Rhoneisms

Travel as light as possible. Carry only what you need to have.
I have always struggled with packing way too much. I have been getting better about it over the years. I try to be really conscious of how much stuff I carry around on a daily basis and, even on the smallest of levels, look at ways to reduce it. As an example, in my last post regarding my Circa system note flow, my main goal was to reduce the size of the notebook I carried with me. To me, even 40 less pages of paper matter. I do this with the keys on my keychain. Any key I don’t absolutely need on a daily basis gets taken off and hung up on a rack by the door at home. I don’t even have a fob on the keychain, it is just a ring.
That being said, the main area I have had the most struggle in has been when packing for travel. Perhaps it is because of this I am absolutely fascinated by articles, posts and resources that talk about how to pack lightly and travel well.
I have tried y hard at geting better at this over the years. I have slowly done better. Mainly because I often pack and then take a look at how much crap I am about to drag around the globe and then unpack a lot of it. I go through each item and seriously question it’s need. Even doing this I still felt like I could reduce a lot of weight and bag size if I just was savvy enough.
I recently became newly obsessed with light travel due to these two posts:
* How to Travel the World with 10 Pounds or Less (Plus: How to Negotiate Convertibles and Luxury Treehouses)
* How does a geek plan for 3 weeks in 4 countries with a small bag & a laptop?
These really set a fire under me. I therefore decided to really give the methods laid out therein a serious go. I had a trip to Cancun coming up. I was going for 5 days and 4 nights and was determined to go as light as possible. Here is what I brought:
* 3 Button Down Short Sleeve Shirts. All are light, easily hand washable and quick drying.
* 2 Pairs of Travelsmith Anywhere Pants. Once again, light, cool, quick dry.
* 2 Pairs LL Bean Supplex Cargo Shorts. Light, quick dry, can also double as swim trunks.
* 2 Pairs Ex Officio Boxer Briefs. Light, quick dry.
* 1 Marmot Ion Windshirt. For rain and wind protection.
* 1 Pair Teva Hurricane II Sandals.
* 1 Kiva Keychain Duffle. If needed for a day bag or souvenirs.
I also packed a travel clothesline designed for pin free hanging as my plan was to hand wash things so that I could take less items with me. For instance, one pair of underwear would be drying overnight and I would still have a pair dry and ready to go.
The result? It worked out very, very well. So well, in fact, that I am loathe to travel any other way from now on. The feeling I now get at the thought of even one extra thing being added to my bag is not simply one of question but one of sheer dread. This is largely because I have seen how very possible it is to do without and the feeling of being able to pack for a week in what amounts to an normal overnight bag is an extremely freeing one.
I have a trip to San Francisco for Macworld coming up in January. My plan: Take away the shorts and sandals and add a light fleece and shoes (which I will be wearing) to the list above. Otherwise, I am not changing a thing.

Another in my series of Levenger Circa posts. In this episode, I discuss a recent brainstorm I had about a change to the workflow of processing my notes. Enjoy:

My Circa Workflow from Patrick Rhone on Vimeo.

AwayFind is a new web based service that allows one to set up professional email auto responses and signatures. On the surface, the purpose is to allow you to set appropriate expectations for those that send you email and allow those with an urgent need to get in touch with you right away. It is a very elegantly executed service that provides just the right balance between method and message. I can’t say enough good things about the web site itself. It is elegantly designed and a joy to use.

Now, AwayFind could be just another web service. They could just give you the basic free service and gladly take your subscription money when you are ready to upgrade to the pro level to get more features. But, it seems, founder Jared Goralnick is not interested in solely doing that. This is made apparent by the very front page of the AwayFind web site:

Awayfind is not just a web tool, it’s a blueprint for escaping email, with a handbook and a community to ensure your success.

What Jared really wants to do is to change the way you approach the idea of email. He provides that message, and the corresponding short lessons, at almost every opportunity on the site. As you navigate around, there are videos to watch, tutorials to guide you and a fantastic PDF handbook to download. All with one purpose in mind, to educate and encourage you to do the following:

• Batch process your email once or twice a day.
• Clear your Inbox by processing everything.
• Turn off notifications.
• Let people know your intention while providing a route to get time sensitive and urgent messages to you.

It soon becomes clear that AwayFind is first about education and, also, happens to have a service that, if you would like, can help you facilitate the goal in mind.

What I find most interesting is that, with this message front and center and the lessons provided, there is nothing that would prevent one from simply setting up an auto response on their own that provides the same opportunity. Heck, I have even written here before about doing this very thing myself at a previous employer. Having spoken with Jared, if that ends up being your takeaway from AwayFind, he will have achieved his main goal. It may seem a little altruistic on Jared’s part but that is because it is. His main goal is to set out to try to solve a problem that is a growing concern to us all. If it is a bit of LaMancha-esqu windmill battling then so be it. If one persons life if made a little bit easier, their time a bit more free, due to the lesson taught and, secondly, the service provided, he is fine with that.

There is a certain level of compassion I see in all of this. It is a unique and special thing. That alone will cause me to use AwayFind versus my own DIY solution. I urge you, gentle reader, to have a look and consider doing the same.

Do not place blame with others. Instead, look inside yourself, recognize your own shortcomings and work to overcome them. That way, others may be able to learn to do the same.
This entry in my manifesto reminds me of a difficult, yet crucial, way to change my thinking. That being, instead of constantly pointing the finger of blame at others, look within myself for the solution. We all carry a measure of guilt and innocence within us. Meditate on your guilt and it may allow you to see the innocence in another. The best way to explain this is to provide the following example…
How many times have you gotten into a disagreement with someone else and said something like “You made me angry!” or “You hurt my feelings.”? Well, let me tell you a little secret – Those statements are inherently false. The fact is that no one has control over our emotions except for ourselves. No one can “make you angry” or “hurt your feelings. The only one who can affect how you feel is you. It is a choice. It may not feel like one at the time, but I suspect part of that is our initial denial of control inherent in the very statements alone. We have choice and control over our actions and reactions. The anger, the hurt, the bad feelings, the negative emotions, they only affect us. By declaring otherwise, we are not only denying truth but we are also denying our inherent ability to change the situation by making a conscious choice to react differently. It is not an easy thing to do, especially when one is emotionally wounded, but it is really the only path to resolution. The more factual way to state these feelings would be “I am choosing to react with anger to this action that you have done.” or “I am choosing to feel hurt over this action you have done”. By doing so, we assume not only truth but we also assume the right to change it if we choose to.
This is just one example. The fact is that many situations would be better solved, and faster solved, if instead of being so quick to point the finger of blame, we looked inside ourselves to ask what we could change to solve the problem.