I have never seen someone successfully guess at how long tasks will take and use that as a method of planning. At some point you are dropping tasks off, or adding them to your day which means you are still working with some prioritization system. Save your calendar for time-critical events/tasks, everything else is a list, hopefully prioritized.
I wonder how much of the $2k decrease could be contributed to geography? I think we are seeing more opportunities for technical jobs throughout the US, lowering the percentage of developers that need to be paid a Silicon Valley wage.
I am sincerely encouraged. My biggest block has been that writing is hard and I have been way too critical of my own work. Looking for the perfect method, etc has stopped me from progressing. Thank you for your comments
I actually agree. I have been programming for the web for about 8 years now and looking back, I wish that the web server had not been such a mystery - it would have been helpful.