Time time time

OK now the music box in my head is playing another old song, Pete Seeger's "Turn Turn Turn." Only the words I am hearing are instead "Time time time," as in I never, ever have enough! I am thinking about time for a couple of reasons.

• This week my university is still on break, though of course I am working every day. However, I have allowed myself to work from home most of the time and also have indulged in some things that I have been dying to do but not having time, such as trying out the Sony eBook Reader, the Asus Eee, and some other new acquisitions. I also took time for my computer startup smackdown, described in my previous entry. This really took all of two minutes to do, but first I had to get the three computers all lined up, have my iPhone out to use the timer, and then execute. Another thing I did today was try out an external cd/rw drive I have had for around ONE YEAR and have never taken time to unbox. It worked with the Eee right out of the box with no installation or problems of any sort. Trying it out took about 10 minutes. But first I had to FIND the drive and get it in place, plugged in, and connected to the netbook. Needless to say, having it is a huge plus and I cannot believe I let it sit unused for so long. I don't know how to free up time for anyone other than myself, but do recommend finding a way to sneak off and do the things you know you want and need to do.
  
• The other reason I am thinking about time is that I am working on an article (gotta find time to do THAT) about making wise purchases of equipment and software. I queried LM_NET, EDTECH, and TLC members for examples of purchasing mistakes and have received a number of sad stories. In a large majority of the accounts, a big reason why a poor decision was made was because it was something that was done in a hurry. "Haste makes waste" is very, very true. I will be writing an article about this but would offer this one suggestion here and now: Just as librarians do for books, have a consideration or wish list of equipment needs. Make this list after researching the products via reviews, listserv inquiries, visits to vendor booths, and if at all possible, personal experience with the item. And when you do place an order, start with just one of the item rather than buying in bulk. Try it out first and then order more if it meets your requirements and if you have interested and committed users.
• By the way, I do presentations about time management, which may seem a bit ironic to anyone who knows me. But there are some great online tools out there that can really help with organizing your life and getting things done. Here is a link to a presentation that references some of these great tools: http://forwhomthebelltold.pbwiki.com/21st+Century+Time+Saving Two of my favorite tools from the presentation above are 43 Things and Tadalists. They are ones I use all the, uh, TIME.