Dangers of Working Ahead of Schedule

Posted by Caitlin on

We usually think of “being ahead of schedule” as a positive trait that shows efficiency and commitment. It is viewed so positively that the negatives aspects rarely receive any attention.

In projects, the danger of being ahead of schedule is that it will be impacted by scope and requirement changes. Scope is generally defined as functionality that is covered under the project.The danger of being ahead is that generally clients ask for additional scope, or for more tasks to be completed as part of the project. Being significantly ahead may mean that there is a chance that the product needs to change significantly in order to accommodate those scope changes.

In life, I have noticed the danger of “being ahead of schedule” largely in blogging. When I originally started out with another blog, I had posts written in advance and scheduled to be published. This was great because it guaranteed new content on the blog even when my unpredictable work schedule makes it difficult for me to find the time to blog. But after awhile, I found the blog to no longer reflect who I was. The items being published were weeks behind my true thoughts and struggles, which made it difficult for me to pick up where I left on with posts. I would have to read my blog in order to bring myself to speed on my own journey. Being ahead of schedule was largely the reason the blog had to temporarily stop.  I have learned that I need to be present for my blogging to be successful.

Lessons learned from that blog is having a large part in shaping this blog. I do write some posts in advance but I make sure nothing is scheduled to be published. Even when I am busy with work, I believe I should be able to devote 15 minutes to the blog to look at the previously written posts, select a post, make edits, and hit publish. The act of avoiding scheduling the posts to be published seems to be enough to make me more present.

I am learning to live in the present, rather than in the future, and enjoying each steps and moments.

It’s all just “stuff”…

Posted by Caitlin on

I had a mini melt down over my dog killing my plants on my patio.

Sure, it probably was made worse by the fact that I have been feeling worn out from work. I am suffering from physical symptoms of fatigue. But when I saw my dog in the planters, stepping on my poor onion and lettuce plants, I lost it. I got upset at the dog and then upset at S for telling me that it’s no big deal. Then I cried.

I was trying to explain that it wasn’t the potential onions that I was upset about. If I cared that much about onions themselves, I could easily drive to Whole Foods and pick up those “elephant onions” that are as big as my head. Sure, I have invested financially into the garden, to the tune of $150, but the damage he has caused was worth only $5 or so.

What upset me was the fact that it is a big time commitment to having a garden, especially on a small patio of a mid-rise condo. Not having much space meant there were significant opportunity cost lost of planting other things I may have enjoyed, such as garlic. It is the fact that a lot of these I started from seeds, making sure to water it every day, place in sunny areas or under the grow lights, and growing in a make-shift green house until big enough to move to the planters. It was the fact that during my dark days of depression, checking to see the progress of these seedlings was the only thing that could get me out of bed. I had placed significant emotional value on my plants.

As I drank my first cup of coffee of the day while looking out at the patio, I realized, I am crying over stuff. I am taking steps back in my actual relationships with my dog and my husband by arguing and being upset over stuff. Is this any better than someone crying over their materialistic goods like shoes or a purse? Minimalism preaches that a person doesn’t get too attached to “stuff” because material goods are likely temporary. My relationships with the dog and my husband will outlive any plant that I purchase.

I kissed and made up with my husband. It also led me to think that a lot of those clothes I have in the closet that I no longer wear but have because of its value is all unnecessary. With that in mind, I will attempt to cull my closet even further when I return home after work.

Avoid Delays

Posted by Caitlin on

Bullwhip effect is used to describe how a small problem can escalate over time into something much bigger. Think of a small movement you make on a whip handle and how, once it reaches the end of the whip, makes a large movement. The goal in operations is always to catch problems, no matter how small, early on in the process in order to avoid it escalating into a large fix.

S and I had a conversation this morning on delays.  His parents, especially when it came to paying money for items or services purchased, were notorious for delaying or “spreading out” payments, even if they had enough cash on hand to cover it all. This is a habit that S has picked up over time. In our situation, S has borrowed money from me (yes, we still operate under separate finances) and he has yet to pay any of it back 4 months later. He also has not brought it up and I have heard “I will pay you next week” over 5 times now. It has led me to feel that others are more important than me when it comes to finances and somewhat taken advantage. We were discussing this, me asking questions, trying to understand why he would not just deal with it now.

I understand that they (including S) do not want to part with the money but, once the service has been completed, you will part with the money sooner or later. And the impact of doing so later rather than now is huge. Below are some of the “cost of delays” I can think of:

  • You will pay more. Usually, there will be some interest or fees associated with delaying or spreading out payments. Depending on the original amount, this amount could be a few dollars or tens of thousands of dollars. If you have the cash now, why not avoid the extra cost?
  • It may impact your relationships. If you have borrowed money from loved ones, it will impact your relationships with them, especially if you are late in making the payments. They may also start to judge you for your lifestyle. If you are borrowing from a company, it will likely impact your credit score and any late payments will jeopardize your future business dealings with them.
  • It is stressful. It is stressful to remember all the payments and their due dates and to juggle cash to make sure that there is enough in the pot for it to go around.

Although it is something I spoke with S about, I have not been good about doing it myself. There is a credit card with annual fee that I have been meaning to call to cancel, as well as some necessary purchases I have been delaying.

Time to go practice what I preach.

Love,

C

Lessons learned from 2011 Taxes

Posted by Caitlin on

Lessons learned is a process in project management where, at the end of each major phase of the project, the team gathers to discuss what went well and what could have gone better. The point is to apply the lessons in future projects to ensure smoother project life cycle.

S and I have just completed analyzing our taxes. Last year, it was fairly standard although we were shocked by the “marriage tax” that was imposed on us. This year, it was an eye opening experience.

We both switched jobs last year and both were lucky enough to end up with higher paying jobs. The eye opening part of it was that neither of us apparently selected the correct number of withholdings because we owe whopping $2.5k this year. And this is after we were able to itemize our sales tax, job search expenditures, student loan and mortgage interest paid!

This is the first time that either of us have actually owed any taxes. Since we were both so shocked by the results, it gave us an opportunity to discuss areas of improvement for 2012. Here are some of our “lessons learned” from our 2011 Tax process:

1. Sales tax. IL is a high tax state and Chicago has the highest sales tax in the country, tied with Los Angeles. This means that even with normal purchases, we are paying ~10% in sales tax alone. In 2011, we had enough that we could itemize and take a larger than standard deductions. But it also meant that I had to go through all of our scanned receipts, identify the sales tax, then enter it into excel. Even then, I am sure that we missed some major purchases that were made online and therefore received online receipts. The goal is to start utilizing some money software. We would enter in the purchase by category and separate out the sales tax so it becomes an easy category for us come 2012 tax time.

2. Donations. Every year, I donate a large amount of clothing, books, and household appliances as I try to become a minimalist. At the end of the year, I am always shocked by how small the donations were worth. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t donate — just that do it because you want to help others and not because of the tax benefits.

3. Interest deductions. For both the mortgage and student loans, I am not sure that the interest deductions are enough to justify holding on to the payments. Since my student loan interest rate is higher than our any other debt at 6%, the goal is to pay it down by at least $10k this year.

Although it pains me to pay more in taxes, I am glad that the results occurred. It gave us a reason to examine our current finance management process and make the necessary tweaks.

And, in the end, I feel like this is what life is about — learning at every opportunity and trying to improve. Lessons learned.

Love,

C

Starting my journey

Posted by Caitlin on

I am Caitlin and I am trying to make over my life.

Over the years, I have had numerous views on my “perfect” life. At one point I thought it was about having a high powered and high paying job. Then I thought it was about having a cute condo in the middle of the city.  I thought it was being in a romantic relationship. Throughout the last few years I have been able to achieve those goals and I still find myself tired, unhappy, and scattered. The home that is supposed to make me feel relaxed and recharged is giving me anxiety attacks because I am paralyzed by all that I feel I need to accomplish.

In a state of sleep deprivation thanks to a work project, I had an epiphany.  Companies are willing to pay a lot of money for me to analyze their current processes and create a more efficient process.  What would happen if I applied same theories and tools to redo my life?

This is my journey as I attempt to create a more efficient, effective, and intentional life. I will document my trial and errors in various topics including career, money, relationships, health, hobbies.

I hope you join me on this journey. Throughout this journey, I would love to hear from you. Please leave a comment or email me at lifeoptimizedblog at gmail dot com.

Cheers!

C