I failed.

So this is where I recant multiple excuses to explain my failure. While I got off to a good start with some posts that generated a fair number of comments everything seems to be happening at once and the amount of ‘free’ time I can devote to writing has all but vanished into thin air for a short while. As well as some new projects coming my way in my ‘day job’ which I’ve been working flat-out on for a couple of weeks I’ve also started to dip my toe back into the freelance waters and have been working on a couple of small projects on an evening as well as off bits of wedding planning here and there and the odd job interview to mix things up a bit leaving very little time to blog. Plus (and I know @garyvee might disagree) there’s 24, Lost and a whole host of other fine television programming which demand my attention.

I do plan on, and want to write regularly but once a week just doesn’t seem sustainable for a whole year, life and work will invariably get in the way. I’d rather take the time to write posts than crack out half-assed ones every week. So I’m handing in my #p52 membership card and commemorative plate and will be writing when I can from now on.

I sometimes struggle with the common problem of finding time to devote to pet projects, making sure I don’t neglect my day-job or my fiancée and while some people may advocate working until the early hours of the morning, it’s not an option for everyone (and I like my sleep), but as Elliot said recently: “A pet project is for life, not just for Christmas

So, for my second #p52 blog, I thought I’d write a little about the pet projects I currently have on the go and list some of the immediate goals for each which I hope to achieve in the next few weeks. I decided to cut some straggling projects loose and concentrate on two, for now.

coffeepowered.co.uk

I’m in the middle of a complete redesign of my personal site — including this blog — in an effort to consolidate some of the contrasting elements I have here & there. The new site will have a portfolio section which features some of my work in a more detailed way than on my CV.

Goals for Jan/Feb

• Complete and release the new design
• Continue with Project52

homeofmuppets.com

This is my long-term pet project. Created in 2001 this site revolves around a small group of friends from various parts of the world and still chugs along despite the rise of social networking sites over the past few years, albeit in a stripped-down form. Last year I started a rebuild of the codebase in the CakePHP framework, and it’s still missing some core functionality.

Goals for Jan/Feb

• Implement OAuth based user login/registration
• Finish the design rollout

What about you?

Are you nurturing any pet projects? What techniques do you use to make sure you’re devoting enough time to them and not neglecting them? Hit the comment box below and let me know!

Photo credit: H is for Home

I get a decent amount of sleep, usually going to bed before 11pm and — on a weekday — the alarm goes off at 6:15am when my fiancée wakes up to get ready for work and I normally hit the snooze button a couple of times and get out of bed around 6:30 to 6:45.

I’ve always thought that by using the snooze button, my body would wake up gradually and I’d be more awake by the time I got out of bed. My increasing daily tiredness has caused me to question this, and earlier this week I started forcing myself to get out of bed as soon as the 6:15 alarm goes off to see if it makes me feel more awake throughout the day.

So far, so good! Admittedly the inital jump out of bed is quite difficult as I’m prone to walking into the door in my half-asleep state, but I’ve found that the simple act of losing the snooze seems to work! I’m less tired during the day, more alert, focused and productive. Maybe you should give it a try!