GREETINGS
Thanks for taking a moment to read this month’s update. I hope you’re doing well.
The photo above is from a walk on 22 Jun 2023 and the photo was stylized this year on 6 Jan 2025 with the Prisma filter app using the Aqua filter effect. I’ll put the original photo at the bottom of this page for comparison.
Reclaiming WellBeing Time
Over the past 24 years, since the year 2000, I’ve been using the same hourly rate as a fixed amount for calculating what I charge for tech services. My costs have slowly increased over the past 24 years, but I’ve looked for ways to be more efficient so I can keep charging the same amount.
In the past few years, I’ve seen some costs double from one year to the next. A service that might have been $50 per month, suddenly doubled to $100 per month at the time of renewal.
Over the past few years, I’ve had to increase the number of hours I work per week in order to keep up with the cost of running the business.
At times., that has resulted in less sleep, less time with family, less exercise, less time in nature, and sit-down meals replaced with grabbing some string cheese from a convenience store on my way to the next appointment.
Starting this year I’m going to reclaim some of that essential personal wellbeing time by increasing my base hourly rate by a modest amount. I’m thankful for the many people who regularly pay me more than I ask for, and I appreciate those who have told me I should increase my hourly rate. This year I’ve begun doing so. Perhaps it will be another 24 years before I need to raise my rates again.
I think getting some balance back in my life will help me better serve all those who depend on me, and be more present for family as well.
1440 Time Tracking
Years ago, I developed a simple time tracking system to account for every one of the 1,440 minutes in a day. I call it the 1440 Time Tracking System. The method involves having a sheet of paper with a grid that covers 5 hours. By printing double-sided, and using two sheets of paper, 20 hours can be accounted for. That covers the typical 16-hour day, plus some space for any additional non-sleeping time.
In the past, most of my work involved in-person scheduled appointments lasting 1-2 hours each. In recent years, my days have become more fragmented. Now the bulk of my work involves responding to numerous text messages, phone calls, and emails every day. Most tech problems can be resolved remotely. Some service calls can take a few minutes. Others require 2-3 hours.
My goal is to solve people’s tech problems in the most convenient and efficient way possible that best serves their needs. That’s my main goal. If it best serves others for me to address many spontaneous requests coming in, then I’ll do that. I’ll figure out how to make the business revolve around what works best for people’s needs.
It’s not practical for me to send someone an invoice for a 6 minute phone call. It could take almost that much time to manually create a detailed receipt and process a credit card payment which requires entering the person’s address, phone, and email for a not-in-person PayPal transaction.
Instead, I keep an open tab for people who I work with regularly. Then I send a single cumulative bill. That saves them time, requiring only a single payment for a full month of tech help. It saves me time by having to only sent out one invoice instead of a dozen.
In the past I’ve used the minute-by-minute method time tracking for journaling and tracking how much time I spent on various categories of tasks during the day, such as identifying how much time I spend on social media.
Recently I’ve been using this time tracking method for billing and general time accounting. It helps with focus also. In days when many demands are competing for my attention, I can be more purposeful and intentional about how I’m spending each minute without getting overly fragmented.
Some tasks can be done in parallel. In general, multitasking can be done when the tasks use different parts of the brain and body. Here are some examples:
- Being on a phone call while going for a walk.
- Drinking coffee and reading a book.
- Driving and listening to an audio book.
- Doing dishes while having a conversation.
- Reading emails, eating breakfast, and listening to music.
- Listening to music while doing general housework or sorting papers.
- Talking to someone and using sign language to communicate with another person uses different areas of the brain. It’s a bit challenging, but possible.
There are some tasks, like walking in nature, that one may want to fully experience and enjoy without distractions. Or, giving someone your full attention. But other activities can be done in parallel.
The 1440 time tracking system allows for easily tracking two or three parallel tasks.
The tech support I provide typically requires 100% of my attention. If a computer is updating and I have a few minutes to do some other task, I can easily track my time to make sure I don’t bill for those non-work minutes.
While I work on a project, I can have my hands busy doing the work, while speaking and transcribing notes that describe the work being done. Emails, text messages, car mileage logs, screen shots, and sometimes photos of equipment are a few other ways I can keep track of the work I do. This helps me go back and review work, especially when further research and follow-up is needed.
WRITING TOPICS
I continue to expand on the topic reports found on the Resources For Life dot com website. The list can be found on the What’s New Page. Adding incrementally takes very little time since the post and related context are already present.
TECH WRITING
If you’re interested in the latest tech-related guides and articles I’ve posted, you can visit the Posts Page on the Iowa City Tech website.
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THANKS
Many thanks to all of you who keep in touch and provide support for the work I do.
Origins. For those of you who are new to these monthly personal updates, they began about 24 years ago out of a desire to share from my personal life about topics of lifeways (faith/philosophy), health, career, finances, relationships, effective living, and public interest efforts. This is based on the Life Map presented on the Resources For Life website. [View]
