Last November I started a new project which I'll post about in the future. Over the first few weeks things progressed rather well. I came up with the requirements doc, initial site design, and setup the Fusebox 5 framework. I also did quite a bit of reading to catch up on new Coldfusion features that I had missed out on since MX. Most my learnings came from the CFWACK 8 volumes 1-3.
Alas, when I thought things couldn't get any busier at work they did. This entire year has been both crazy and amazing. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of taking on a side project which in turn uses up my free development time, but that's to wrap up soon.
The next thing to do is find the self control and motivation to keep me busy. My girlfriend and I have started a workout routine with specific guidelines. Work out 6 days a week (switch to 5 after a month) by running on the Bowflex Treadmill I bought myself for Christmas. I converted my old server as a media pc to use while running. Watching an episode of a TV series is the perfect amount time (42-45 minutes) to burn some calories. The deal is we have to earn 6 "points" a week, one for each session, and for every point missed one has to pay the other $50. Pretty steep, but that's the point :P.
The plan worked out really well the first month so I'm extending it to Reading, Blogging, and working on the new project. I'm not sure if I'll stick to the same dollar value scheme, but why not?
Above is a snapshot of the printout I'm using to replace the whiteboard on the fridge. For each task I have the number of boxes I want to commit to each week. Now I need to make sure I keep the chain going. I know months don't split up into four even weeks, but the idea is to prevent any ugly blank spaces from appearing as I progress.
Stackoverflow
I've started burning podcasts to CD so I can listen to them to and from work. It's only a 20 minute drive one way, but I make the drive four times because I go home at lunch to let the dogs out. Anyways, I've been a huge fan of Joel Spolsky and respect his word and knowledge greatly, but he doesn't post on his blog often enough. However, this podcast occurs more often, so far it's been weekly. And it's really great to hear conversations from developers outside of the Coldfusion (Coldfusion Weekly) who have a wide range of experience with multiple languages and validates their practices.
