I’m at a stage of a certain project where there’s quite a bit of massive bulk uploading going on. Even though the uploads are broken down into discreet (and easier to manage) chunks the uploads take approximately 11 minutes. That’s a long time to stare at a computer and wait for the task to finish so I generally move onto another project. The problem is when getting wrapped up in another project I often forget all about the upload going on and lose precious upload time.
This morning, determined to streamline this process, I timed one batch upload (each batch takes approximately the same amount of time) and then set the screensaver on that computer to turn on after the required amount of upload time. Now as soon as the upload is complete the screensaver turns on and reminds me to start the next batch.
This obviously won’t work if you’re using the computer that’s performing the time consuming task, since the screensaver only turns on after an allotted amount of time inactive. I’m sure I could’ve set an alarm or timer or something, but this way I don’t have to remember to do anything since once the computer begins the task I’m no longer clicking buttons.
John Trendler: Still Learning 