My friend told me something recently that he witnessed and it left him puzzled. He was building a house on a construction site building and the house next door was also being constructed by professional contractors. Each day at noon, they would stop work and pile into their work trailer for 15 minutes and then come out and resume their work. At the end of the day they would pile into the trailer again for 30 minutes and then all leave and go home. As I watched and saw them repeat this each day I became even more curious and wanted to know what they were doing, so I asked. The lead guy said that each day at noon they would all go into the back of the trailer and sharpen their tools. Then, at the end of the day they would shapren them again and change the blades with fresh ones for the next day. He went on to say that their work went faster and was of better/higher quality of workmanship because they were working with freshly sharpened tools. Also he said that it made their work a pleasure – working with a sharp blade is a joy.

I recently discovered for myself what difference it makes to use tools that are wearing down or to use tools that are in good repair. I have a cordless drill that I thought would be the best thing to have in order to not be limited by where the cord can reach. It has not lived up to what I expected though. The charger for my cordless drill has broken down and even after buying a new battery (which I figured was the problem in the first place – battery worn down and not taking a charge anymore) my drill has little power and so it goes slow and doesn’t last long. Also the blade for my circular saw is getting dull and so it was taking longer to cut through the wood (not to mention the smoke and black edge it left on the wood) I bought to build some shelves in my basement. I asked my Dad if I could borrow his drill and borrowed his circular saw at the same time. It made an amazing difference to use his sharp blade compared to my dull blade. It went faster, smoother and straighter. Plus I didn’t have the wood starting to show signs of overheating and burning from too much friction. I could see immediately that I was going to get the job done much faster and with better workmanship; and I was not frustrated – it was a joy!

One tool I use constantly is my brain in my profession of software and web development. I remind myself every now-and-then of things that I need to do in order to keep that tool in top shape as well (enough sleep, proper food, some exercise). I find that when I am not taking proper care for my physical body, my mind starts to work slower, I end up missing some steps, or I’m slower to respond and sometimes just can’t find an answer but stare blankly at the screen. Then I have to take a break and do what’s necessary to help my brain go faster, more efficietly, and be able produce a higher quality of work.

Keeping my tools in good repair has proven that, in the long run, it is of greater worth on my time and other means. If you want to save time, make sure your tools are sharp also.

I just recieved my annual statement of my investments. Along with the rest of the world, my investments were WAY down. Since I didn’t contribute anything to them this year, its a very clear and isolated picture of the market swing.

Old Value Jan 1, 2008: $66,636.21

New Value Dec 31, 2008: $48,359.40

Total Drop: $18,276.81 (27%)

Yikes… Good thing I’m not planning to retire this year.

Anyone else have any scary year end summaries?

I subscribe to a digest of free online books.? They email me twice a month with some highlights.? I can download up to 3 at a time – full length PDF versions of the (regularly very expensive) books.? This service I subscribe to is mostly technical books, but there are some non-technical (the title in the browser is LearnIT).

Here’s the site I use:? http://www.pdfchm.com/

Create an account and login. Then search for a book you want, click on it. There’s a link at the bottom to the PDF and a short process to get the PDF.

You do need to sign up, but its a completely free resource for these very expensive books.

Successful businesses plan spending budgets and income targets for the calendar year. Often this happens in January for the current year after they have been able to collect and digest the previous years financials. You and your family deserve nothing less that success also. Its time to get your finances in order for the year. Yes, plans will change and things will come up, but a plan is priceless in guiding financial decisions and planning needed savings.

Take some time now and map out some of the following: More…

I just came across this site today, and thought I’d pass it by you all. This store buys dented, scratched, refurbished or discontinued items (still like new condition) and sell them for a huge discount (often more than 50% off original values). If you are in the market for a major appliance, furniture or something else big and expensive – check these guys out before you buy new. You could save a bundle!

http://www.rosehillauction.ca

I heard a story with a meaning about a year ago. It goes like this:
A man started walking home from work and walked by a bunch of houses, each seeming to have a dog. As he walked by each dog would bark at him, except for one dog. One house had a dog that just whimpered and moans all the time, the kind of sound like it was in pain from something. He dismissed it and continued walking. The next day the same thing – all the dogs barked at him except this one dog who whimpered, howled and moaned. This continued for a week. Finally the man became very concerned and knocked on the door of the whimpering dog to find out what was wrong.
He asked the man who answered, “What’s wrong with your dog?”.
The man replied, “What do you mean?”.
“He keeps moaning and whimpering while all the other dogs are barking. Why doesn’t your dog bark like the others?”
“Oh, well he’s actually sitting on a nail.”
“What? You’re dog is sitting on a nail?! Why doesn’t he get off?”
“I guess it doesn’t hurt enough”.

How many of us are like that? Whining and complaining about things in our life, but not willing to do anything about it. How many of us complain about not enough money, but are unwilling to upgrade our skills, look for a new job, look for a part-time job, or otherwise?

I’m guilty of this too. I complained about my job for almost a year before it finally became so painful I got off the nail and started working for myself. My happiness has been MUCH improved since, even though I am currently earning less than I did before in Corporate America. Even now, I am sitting here, knowing that I should make an uncomfortable phone call to clear up some misunderstanding about some money deal I’m making, but putting it off until the last moment… while I could just make the call, clear things up and deal with the outcome rather than stressing about it.

In fact, I think I’ll cut this blog entry short and make that phone call – sitting on a nail is stupid.

I really dislike a standard household shower. You know the kind – you probably own one too – a straight metal bar holding up the shower curtain. The curtain is so close to you during the shower its constantly touching you, or almost touching you so you have to manipulate yourself in such a way as to avoid it… Its cold, soggy and clings if you touch it with you leg or side or whatever… Anyway, if you’re like me, its bothersome.

One time I had the fortune of being in a “nice” hotel they had an arc curtain rod. Its a rounded rod that curves out so the curtain is away from you, but the bottom is still inside the tub. It was wonderful. I don’t remember what the business trip was for, but I remember that! I loved it so much, when I got home I bought a curtain rod like that for myself. Well, recently my kids and I (and Robin) switched bathrooms so I moved “my” special curtain rod over to the new bathroom. Disappointingly the curtain rod, even at its logest adjustment was maybe half an inch too short. The rod would stay up – but it just didn’t have enough pressure to maintain the arcs position, so the far part of the arc would bend down with the weight of a wet curtain and then the sides would tend to want to go towards the middle. This is no good.

Well – late the other night I had a money idea! I put some pennies and dimes under the rubber ends to extend the curtain rod just enough that it now holds wonderfully. Total cost – $0.50 (4 dimes + 10 pennies). Now there’s putting money to good use!