How I did it: I started eating sensible portion sizes, going by the suggested weights on packets (e.g. 75-100g of pasta, 75g of rice) rather than the far too large helpings I was having before. I pretty much stopped eating chocolate and cheese (or rather particularly cheesy things - stuff with ricotta or a bit of feta in it was OK) as I'm terrible at controlling my eating with these foods, and they're not exactly great for you. And I did a semi-decent … Read how I did it…
How I did it: We put all the movies we haven't seen in a pile in alphabetical order, and worked through them like that - this was a good way of making sure you don't skip the ones that you're never quite in the mood for. e.g. pretty rare that you're actually in the mood to watch a 3 hour black and white Italian film without much of a plot, but going through alphabetically meant that I finally watched La Dolce Vita. (It's pretty good!)We watched 30 film… Read how I did it…
How I did it: A folder for Work and a folder for Personal, with many subcategories to Personal. Both folders sit on my toolbar along with 10 frequently used links (email, RSS reader, Facebook etc.) Everything's on the toolbar rather than the bookmarks menu, which is empty. Finally I shared my bookmarks between my machines using Xfire, so that I've got the same set on each user account, updated automatically. Read how I did it…
How I did it: I read the book Head First Design Patterns by Eric Freeman and Elisabeth Freeman, paying detailed attention, taking copious notes and doing most of the exercises provided. I then copied out my notes into a (long) Word document, reviewing them again as I went. Read how I did it…
How I did it: I started eating more stir fries so I could practice, and then as my trip to Japan approached I started eating most things - pastas, curries - with them. I think practice is the key. I found it difficult to follow the online videos etc.Also, my friend lives in Japan and when we were over he taught me how to press my fingers against the sticks in a way that made them much more steady - once I'd grasped this I think I had got it properly. T… Read how I did it…
How I did it: Jumped at the chance to see some gigs that lazy London comedians will do in London or Brighton but no further afield - the more quirky and experimental stuff that tends to get put on. For example, early previews of shows (Robin Ince, Andrew O'Neill, Richard Herring, Pappy's Fun Club, Josie Long - and she wasn't even previewing an actual show), and the live Collings & Herrin podcast (admittedly this was run in Edinburgh both last year … Read how I did it…
How I did it: Hmmm I just did it. Identified good venues in my city that put on comedy and kept track of their listings, and watched out for tours from comedians I like. Read how I did it…
How I did it: A bunch of my friends were going, so I tagged along. Plane ticket was about £500 return from the UK (economy) but I think this may have been cheaper than normal as it was the rainy season which is not generally a time for tourists. We stayed in a decent and relatively affordable hotel, didn't eat anywhere fancy, but spent a lot of money in vending machines! Read how I did it…
How I did it: A bunch of my friends were going, so I tagged along. Plane ticket was about £500 return from the UK (economy) but I think this may have been cheaper than normal as it was the rainy season which is not generally a time for tourists. We stayed in decent and relatively affordable hotels, didn't eat anywhere fancy, but spent a lot of money in vending machines! Read how I did it…
How I did it: Not that difficult! Plenty of pubs to choose from. It's nice to go to new places, so I just tried to steer us towards new pubs whenever we were going out. Bish bash bosh, done. Read how I did it…
How I did it: Didn't shave for a month (helps to be unemployed for that month) then broke the beard trying to shape it, shaved it all off, didn't shave for another month, and pretty much successfully shaped it. It is not necessary to require two attempts to grow a beard - your mileage may vary. Read how I did it…
How I did it: I just stopped. I'd been a squeamish meat-eater for some time, and ignoring my niggling ethical worries about killing animals for food. I was living with a highly carnivorous flatmate at the time, but we always cooked our own meals, so I just stopped bringing home chicken curry ready meals (this is for the best anyway, folks) and started buying Quorn nonsenses. I can't remember if I ever slipped after I started - except for one time when … Read how I did it…
How I did it: My friend had already worked as an Oxfam steward at Glastonbury and Leeds in previous years, so the following year I applied to join him.If you volunteer to work for Oxfam, you'll get your ticket price refunded to you. At the time it was almost impossible to get tickets for Glastonbury, though I understand that it's now easier as festival attendance has cooled off. Anyway, stewarding got us a guaranteed place and a nice campsite, whic… Read how I did it…
How I did it: I worked incredibly hard for most of my honours years - not always well, but hard. When coursework was due in and exams were coming up, I gave up any kind of a social life or even much relaxation time. The last five months in particular were hell. Read how I did it…
How I did it: I did Script Frenzy in April 2008 (having done NaNoWriMo 2007) and completed it in a frenzy (yes) at about 11.15pm on the last day. I made the 100 page cut-off but was determined to finish the story - it felt like cheating otherwise - so I think it ended up at about 115 pages all told. Unlike NaNo I did a fair bit of background work, sketching out ideas for characters and situations before I started. Not all of it went in - my script was … Read how I did it…
How I did it: I did NaNoWriMo in November 2007, having almost-started it several times before. I’m perpetually frustrated by my failure to finish things that I start, particularly anything creative, so I made a point of properly committing myself to the task. Then I just did it, a chapter at a time, one chapter a night. I spent the week before trying to think of plotlines etc., and finally hit on a vague assembly of characters and ideas I was hap… Read how I did it…
