This might be my last post until July 6th. I'm entering a hyper-sprint at work to meet a deadline in time (and after that have enough time to take the 13th off for the ICFP programming contest, </dream>).
I'll report back if I survive. If not, find my remains under a black laptop and a towering heap of used teabags.
20080624
20080618
On the third day of sick leave, my true love gave to me...
... well, nothing yet since she's still at work =) She'll be back in a while.
The poor thing has been braving contagion just to sneak some kisses from me, and I'd feel really awful if she catches the same infection that's rendered me pretty much useless since Sunday afternoon. She, OTOH, says she wouldn't mind the sick leave days. Go figure.
I did use the time to do some thinking, though. And some cleaning around the room. But mostly thinking. Which led to some interesting questions which I'm going to be asking when I'm back to work tomorrow. Mostly involving the word "Why", and that's as far as I can disclose.
PS: Chicken soup owns. Thanks, mum.
The poor thing has been braving contagion just to sneak some kisses from me, and I'd feel really awful if she catches the same infection that's rendered me pretty much useless since Sunday afternoon. She, OTOH, says she wouldn't mind the sick leave days. Go figure.
I did use the time to do some thinking, though. And some cleaning around the room. But mostly thinking. Which led to some interesting questions which I'm going to be asking when I'm back to work tomorrow. Mostly involving the word "Why", and that's as far as I can disclose.
PS: Chicken soup owns. Thanks, mum.
20080610
Because the Cards say so!
No, I'm not taking about Tarot. It's a little hack I'm using to keep myself focused at work.
I keep a small deck of cards, each of them bearing a type of activity (some project at work, blogging, churning through my to-do lists, etc) and a time frame (30 to 45 minutes for work activities, 15 for recreation). Each time I draw a card and random and dedicate myself to the displayed activity for the displayed time. It's a sort of blend between the Unschedule (short bursts of work + allocating time for play) and the Exoself (programming yourself with a deck of cards), but less rigid than these. The cards basically create an artificial context to delimit my choices of next task, not to mention they add some fun and anticipation to see what comes next.
An older version I had just used "Work" and "Play" cards, but then it was too hard to get focused on which work to get done.
So as you may guess, I'm writing this now because the "Blog" card came up.
A variant I may try is adding some special cards, like "Skip the next card for today". Got any suggestions?
I keep a small deck of cards, each of them bearing a type of activity (some project at work, blogging, churning through my to-do lists, etc) and a time frame (30 to 45 minutes for work activities, 15 for recreation). Each time I draw a card and random and dedicate myself to the displayed activity for the displayed time. It's a sort of blend between the Unschedule (short bursts of work + allocating time for play) and the Exoself (programming yourself with a deck of cards), but less rigid than these. The cards basically create an artificial context to delimit my choices of next task, not to mention they add some fun and anticipation to see what comes next.
An older version I had just used "Work" and "Play" cards, but then it was too hard to get focused on which work to get done.
So as you may guess, I'm writing this now because the "Blog" card came up.
A variant I may try is adding some special cards, like "Skip the next card for today". Got any suggestions?
20080608
... and starting again
OK, real post today. There's a sort of small epiphany I wanted to share, which like all good discoveries is nothing but the not-so-common common sense. There exist several methods and systems to help people organize their projects, improve their productivity and deal with procrastination. I myself am working with a blend of (at least) two. The common promise is that by applying the method, you'll learn how to unstick your projects, move them forward and enjoy the empowerment of productivity, while enabling you to enjoy your personal and professional life in a much deeper level.
Which is most probably true! Few things are as rewarding as that tingling sense of achievement when you feels things are finally starting to flow. But then, the usual exposition of these systems usually has a very critical blind spot, which is this: the implementation, maintenance and mastering of these systems is a project in and of itself, one which deserves and needs to be managed with a trusted system. Notice the circularity? Ah, the dear old bootstrapping problem. The solution is fairly obvious-—divide the system into small, manageable chunks, choose one to start with, review them as you go along. In other words, the very same advice the systems themselves give you.
I know, I know, this sounds more like a "duh" moment than an "aha" one. Or maybe a "d'oh" one =)
Which is most probably true! Few things are as rewarding as that tingling sense of achievement when you feels things are finally starting to flow. But then, the usual exposition of these systems usually has a very critical blind spot, which is this: the implementation, maintenance and mastering of these systems is a project in and of itself, one which deserves and needs to be managed with a trusted system. Notice the circularity? Ah, the dear old bootstrapping problem. The solution is fairly obvious-—divide the system into small, manageable chunks, choose one to start with, review them as you go along. In other words, the very same advice the systems themselves give you.
I know, I know, this sounds more like a "duh" moment than an "aha" one. Or maybe a "d'oh" one =)
20080529
Some will find this amusing
http://www.secrethistoryofstarwars.com/index.html
Some will find the name of the author even more amusing.
Some will find the name of the author even more amusing.
20080526
It's all about starting...
... the THIRD time over, dammit! Either Blogger or Konqueror has this tendency to wipe out all I had written, irrecoverably, when I do silly stuff like hitting the "Italic" or "Preview" buttons. I'm working externally now (on my beloved BasKet Note Pads).
Anyway. I had been toying with the idea of a blog for quite a while. I would often have the random idea about something and find myself thinking that it would make for a nice post, if I had a blog about...
About what? That had been the major roadblock -- that fact that I couldn't for the life of me decide what would the blog be about. Functional programming? Politics? Procrastination and the ways to fight it? Which of the N trades I consider myself a beginner of? In summary, I didn't think I had enough substance to contribute in any of these fields.
Enter Neil Fiore and his "The Now Habit" book. Its main tenet is that procrastination is actually a symptom of perfectionism, fear of failure and/or fear of success (I was quite surprised to find out there is such a thing). He then offers a series of techniques and hacks to overcome these problems, one of the core ones being a principle of "persistent starting". All in all, it's nothing but the basic idea that in order to get a project done the important question is "where can you start" or "what is the next step" (also known as the Next Action of GTD, Agile's "Release Early, Release Often", etc), but even that idea is an often overlooked one, of which sometimes you need a conscious reminder. Common sense isn't that common, after all.
So I still don't know what the blog will be about. I only know about this post, and a few ideas I have drafted. Before we reach the lofty questions of purpose, let's see how we keep up with the nitty-gritty of just writing and publishing, dealing with comments and criticism (how about getting any readers in the first place?). Will something emerge as we go on? Maybe. At least I've taken the first step, which is all that counts in the end. After this there'll be a next first step, and another one, and so on (unless I decide I don't want to keep a blog after all). For now though, I'll go play some Torus Trooper. Without a speck of guilt.
Anyway. I had been toying with the idea of a blog for quite a while. I would often have the random idea about something and find myself thinking that it would make for a nice post, if I had a blog about...
About what? That had been the major roadblock -- that fact that I couldn't for the life of me decide what would the blog be about. Functional programming? Politics? Procrastination and the ways to fight it? Which of the N trades I consider myself a beginner of? In summary, I didn't think I had enough substance to contribute in any of these fields.
Enter Neil Fiore and his "The Now Habit" book. Its main tenet is that procrastination is actually a symptom of perfectionism, fear of failure and/or fear of success (I was quite surprised to find out there is such a thing). He then offers a series of techniques and hacks to overcome these problems, one of the core ones being a principle of "persistent starting". All in all, it's nothing but the basic idea that in order to get a project done the important question is "where can you start" or "what is the next step" (also known as the Next Action of GTD, Agile's "Release Early, Release Often", etc), but even that idea is an often overlooked one, of which sometimes you need a conscious reminder. Common sense isn't that common, after all.
So I still don't know what the blog will be about. I only know about this post, and a few ideas I have drafted. Before we reach the lofty questions of purpose, let's see how we keep up with the nitty-gritty of just writing and publishing, dealing with comments and criticism (how about getting any readers in the first place?). Will something emerge as we go on? Maybe. At least I've taken the first step, which is all that counts in the end. After this there'll be a next first step, and another one, and so on (unless I decide I don't want to keep a blog after all). For now though, I'll go play some Torus Trooper. Without a speck of guilt.
20080522
First Post!
Not much to say right now since I opened this blog in a rush and gotta leave right now. I have some drafts of stuff I'll eventually get to rant about. All I'll say for now is "damn. I'm one of *them* now".
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)