Noisy Deadlines

“I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” – Douglas Adams

I finished a bunch of romance books this month! All of them by authors I’ve never read before, so it was an exploration month. I finished it off with some light productivity read.

  1. The Highwayman (Victorian Rebels #1) by Kerrigan Byrne, 368p: It's hard to talk about this book without spoilers. It involves orphans, friendship, life hardships, trauma and love. It starts with a story of a girl and a boy building up a deep connection. Then we meet Farah, a widow who works for Scotland Yard (the only woman in the office) and Dorian, a powerful criminal who is never caught but has a good heart. There is a lot going on in this book, and I really enjoyed it! It's mysterious and emotional. Sometimes dark but sweet. The characters are strong and survived lots of challenges. Dorian is a traumatized adult, and we see him struggle with his traumas. The romance is slow burn, and I was totally invested in it. Both main characters have secrets, and it's all revealed in the most interesting way. I want to read more into this series.

  2. A Thief in the Nude (Rushmore Brothers #1) by Olivia Waite, 126p: This was a short read with an interesting premise. Miss Hecuba Jones is trying to recover lost paintings (painted by her mother) by breaking into an earl's house. In the midst of her burglary, she meets John Rushmore (the earl's brother) who is a disillusioned artist (painter). Of course, they start an affair with conditions related to said lost paintings, and nudes. Mysteries are uncovered. I learned that Hecuba blue is a colour, and there are lovely dialogues about art and painting in this book.

  3. Shadowbound (Dark Arts #1) by Bec McMaster, 427p: This book reminded of the Dresden Files but with more romance (and steam) and a female protagonist. It definitely scratched my itch for a sorcerer themed book for Halloween. Ianthe and Rathbourne are both powerful magic users, they've met in the past and they have secrets and hidden lives. In the best enemies-to-lovers trope, they must unite to fight against the demons and uncontrollable power threatening to destroy London. It's a good series starter and I was intrigued to see what happens in the next books.

  4. How the Marquess Was Won (Pennyroyal Green #6) by Julie Anne Long, 384p: Such beautiful writing and fun banter. Phoebe is a teacher, and she has a peculiar cat. She is a very independent woman with the dream to leave England and go to Africa on a mission. The Marquess Dryden is the most popular guy in the ton, dark and charming, and he sets fashion and trends. He's all the talk on the tabloids. I loved that the writing jumps between the two points of view seamlessly. There is a whole chapter building up to describe a single kiss that is so lovely! There are class differences conflicts and a slow burn romance. 

  5. Feel-Good Productivity: How to Do More of What Matters to You by Ali Abdaal, 295p: This was an enjoyable read. It presents a more positive and healthy approach to productivity which I appreciated. Some scientific research results are presented in a light way, not going too deep, but delivering the concepts behind the strategies suggested by the author. I liked his ideas on how to add more fun elements to our work and mundane activities.

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

  • ✅ After experimenting with Microsoft To Do this week I switched back to Nirvana. I’ve reached the same conclusions I’ve had before. I like Nirvana. It works well with my system. I've been using it for the longest time. It works for me.
  • ⛸️ I could do a few clockwise cross overs on the circle on my last ice-skating class. I’m making progress, bit by bit!
  • 🎃 We attended a Halloween party this weekend! I loved my purple cape.
  • 🌲 We hiked the Morris Island trails on Sunday. It was a cloudy and windy day, and most of the red and orange leaves were already gone. It’s an easy trail, but it has lots of rocks and roots, so I was glad I had my hiking boots.
  • ❄️ There is no delaying anymore: we turned on the furnace in our house. Temperatures are negative during the night now, so winter is coming!

Currently reading

  • The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive #1) by Brandon Sanderson
  • Five Minds by Guy Morpuss (My Book Club pick for November)
  • Children of Memory (Children of Time #3) by Adrian Tchaikovsky
  • Again the Magic (Wallflowers #0.5) by Lisa Kleypas (a series I want to start)
  • Ruthless Vows (Letters of Enchantment #2) by Rebecca Ross

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

After experimenting with Microsoft To Do this week I switched back to Nirvana. Some things were working well, but overall it was not that smooth.

I was going to write about my Microsoft To Do setup but it’s pretty much the same setup I had before: Testing Microsoft To Do and saying goodbye. And it’s so weird to see that all the reasons I listed before for not sticking with Microsoft To Do are still the same, for the most part.

Reasons why I switched back to Nirvana

  1. The clarity of seeing all my actions organized by project, neat and tidy, is priceless!

  2. I just REALLY like the projects / next actions connections in Nirvana.

  3. And the unified inbox.

  4. And that I can schedule actions (tickle them) to show up only at a certain time in the future.

  5. And that the recurring tasks create a copy of the task, so I don't lose sight of the recurring task after the deadline (it keeps showing up on my Focus list).

  6. And that I can scale the fonts size on my screen (desktop app).

  7. And that I can add something to the inbox by just pressing the “I” key, no need to worry about which Inbox I'm adding things too.

  8. It's so good to see my list of projects with the actions! It's easy to go back and forth between the two. So nice!

So, nothing has changed.

I’m still using Nirvana for my projects and next actions. The setup is still like this: How I setup Nirvana for GTD (June, 2024).

Other things I’ve changed: Digital Time Blocking

This short experiment made me realize some things:

  • I want to keep my Calendar visible to me while I’m working. So now I have the Outlook app on my work computer to start-up with Windows every morning, and I keep it in a “One Day” view on a vertical screen I have on my left.
  • Having the Outlook Calendar visible to me makes me use time blocking directly on the digital calendar, instead of using a paper time blocking planner.
  • I still Plan My Day in the morning the same way. But instead of using Cal Newport’s Time block Planner, I’m using my paper notebook in conjunction with Outlook calendar.
  • I start with writing the day/month/year/temperature on my notebook. Then I look at my calendar to jot down an “Agenda List” for the day to get a sense of how many meetings I have.
  • Then I think about my Focus for the day. I look at Nirvana to see what’s already in my Focus list/next actions and decide which projects/actions are going to be priority. I write them down on my notebook just give my brain some clarity. I them update the Focus list on Nirvana based on these notes.
  • Then I look at my Outlook Calendar and schedule some focus blocks, snack times, commuting times (if needed), check email blocks, processing/organizing blocks.

So, I’m still using the same techniques and routines, but I’m streamlining the number of places I have information on. Some days my meetings will get moved around, canceled, or re-scheduled and I think that having to update everything in a paper time block planner was double work. My calender really dictates my day, so it’s better to have it in one place.

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

  • ✅ I’ve switched my task list management to Microsoft To Do and it’s been working well so far. It’s less overhead overall. I’m working on a blog post to describe the setup, which actually is not too different from previous setups I’ve tried before.
  • ⚖️ I got a new digital bathroom scale with BIG numbers! My dietitian is asking me to weight myself regularly at the same time in the morning and keep a record. My old scale is a mechanical one and the numbers are so small, I can’t read them.
  • 💊 I’m taking a lot of probiotics/supplements prescribed by my Naturopath, including one that will tamper down some of the H. Pylori present in my stomach. It seems I don’t have enough of the bacteria to call it an infection, but they might be contributing to my acid reflux (gastritis) symptoms.
  • ⛸️ I went to my first intermediate 2024 Fall Ice Skating class this Saturday. I was happy to know that: 1) I did not forget how to skate, and 2) I can still do my awkward forward cross-over counter-clockwise. So that means I’m just continuing from where I left off earlier this year. I’m enjoying my skates, all is working well.
  • 📺 We got Amazon Prime for 3 months and we started watching “The Rings of Power” Season 2 and “The Legend of Vox Machina” Season 3. We only saw the first episode of each so far.
  • 🧱My partner and I both worked with building heritage restoration for a long time in our careers. This weekend we attended a workshop about the use of traditional mortars, specifically, hot mixed lime pointing mortars used in stone masonry. It was a great excuse to drive to Kingston when the lovely fall colours are in bloom and be around Fort Henry near the river.
  • 📖 I’m relaxing reading this historical romance with such beautiful writing and fun banter. It’s called “How the Marquess Was Won” by Julie Anne Long. It’s my first time reading this author. I saw this book being praised in the Heaving Bosoms podcast and I just want to finish reading it to listen to the episode. It will be fun!

Currently reading

  • The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive #1) by Brandon Sanderson
  • How the Marquess Was Won (Pennyroyal Green #6) by Julie Anne Long
  • Five Minds by Guy Morpuss (BookClub pick for November)
  • Feel-Good Productivity: How to Do More of What Matters to You by Ali Abdaal

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

I've been noticing some glitches in my GTD system lately.

You know, the whole point of having a method to organize tasks and projects and goals is to be okay with what I'm doing at the moment. I've talked a lot about GTD in this blog and how it impacted my life by reducing stress and anxiety, bringing order to chaos, and allowing me to fulfill my goals. But that's not what I want to talk about here.

I want to talk about being engaged with the tools I use every day, and what has been bothering me.

So, what's not working right now?

My Next Actions/Projects lists:

  • I've used Nirvana for years now and I've written about it multiple times (I’m a huge fan!). I've tested other tools here and there (Todoist, TickTick, Trello, Microsoft To Do…). Lately, I've been feeling bored with Nirvana. I don't know how to explain it, other than it's so dull and I feel like processing and organizing has become too complicated to me.
  • I've been avoiding capturing things to Nirvana because it seems a hassle to process items in there now.
  • I'm becoming more inclined to work directly out of contexts lists, and having them up front in my face, instead of selecting the contexts tags from a list.
  • I'm getting tired of having to manually insert a link to an email I want to reference in Nirvana, or to manually edit a link to a website I sent to Nirvana's inbox by email (sometimes the titles come in as the web address, and then I must copy/paste the title of the article manually).
  • I like being able to have some integration between emails and the to do list.
  • I like having a widget on my phone showing the actions due today.
  • When I did an experiment with Todoist and Microsoft To Do without linking projects to next actions, I had a feel of how snappy a system can be. I believe that I'm ready for a simpler setup right now.
  • I want a more direct system focused on doing rather than on organizing information.

Time Blocking/Daily Planning

  • Planning my day and time blocking are both great habits! They are now part of my day start-up routine. I use Outlook Calendar for work and personal, they are synchronised together, that's great. I've also been using Cal Newport's Time Block Planner.
  • I think what's not working is that I feel like I have duplication here. I have meetings and some focus time on my calendar, but I also use the Time Block Planner, which is a separate notebook. So I have 2 separate daily plans, and every time one changes, I have to update the other. I know they are meant to be complementary, but I've been thinking that I could do it all digitally in one instance.
  • I once did an experiment with using Outlook to schedule time blocks to check emails, and it worked well.

What do I want to change?

  • I want less back and forth between different tools, avoid having to copy/paste things from one to the other.
  • I want a to do app that is more flexible to create different lists, better looking (or more attractive to me RIGHT NOW), overall, less boring and more exciting to use (playing a sound when I complete a task is so satisfying to me!). Also, emojis, of course 🥰!
  • I want to be able to attach files/images to my next actions.
  • I want quick and easy processing, with less complexity.
  • I want less tools, and having a more integrated digital ecosystem (I'm stuck with Microsoft anyway... and I use Outlook, Word, Excel daily... so, Microsoft To Do seems the way to go).

The Plan

  • I will switch to Microsoft To Do as my next actions/projects list app.
  • I will use 2 accounts keeping work and personal separate.
  • I will plan my day and do time blocking using Outlook Calendar.
  • I will set up my computers to start up with Outlook and Microsoft To Do.
  • I will use hashtags in Microsoft To Do to create some links between projects and next actions.
  • I will continue my other planning routines: Daily Reviews, Weekly Reviews, Monthly Planning, Quarterly Planning.
  • I will continue using my GTD Dashboard.

I will soon post about how my setup with Microsoft To Do is going.

I gotta say, this is a new phase for me. I'm letting go of some old beliefs and being more adventurous!

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

  • ✍️ I’ve been thinking about writing a blog post this week, but it didn’t happen. Not just “week notes,” but a blog post focused on a topic. That got me thinking about my writing process—or if I even have one. I keep a list of blog post ideas in Standard Notes, but I haven’t checked it in a while. Time to change that! Let’s see how it goes next week.
  • ⛵ I took a couple of days off, and they flew by! I spent time reading, walking, resting, and generally relaxing. I wish I had journaled more, though.
  • 🐤 I got back into playing Stardew Valley🙌. I finally got the hang of fishing using the “c” on my keyboard to control the fishing bar. It’s so much better than clicking with the mouse! Thanks to Stardew Valley forums.
  • 🎃 My partner and I are going to a Halloween party at the end of the month! I’ve only been to two Halloween parties in my life (it wasn’t a big thing in Brazil). I got inspired and decided to accessorize a simple black dress to turn it into a sorcerer/mage outfit. I’m also getting a long purple cape with a hood because capes are cool! (This is the perfect excuse to get one) 😎
  • 🥇 I ran my third 10Km race this year! It was the Fall Colours Run. It was cold (5C) but not raining (thank goodness!). This race takes place in a scenic route starting at the Cumberland Heritage Village Museum. I managed to keep an average pace of 6:30/km, which is my personal best! I’m pleased with my running progress this year, especially since I wasn’t training for a marathon or anything. I just ran semi-regularly with no crazy goals in mind.
  • 🌃 We caught a glimpse of Northern Lights! It wasn’t dramatically intense, just faint since we were in our neighborhood with lots of light pollution. But I saw something, and I captured a bit of it in a night mode photo.

Currently reading

  • The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive #1) by Brandon Sanderson
  • How the Marquess Was Won (Pennyroyal Green #6) by Julie Anne Long

Reading On Hold (I haven’t picked up in a couple of weeks)

  • The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

  • 🏝️ September was a blur, and I feel like I did so many things! I started October feeling tired. I will have 2 days off this week before the Thanksgiving weekend! So, I’m going to have an extra-long weekend to recharge a bit.
  • 🧘‍♀️ I want to focus on my stress management this month. Although I have my routines in place to help me with anxiety, I’m still feeling tense overall.
  • I still have the occasional pain on my left hip that comes and goes. Very annoying! 😐
  • 🐉 I was invited to join a tabletop Dungeons and Dragons campaign set in Forgotten Realms! I’ve never really played in an in person setting. It will start in a couple of months, and I’m excited!
  • 🌹I wanted to read a romance with some Halloween vibes, but I can’t deal with horror/spooky/vampires stuff right now. So, I chose a book in my TBR that is historical fantasy with magic in Victorian England: Shadowbound (Dark Arts #1) by Bec McMaster.
  • 📖 I’m enjoying The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. I finished Part 1 and started Part 2.
  • 📚 I never realize how much I've read in a month until I list out all the books at the end. And it's always a nice surprise, because I don't consider myself a fast reader. Last month was a record of mine with seven books! I’ve been doing a lot of reading instead of doing other stuff, and that adds up quick.
  • 🧩 We saw this store with puzzle on sale and we couldn’t resist getting 4 more puzzles: 2 from the Fine Art Collection by Eurographics with paintings from Vincent Van Gogh, one with the Legends of Zelda “Breath of the Wild” video game cover art and another one with a collage of all Iron Maiden album covers.

Currently reading

  • Shadowbound (Dark Arts #1) by Bec McMaster
  • A Thief in the Nude (Rushmore Brothers #1) by Olivia Waite
  • The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive #1) by Brandon Sanderson
  • The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

  1. Bride by Ali Hazelwood, 399p: I'm a fan of Ali Hazelwood and this is her first paranormal romance book. It starts with an arranged marriage between an alpha werewolf (Lowe) and an exiled vampire (Misery). The “mate” trope was a bit confusing, it didn't make too much sense to me. It is fast paced, there is some politics (vampires x werewolves x humans) and the mystery of the missing friend. It's a well done slow burn romance, but thinking about the physical logistics of werewolf and vampire anatomy love making got me a bit out of the story. I guess I'm not into the whole biting and drinking blood theme of paranormals anymore.

  2. Monstress, Vol. 2: The Blood (Monstress #07-12) by Marjorie Liu, 152p: Yes, it's full of gorgeous artwork and I love the ambience. But I guess I was not in the mood for a dark complicated story. The worldbuilding is intricate and it's so, so sad! I finished it and had lots of questions. But because of the dark themes I won't continue the series. At least not right now.

  3. The Bride (Lairds' Fiancées #1) by Julie Garwood, 388p: This book is so plot-rich! There's always something going on, the heroine is so pro-active, and strong and kind. It's set in 1,100’s Scotland Highland times with an arranged marriage between an Englishwoman (Jamie) and a Highlands Laird (Alec Kincaid). Because this book was published in 1989 set in a medieval setting, there might be some issues with consent, but I think the author did her best to make it less problematic. Another interesting fact is that this romance has humour and funny situations, something that was not common in romance novels back in the 80's (there's a foreword by the author talking about it). It’s the type of writing I enjoy, where we can be inside the characters heads a lot. I enjoyed how quickly the author changed characters viewpoints within the same chapter, so we get glimpses of different characters within the action/dialogue. I thought it was pretty well done. I loved the grumpy hero with a kind heart. I loved the bold heroine standing up against ridiculous status quo (and said grumpy hero stubbornness). Lots of funny banter and there's is even a murder mystery in it. Overall, a non-stop read, super rich and interesting.

  4. The Duchess War (Brothers Sinister #1) by Courtney Milan, 316p: This one is set in England around 1863, when industrialization is becoming a thing and there are discussions regarding workers’ rights, workplace hygiene conditions and strikes. There is blackmail, scandal, sedition handbills and references to chess strategy. The female character (Minnie) has a secret she doesn't want anybody to uncover. She's clever and quiet. The Duke of Clermont (Robert) wants to make the world a better place. This a very slow burn romance and I thought there was too much politics going on that threw me out of the story. I kinda liked the side characters more, the scene in the train where Sebastian & Violet chaperonne Robert with Minnie was great. I think I would enjoy more the next books in the series with the other brothers.

  5. Team: Getting Things Done with Others by Edward Lamont, David Allen, 288p: This book brings great insights into how to use the Getting Things Done (GTD) framework within a team's setting. It's full of practical tips and real-world examples. It's amazing to know that all the original GTD concepts can be easily applied to teams. I've been using the GTD methodology for years and this book opened my eyes on how to use it with other people. The sections about communication and delegation skills were super helpful to me, and I could start applying them in my work right away. It has a nice refresher on the methodology at the end as well.

  6. The Duke I Tempted (The Secrets of Charlotte Street #1) by Scarlett Peckham, 318p: I liked the independent protagonist, Poppy, who is a successful botanist trying to get her own business going in the limited women's rights world in 1753. There is a lot of angst and communication misunderstandings between Poppy and Archer. I enjoyed the acknowledgement of the power imbalance between them, and how they both tried to close that gap with a marriage contract full of unusual clauses for the time period.  I was a bit scared at the mention of BDSM elements (which is not really my cup of tea) but it is well done and very light. So, it's definitely a slow burn romance, Archer has a dark secret and Poppy is an intelligent woman claiming her space. The writing was lovely!

  7. Children of Ruin (Children of Time #2) by Adrian Tchaikovsky, 592p: Like the previous book in the series, this one is packed with fascinating ideas.  The theme/premise remains the same: a terraforming operation in distant planets.  However, this time there are two planets involved. One hosts some alien life, while the other will be home to uplifted octopuses instead of spiders.  The story unfolds through two alternating timelines—past and present—that eventually converge in the last third of the book.  I found the pacing a bit problematic, and the back-and-forth between timelines was sometimes frustrating because they were so far apart.  A significant focus is placed on the communication challenges with the octopuses. There isn’t much dialogue, but there’s a lot of explanation and exposition of concepts and ideas. This made it hard for me to connect with the characters, as the book felt too heavy on info dumping. Despite this, the ideas presented are still very cool!

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

  • 💪 I got a pair of ankle weights to do my morning planks, bird-dogs, and crunches in the morning. I’ve also added the Donkey Kick to my morning series. The ankle weights I got are adjustable, so I’m starting with 2 lbs on each leg, but they can go up to 5lbs each leg.
  • 📖 I started reading The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. I've always been intimidated by the series books lengths (1,000+ pages). But I was itching for some good high fantasy world with an intricate magic system, so I took the plunge. Sanderson definitely delivers both good character and world building without doing boring info dumps. I’m enjoying it!
  • 🩺 I got results back from the endoscopy exam, and it just confirmed I have GERD with mild acid reflux. So, it’s nothing too serious (yet), I must keep on taking my PPI medication daily, watch out for trigger foods and eat smaller more frequent meals. No news for me there, I’ve been adjusting my diet with a registered dietitian.
  • 🌲 I went on a hike this Sunday! The weather was nice (not too hot, not too cold, less bugs) and a perfect sunny day. It was the first time me and my partner hiked the Wolf Trail at Gatineau Park. It’s not a beginner’s trail, because there is lots of elevation, rocks, tree roots and some muddy areas. I would say it’s intermediate to me. We parked at the nearest parking lot (P12, because P13 was already full), then walked 1Km to get to P13 to the head of the trail 62. On the way back we took the trail 38 then 40 to get back to P12 and get to our car. It was a total of 10 Km. We then had lunch at the Heron Lookout with a beautiful view of the valley (we packed some sandwiches).

Wolf Trail – Gatineau Park – September 29, 2024

Currently reading

  • The Highwayman by Kerrigan Byrne
  • The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
  • The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

I have a spreadsheet where I log all the books I've read. I call it my “My ALL-Time Reading Log”.

It has books from as early as 1992, which I logged based on the physical books I've read at the time. These early entries don't have too much info other than book title, author, number of pages and the year I've read them.

In 2012, when I got my first e-reader (the 4th Generation Kindle) I started to add more details, such as start/finish dates, book format, genre and some notes about the books I’ve read.

This spreadsheet has gone through different format iterations over the years, but I still like to keep it simple (or as simple as I can!). I update it once a month, gathering data from The Storygraph app, which I use as my daily reading tracker.

The last update I did on my spreadsheet was adding a tab to track Book Series!

I was inspired by the CAWPILE spreadsheet created by Book Roast. I'm not using her whole CAWPILE rating system, but I liked that she had a book series tracker.

So, my Series Tracker tab has the following columns:

  • Series name
  • Author
  • Books # (Total) : total number of books in the series
  • % Read: percentage of books I've read in the series
  • Columns with the books: They are just numbered as “Book 1”, “Book 2”, etc. I mark with an “x” the books I’ve read in the series. I grey out the cells and add a “-” marker to indicate not applicable books for each series.
  • DNF (Did not Finish): I mark when I do intend to keep on reading the series
  • Finished: to mark the series I’ve finished

And at the bottom I added a section for series I want to start reading someday.

On the side of the spreadsheet there is a simple stats count, showing ongoing series, how many series I abandoned (DNF) and total number of series finished.

I didn't go back in time to log ALL the series I've finished or DNF'ed, only the ones that I quickly remembered when I was creating this. Mayne someday I will go back to my log and list those forgotten series.

But for now, I just want to track what currently has my attention.

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Post 45/100 of 100DaysToOffload challenge (Round 2)!

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.

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