I have just completed my fifth move in Thailand since arriving here less than four years ago. You would think that after that many moves I would have already weeded out and gotten rid of the things that I don't really need. But my pack-rat tendencies have kept me from doing that. So ove the past week I have opened, unpacked, given away, thrown away, and tried to organize the contents of countless boxes. As I was doing this I had an "ah-ha" moment: I am not only a pack-rat of "stuff" at home, I am a total pack-rat of "stuff" on my computer. Deleting a document for me is like donating that shirt that I know I'm going to wear again someday - even though I haven't worn it in years and it is older than my teenage children! I did a couple of quick searches on my school laptop and discovered that I have over 1,000 .doc files, almost 2,000 pdf files, and over 400 Notebook files. To many people, those numbers may not seem like a lot but, what the numbers mean to me is that I now know why I am often pushed to my frustration level when trying to find documents on my computer. I then began to go through files on my computer using the "cover flow" view on my Mac (which I absolutely love) and discovered that many of the documents are completely useless for the students I teach and the methods I use. So now my next big project will be to purge my computer files so that I only have what I really and truly need - and get them organized so that I can find them when I do need them. I'm hoping that if I have less stuff to go through on the computer I will have more time to do something more productive than swear at my computer!
Ah, a lesson I need to learn myself. I am also a hoarder (of all things -both digital and physical), and I am quickly learning to let go with our move to Japan looming closer and closer each day and the current unrest in our neighborhood unlikely to end before the packing date. Now I realize I don't want so much stuff tying me down - got to be light and nimble when you move so frequently, right?
Smart to make the transfer from real life to digital life too - I just keep buying bigger and bigger harddrives! One day I may learn that lesson too... But for now, those harddrives are just so small and compact!
Ah, a lesson I need to learn myself. I am also a hoarder (of all things -both digital and physical), and I am quickly learning to let go with our move to Japan looming closer and closer each day and the current unrest in our neighborhood unlikely to end before the packing date. Now I realize I don't want so much stuff tying me down - got to be light and nimble when you move so frequently, right?
ReplyDeleteSmart to make the transfer from real life to digital life too - I just keep buying bigger and bigger harddrives! One day I may learn that lesson too... But for now, those harddrives are just so small and compact!