A New Chapter?

One of the things I have been working on is cleaning out my library. It started with the physical books in my to-be-read pile, where I went through books and got really honest about whether or not I was going to read them. From there I moved onto my Kindle.

I look on my Kindle books much as I would paper books. If I am not going to read it again, I am going to get rid of it. The only down side is that no one gets to read it after I get rid of it, unlike the paper books that end up in the neighborhood Little Free Library.

Most people don’t clean out their e-book libraries. They don’t take up space, after all, so why pare it down? For me, it was because every time I went looking in my library, I was wading through hundreds of books. Even with collections, I couldn’t find things.

And then there was the guilt. The books that I bought and “should” read. Some of these books had been purchased so long ago that their content was out of date and not useful anymore.

I released about 20% of my Kindle library, almost 150 books. Most I had read and would never read again. And some were released as a gift to myself, to allow myself to move on to things that mean something.

This was a huge relief on my part. To know that it was OK that I wasn’t going to read the ones unread, and that I didn’t need to re-read the ones already done was very freeing.

Key takeaway: When was the last time you cleaned out your e-book library?

One of the downsides of being a parent who works in IT is understanding how much really inappropriate stuff is out there on the internet. I monitored my daughter’s internet closely, but there were times when she was on legitimate sites for school and a couple of clicks took her to someplace that she really shouldn’t have been, even as I was sitting beside her.

Sentry PC is a solution that lets parents block certain sites, but also limit the amount of time and when a child is on the computer. Control is through a web interface and allows you to adjust as you need.

Pricing: SentryPC is priced at $69.95 for one device per year.

​Explore SentryPC here*

*I am an affiliate of Sentry PC, and will receive, at no cost to you, a small commission if you use the link to purchase the product.

1. Rearrange Your Computer Shortcuts: How many shortcuts are on your computer desktop? Almost every installation program “helpfully” puts shortcuts there when it installs. Today, delete shortcuts you don’t use, and rearrange the rest in groups on your desktop so you can quickly find what you are looking for.
2. Make A Folder On Your Phone: If you have too many apps, it can be hard to find what you are looking for by scrolling through screen after screen. Today, create a folder and group some apps together.
3. Minimize Clothing Decisions: Decision fatigue is real. Take some of yours away by minimizing your clothing decisions. Find a set of clothes that has multiple possibilities within it, and use it to minimize your clothing decisions.

Coming Next Month:

In July I will have articles on AI in everyday life; how to hang on to flow state motivation, and lazy-proofing your life.

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