Ramon’s Weblog

09/14/08
Journal Entry

It was a very productive week.  My GTD book arrives on Monday, so I’m really excited that. There are probably going to be some things that I’m going to add to my process once I start reading the book. To be continued…
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09/07/08
Journal Entry

Wow, what a wonderful week. I had my eyes opened quite a bit by some fellow classmates. It was really nice to connect with fellow bloggers in regard to ways to better our productivity. I have much to work on and one of the first steps in this process is purchasing the book “Getting Things Done” by David Allen. There is a lot of substance to the topic of organization found in the methodology, and I can’t wait to use it as a whole and not in parts.
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08/31/08

Journal Entry

This week I wanted to go back and see if I could find some interesting reads on ways to learn kinesthetically. Most of the articles I found were with sports, and muscle memory etc. However, one thing I’ve done with my projects is not procrastinated. I’m going to stick with this for a while, and see how things turn out.
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08/23/08
Journal Entry

I would call this journal entry a continuation of last week’s posting. I had to eat crow about waiting to get all work done early until I was in the right mind set. I ended up getting a horrible stomach bug and I had a power outage at my house for hours. This really set me back, because I had to work through getting all of my assignments done while not feeling well in the slightest. I’m so glad I got through that, but this shows me that I will need to focus on different methods to get in the writing, developing, and creative mode whenever I have the free time.

I found an article that hit on 10 mental blocks to creative thinking. I even found a good posting for leading your blog readers into your posts while I was at it. The mental blocks are something I deal with all the time, and block #9 more so than others I think. I am naturally a perfectionist, so I perfect and I perfect to a mental picture I have in my head sometimes that doesn’t turn out the way I intended. You are the designer, and it’s your sole responsibility to convey your CLIENT’S vision not your own.
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08/17/08
Journal Entry

Alright, I have a confession to make. I have tendencies to procrastinate on things, but I thrive on meeting deadlines. It’s an oxymoron of sorts. Deadlines are very important to me, and to my clients. It’s what makes the world go round.

I tell myself all the time I need to get rolling on my tasks sooner, so I’ll be done and can play till my heart’s content. The problem is if I start early on things, I end up taking that extra amount of time perfecting. It’s a double edged sword I fight all the time. I always turn out my best work under pressure, and when I’m not being a perfectionist.

I have to be in certain moods when I write, when I design, or when I develop. I guess there are pros and cons to that, but what I have been focusing on mainly is keeping all my tasks organized so I don’t go off on those creative tangents and miss a deadline. It seems to be working very well.
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08/07/08
Journal Entry

This week I wouldn’t say I learned something about how I learn, but it was more of a reconnection to the importance of staying social in your design groups or organizations. There are many useful groups that feed you with new things and ideas, which you’d never be abreast with if you didn’t actively participate with them. To keep a promise to myself to get active again, I registered for an upcoming AMA event on Web 2.0…I’m excited, can you tell! =) I haven’t been to an event in a while. I guess my introverted side has had me captive.
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08/01/08
Journal Entry

I was able to successfully setup my own personal blog. I’m really excited about it, but I still have to work out the permanent linkage. It definitely required some hands-on effort to properly setup environment, database, and WordPress application to play in the sandbox together nicely. I had MANY distractions too which makes me think of an interesting article I read this past weekend in regard to kinesthetic instincts.

My intelligence is wired mostly kinesthetically and logically. So what really struck a chord is when I realized I unconsciously talk to myself while I’m learning or trying to focus on something to keep from getting distracted. The article talked about athletes counting or positioning themselves at different times on a clock so the analytical side didn’t take over and they could shoot or hit more effectively. If I start analyzing something to hard, I tend to lose focus on the task, and it always adds additional time before I’m able to complete. It’s very interesting that I never realized I did that.
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7/25/08
Journal Entry

I recently did my Multiple Intelligence scores based on theory by Dr. Howard Gardner, and found out some interesting things about myself. According to this theory there are 9 different intelligences, and my strongest intelligences is Kinesthetic. My Logical and Intrapersonal strengths are tied for second.

My scores are as follows:
1 Naturalist – 50
2 Musical – 70
3 Logical – 80
4 Existential – 70
5 Interpersonal – 40
6 Kinesthetic – 100
7 Verbal – 40
8 Intrapersonal – 80
9 Visual – 50

I’ll post new things I learn about leveraging on these strengths throughout my learning process.
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