I have a stack of things I want to tackle that’s at least a foot high.

I have high priority, low priority, and just about every priority on the scale in between.

I KNOW that I should be working… but sometimes, when there’s so much to do, it’s way too easy to procrastinate. FreeCell looms large on my computer, begging me to cave in to the distraction. The latest bunch of books I bought at Amazon are whispering that they want to be read. Play some games, make some tea, fiddle with the Kindle, surf the web… all the distractions seem more appealing than my actual work.

So, what to do when there’s so much to do you’re procrastinating even starting?

• Recognize what’s happening.
• Deal with it.
• Force yourself to work.

Which is exactly what I’m going to do now.

Right after I make myself a cup of tea.

DOH!

I have, for more than a week, been trying to get some resolution from the hotel I mentioned in earlier posts by telephone. I was, I suppose, of the belief that a phone call would be more effective than email. And in some cases it is. But today, out of frustration, I pulled open a Google search to dig out some relevant email addresses. I sent an email to the Assistant Manager I had been dealing with, and copied the email to the hotel’s General Manager AND the customer relations department of the hotel chain’s head office.

A half a dozen phone messages couldn’t get a call back from the hotel in six days. An email worked within six minutes. Not only did I receive a phone call, but my issues were resolved nearly instantly.

What was in the email? Simply a note to say that I was dismayed with the lack of contact, that I thought I had been lied to when the hotel management said they would quickly resolve the issue, and a promise to share my negative experience on hotel review sites on the Web. I believe that it was the fact that the mail was sent to his superiors rather than the content of the message that spurred the Hotel manager into action, but the accusation of deception and dishonesty on the part of the hotel probably helped as well.

In any case, all’s well that ends well. And as a final takeaway, I’ve learned the power of a well distributed email to achieve results.

I have nothing against Hotels.com. Up until last weekend, I thought they served a useful purpose. But I’ve learned my lesson, and from here on, while I may find a hotel at Hotels.com or Expedia, I will be booking directly through the hotel.

Here’s why.

Last weekend I stayed at a hotel I booked through Hotels.com (Hotels.ca actually). During my stay, my laptop and other electronics were stolen from the hotel room. If I had booked my room directly through the hotel, I would not have had to pay for my stay because of the incident, according to the hotel manager.

However, because the room was booked and paid for through Hotels.com, they were not equipped to refund me directly. They could refund the money to Hotels.com, but there would be no reassurance that any of that money would make it back to me. Ever.

I now understand that while booking through a middleman may seem convenient, when things go wrong that extra company in the middle makes things far more inconvenient in the long run.

So from now on, I’ll find my hotel online, but book directly by phone. Odds are, by booking directly I’ll probably save money as well.

This weekend my laptop was stolen from my hotel room while I was on vacation.

It wasn’t an expensive laptop… I travel with a cheap little Acer Netbook … but it was still alarming.

However, I did learn a few things from the experience.

First, if you’re keeping your laptop in your hotel room, keep the cables in the car. Your laptop is less likely to be taken if there are no cables to charge it, since it’s worth less at a pawn shop. Go figger.

Second, it is a very good thing to use Gmail or a web-based service for your email, especially when you travel. If I been using Outlook or Thunderbird, not only would the thieves been able to go back and read my email from the past, which would have included online transactions that included my address and other details, but I would have not had access to the emails saved on that hard drive any longer.

Since I have been using Gmail to access all my mail, all I had to do was change my Gmail password to keep others out, and ensure I still had access to everything. Much less panic that way.

Finally, on a computer you only use for traveling, keep the minimum or no saved FTP passwords in your FTP client. If you explicitly limit your FTP saved logins to those you’ll need on your trip, you won’t have to change every single FTP password you’ve ever used if your laptop is stolen.

Finally, never count on your stuff being safe. This apparently was the first theft in eight years at this particular establishment, which seemed quite secure, but a determined thief, or one in desperate need of some cash for a fix, will find a way to get in just about anywhere.

I found an old primer in a bookstore, and among its selected readings was “Advice to a Young Tradesman” by Benjamin Franklin. Here are a few excerpts.

Remember that time is money. He who can earn ten shillings a day by his labor, and goes abroad or sits idle one half of that day, though he spend but six-pence during his diversion or idleness, ought not to reckon that the only expense; he has really spent, or thrown away, five shillings besides.
…
Remember that money is of a prolific, generating nature. Money can beget money, and its offspring can beget more, and so on. Five shillings is turned six; turned again, it is seven and three pence; and so on till it becomes a hundred pounds. The more there is of it, the more it produces every turning, so that the profits rise quicker and quicker.
—
If you take the pains at first to mention particulars, it will have this good effect; you will discover how wonderfully small, trifling expenses mount up to large sums, and will discern what might have been, and may, for the future, be saved without occasioning any great inconvenience.
—
In short, the way to wealth, if you desire it, is as plain as the way to market. It depends chiefly on two words, industry and frugality; that is, waste neither time nor money but make the best use of both. Without industry and frugality, nothing will do, and with them, everything will do.