A few weeks ago I stumbled across a time management system called the Pomodoro Technique. “Ahhh, like GTD/Covey/yadayadayada” you say – I can hear your groans even across the entire interwebs. However, the system came highly recommended by the e-famous Microsoft evangelist Scott Hanselman and I knew how much of a nitwit I am next to Scott Hanselman, so like any other thinking human being, I just decided to rip his idea like nobody’s business. Regardless, I’ve tried other “focus” techniques in the past with mixed results, but the end result of each was the same – a few weeks of mediocre results followed by never thinking of the thing again. Read more
‘Why’ is more important than you might think
June 16, 2011
Categories: Smart work
We’ve all met people in our lives who’ve infuriated us with their ability to learn new concepts at amazing speeds. It’s inexplicable – it seems that any time I try to have a conversation about bettering the education system in the US, a person pops into the conversation asking why it was that he was able to succeed with minimal effort in school if education is really so important. It’s a topic that we should all be interested in – learning quickly is ultimately what makes us successful at the things we do.
The evil in interruptions
October 5, 2010
Categories: Smart work
Last Friday night, I went with my family to see the movie The Social Network. It’s a truly interesting movie, regardless of whether you like Facebook, programming, or even the internet (Aaron Sorkin, the movie’s writer, can be quoted as saying “I’m not a fan”, which is alright because I still love him regardless). One thing that struck me, though, was how the conditions under which Facebook was created were depicted in the movie. According to the movie, it appears that the code behind Facebook mystically took form through some mixture of tequila, sex, and loud music – a combination of things that I’m fairly sure that any programmer can describe as, well, less than ideal working conditions.
The art of getting things done
October 4, 2010
Categories: Smart work
So, it all starts with an idea.
Some day you happen upon an idea and you say to yourself: “The world would really be a better place if it had <insert your idea here>. I wonder if anyone’s thought of this before? You know what – I could make this!” Let’s say that you really really think that a teflon Slip-and-Slide is going to make everyone in the world happier – how could anyone NOT like it? It’s like a zipline combined with a pool and then put on steroids! And that’s how most ideas start.