[Electric Speed] Time vs. money | Novels set in your zip code

A note from Jane

My husband, Mark, sometimes jokes that my method of solving problems is to "throw money at it."

At first I took great exception to this characterization because it makes me sound like a thoughtless and wasteful person (not to mention privileged).

But as I thought about it more, I had to concede that Mark was right. My defense is that I do it in a limited way, when one of two conditions are met: (1) the problem lies outside my knowledge or expertise, or (2) my time is better spent doing something else.

For example, a couple weeks ago, we bought a ceiling fan for our spare bedroom. I am not remotely handy around the house, and my first impulse was to phone a friend or hire an electrician to do it. Mark, though, reasonably and justifiably, believed he could handle it.

The fan remains uninstalled, the bedroom in disarray. Many YouTube videos have been watched. It turns out there have been surprises not easily solved. At this point, after hours spent without progress, my overriding question is whether this is worth his time.

For some, the only path forward is to figure things out on your own, for lack of resources or relationships. Other times, perhaps there’s joy and satisfaction in figuring it out.

For me, time is the most precious and limited resource I have. The good I can do in the world is maximized if I hire out things like fan installation.

Update: Shortly after I wrote this, Mark finished the job successfully. 🎉

In the last issue, I asked you to tell me about a specific tool, app, or system you use for reminders. Boy, Google Calendar and Gmail combined is by far the most popular choice. Here’s a selection of what you shared:

I’ve found Gmail’s "snooze" feature (the clock in the toolbar) helpful. You can "snooze" (hide) an email and set a time and date for it to pop back up in your inbox. It’s particularly helpful for all these Zoom meetings. I snooze the Zoom links until right before my meeting so I don’t have to search for it in my, admittedly, overflowing inbox. —Katharine Herndon

I use Google Calendar, iPhone’s clock alarms, and a physical notebook planner. Google Calendar: For reminders on writing deadlines, appointments, events, and birthdays. iPhone’s clock alarm: For daily and weekly recurring events, like picking my kids up from school and giving my child medicine. Physical planner: Writing everything from my Google Calendar and alarms in my planner helps me see the big picture of each day. It also helps me build the rest of my day-to-day writing schedule. —Betty Choi

I send myself reminders by writing "Notes to Self" (DM to myself) on Slack. Then I can use the "Remind" feature and tell it to remind me about that note. Since I use Slack for all work-related communications, this system ensures I actually see the reminder. —Gabriela Pereira

Reminders are super important to me because I have a Swiss cheese brain. I use several tools. Google Calendar is my go-to for events or things I have to go to. If I have something I need to remember soon, I’ll tell my phone or Google Home (Hey Google, remind me to feed the dogs every day at 5:30 or stuff like that). And I use Evernote for task lists. So much to keep track of. —Michelle Kitz

I use Pink Calendar for scheduling and reminders. It’s a tiny calendar that sits on my desktop. It pops up to remind me of things. It’s small, powerful, unobtrusive and does everything I need. I’ve used it for years. Occasionally, I email the author to tell him how grateful I am he created it. —Anonymous

For most things, I rely on the follow-up flags in my Outlook for Mac. I can set the reminders for any date/time I choose, and if one pops up and I’m not ready to take action, I can snooze or dismiss. If something doesn’t come by email, I’m hit or miss using other apps to remind me: Apple Reminders, the To Do app, or my calendars. I have a Setapp (for Mac) subscription, and it’s worth every penny for the apps that come with it. —Suzy Oakley

Next question: Is there a particular service or vendor you use to create book-related swag or merchandise? Hit reply to this message, or share on the Discord server for Electric Speed subscribers.

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[Electric Speed] Time vs. money | Novels set in your zip code

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