The thing is, i also find myself enjoying tedious tasks, and 'fruitless' pursuits, as well. I'm not talking about hobbies, and I'm not talking about TV and video games - the former can be very productive (and profitable) and the latter might not net any physical gains, but often provide mental satisfaction. I'm talking about things that basically eat your time and reap no tangible, useful results. I can spend hours at the computer, sorting and organizing files and folder. comparing the contents of my hard drive to the contents of the external backup. developing complex file naming conventions and renaming all the files to the new system. sorting music files into folders based on the origin of said files - all ripped files from CD in one folder, all digital downloads in another, all of KTO's music files in a third. Repathing and rebuilding my iTunes library after sorting said music files. Renaming and regrouping files within iTunes to eliminate the dreaded XXXXXXXX feat. XXXX and XXXX sub-divisions that so often happen (especially with the rap musics)
You may argue that backing up data is a positive thing. it is. but backing up data is tricky when you've renamed or reorganized a group of files and then try to compare the current collection to whatever your most recent back-up system happens to be. Also, finding the line between safety and hoarding when getting rid of files - once they're gone, they're gone - so how many backups do you need? what if the external drive fails - do you make one CD backup just in case? what if that fades or has an error? how much redundancy is too much. and will your backup CD of a backup CD make sense after you've gone 3 or 4 cycles forward in sorting and renaming?
I've also found myself spending hours sorting images from our cameras, too. This task i find a bit more useful, because it helps to eliminate "data clutter" and reduce our huge collection of photos to something more manageable. Purists may argue that film is better, and i don't disagree, but digital cameras allow us to be less sparing with our picture taking - we can just trim the fat later, as they say. KTO and I take this thought to heart, and we have a huge drive devoted to pictures from past events. every major (and several minor) holidays since about 2005. all sorts of special events - birthdays, zoo trips, family visits, etc. the problem is, we generally never do anything with most of those photos. i've created a relatively simple way of organizing picture worthy events - 4 digit year code, followed by event title (Christmas, Easter, zoo trip, etc) once you're in one of those folders, though, there's no way to determine what is what - they're just numbers and letters, based on how the camera titles pictures that day. so my first task is going through and getting rid of duplicates, blurry shots, etc. At first i was taking any and every "deletable" picture and dumping it into a folder for KTO to review, but after the 2nd or 3rd session, i got carte blanche to delete whatever i wanted. now, blurry pictures are one thing, but you never know when you're going to want another angle of something, so of course the entire collection, bad photos included, is backed up on the external drive. but the folder on the hard drive are thinned out. most of them, anyway.
Part of me feels bad for spending time doing things like this - after all, i could be productive in some other arena. however, my justification is that i do most if it during the nighttime hours, when I'm awake and KTO is sleeping, and when side projects and noisy endeavors would not be appreciated. And, sorting and renaming and comparing at least uses a portion of my brain, whereas TV is just mindless.
i tell you all that in order to tell you this: I just found an awesome program that lets you customize your desktop (windows based computers only) and puts all sorts of functions and information right at your fingertips. I'll never own a Mac, but i've never been partial to the simplicity and rigidity of the Windows operating systems. It seems like they're getting better, but they don't have the look or ease of use i would like. I'm not big computer nerd - i don't do a lot of computer games, or high level computer coding or anything, but i do like to easily get to the things i use the most, and i like to have a decent understanding of my computers storage and computing abilities. enter Rainmeter. this is an open-source (anyone can edit/update/improve) program that take up minimal harddrive space but packs a big visual punch. It's basically a set of control panels that gives you access to files and system information without having to go into the start menu or clutter your desktop with tons of icons. seeing as how i like to streamline my files and avoid digital clutter, this is just the thing for me. Being open-source, any user can modify and create their own panels and toolbars, and then share them with other users. after finding this program and downloading it, i spent some time tweaking it, and then spent some time searching for, downloading, and then re-tweaking other interface components. the program can be as complicated or simple as you'd like. some of the user-made files are easy and intuitive, other are overly complex and take a high level of computer coding to understand. since all i wanted was a way to simplify my menu navigation, i settled for one of the more standard, basic level interface styles. I've altered some of the settings, and have finally gotten it to a clean, easy to use set of toolbars, and I'm now running a pretty minimal desktop.
you can see that i have no extraneous icons, except for my recycle bin, which is a bear to remove in windowsXP. on the side, my rainmeter setup has a clock/calendar, a small weather bar (pulling info from weather.com) access to my harddrives - one click on the drive letter will take me to that drive, just like going to "my computer". after that i have a recycle bar, which will take the place of the recycle bin once i can ger rid of it. then i have system usage info and network traffic, to monitor basic computer functions. after that, a media player toolbar, and then a program launch bar - with all of the programs i use most frequently. as i said, Rainmeter can get as complicated as you want, but this meets my needs, and i consider the time i spent setting it up as some of the most productive hours i've spend in front of the computer in recent times. I highly recommend the program, and if you have any questions about it, i will totally help where i can.
**i am in no way affiliated with or paid by Rainmeter to endorse their product, i just love it that much.
now go out there an do something worthwhile, or fruitless, or just find a simple task to amuse yourself for a while. all three work for me.
