, knowledge management, document management, or just better communication within teams, these tools are powerful options to know about.

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Access to information before it hits the mainstream opens worlds of opportunity to you. It goes back to the old saying: Information is power. Whether you’re playing the stock market, negotiating big business, or choosing the perfect place for a date, you are empowered by what you know. With so much to gain, it’s time to rethink how we get our information.

Traditional Mediums Leave Something to be Desired.

30 Minutes of TV: Expect to learn about three or four subjects. Enjoy frequent interruptions by commercials you’ve already seen, for many products you’ll never buy. News is censored by big media, but you take what you can get.

20 Minutes of Radio: You might hear a good interview or two. Like TV, the programs are hit and miss—sometimes it’s right up your alley, sometimes the target audience is someone else and you have to wait your turn.

15 Minutes of Newspaper: Learning varies depending on how fast you read. Articles are limited to the scope of the newspaper. Like the first two, you get to learn about the mainstream news at the same time as everyone else.

Introducing Google Reader:
For Those Ahead of the Curve

5 Minutes of Google Reader:
– Cycle through dozens of articles in minutes.
- The view on the right accommodates fast skimming.
- Pick only the news sources you want to see.
- Star articles you want to take a closer look at later.
- Centralize news from all your sources in one convenient place.
- Go straight to the source & bypass media censorship.
- Get direct access to authors who publish online.
- Breaking stories appear right after they’re posted.
- Oh yea, it’s free.

Sign up for Google Reader and in under 2 minutes you’ll be on your way. If you enjoyed this article, search for Michael Anuzis in your new Google Reader account and I’ll be honored to be your first subscription.

Update: An updated version of Google Reader was just released today. The enhancements allow you to keep your finger on the pulse of all your key interests without having to check a bunch of different sites.  Innovative idea with a great video explanation, check it out: Google Reader – Your Inbox for the Web

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