I just watched the documentary "Startup.com"....

Hi Lawrence,

That's a great idea!

After reading your post, I've started using that idea of half-hour time units too, in order to help plan my day. It seems to be working very well so far!

It's a lot easier (for some reason) to think that a task will take "1 time unit" than to think that it will take "30 minutes"... I guess it just makes the whole planning process more streamlinesd and easier, and therefore much more efficient.

Anyway, I'm enjoying it and I think it's a great innovation!

Who'd-a-thunk you could learn something like that from a movie about a hedonistic playboy ? :)

- Dien

> In the movie "About A Boy", Hugh
> Grant plays a young "retired"
> playboy who has never worked. His father
> wrote a famous song and Grant's character
> lives off the substancial royalties.

> His life consists of doing virtually nothing
> but watching endless TV, shopping and
> chasing women. When asked about "what
> he does", he responds with the truth of
> "NOTHING."

> When asked what he does with his day, his
> response was something to the effect of
> dividing it up into half hour units. 30
> minute units would be allocated to certain
> activites such as 2 units for an hour TV
> program. 3 units for grocery shopping and 1,
> 2, 3 or 4 units allocated for this, that and
> the other, etc.

> That idea immediatetly struck a chord with
> me, since I know that I can squander time
> doing nothing productive and am adopting
> that concept to improve my effectiveness.

> It's so easy to waste time if there's no
> structure of time to follow. This way, time
> can be used as "currency" to be
> literally spent as I see fit. Even doing
> nothing can be productive in terms of
> regrouping when 1 or 2 units are
> "spent".

> 2 Units at the gym, 2 or 3 units reading, 4
> units for a project etc. A unit can be
> whatever designation you give it (15 minutes
> to an hour) but 30 minutes each works well
> for me.

> Time is really all we have and spending it
> wisely results in a sense of fulfillment.

> The common term "Killing Time"
> means just that, so why not designate units
> that are not wasted or squandered. Sooner or
> later our time will run out and that's a
> fact - Jack!

> Lawrence

> PS - The movie had other interesting lessons
> throughout about the real value of things in
> life.

> PPS - This post took me 1/3 of a unit.