July 7, 2010 at 11:28 PM · Filed under Advice, Tech
Great presentation by Scott Hanselman on how to manage information overload and improve your efficiency and effectiveness. Includes specific recommendations for mechanisms and tools to use.
Unfortunately, I use (or at least know of) almost everything he mentioned. Why do I say ‘unfortunately’? Because while those tools all help – and in some cases tremendously – they’re not panaceas (love that word!). The real solution? Get obnoxiously rich and hire minions to do your bidding.
It’s about an hour long, but worth the listen if you feel like you’re drowning in ‘to dos’ and ‘thrashing’.
Does your website have a form where people need to/can enter an e-mail address? Are you a web developer that builds e-mail forms?
Then I have a simple request for you. Allow people to enter a ‘+’ (the plus symbol) as part of their e-mail address. Why? Because this is an extremely useful (if not well-known) feature of Gmail, plus other e-mail systems.
Yes, I understand that you’re attemptting to filter out spammy/hackerish or poorly inputted addresses, and I commend you, but this is a legitimate symbol.
Start checking your e-mail less. Once an hour or less is where you should start.
The first time I read about minimizing e-mail checking, it hit me like a ton of bricks. Why didn’t I think of this before? And, this makes so much sense. But reading about a thing sometimes doesn’t have as much impact as hearing about it, which is why I was happy to run across Merlin Mann’s tech talk at Google on something he’s calling Inbox Zero. Merlin (of 43 folders fame) is advocating getting your inbox to zero to the point where he’s writing a book on the subject! It’s based on GTD (Getting Things Done). Get the book if you haven’t.
My experience with processing e-mail in this manner and checking it less frequently has probably mirrored other GTDers. It made an immediate impact on my productivity (and sanity), and while I still struggle to stay on top of my e-mail, I think that’s more so because I get too much and need to cut that down. Keep in mind that getting too much e-mail may just be a symptom of a bigger problem you have, like you’re overbooked.
My other experience with it has been trying to convince my employers that not checking e-mail is a good thing. So many companies have come to rely on e-mail to the point where I think it makes most of them less productive, not more. It will probably be many more years before it becomes more commonly acceptable to be an e-mail minimalist, and/or to wear getting 100s of e-mails a day as a badge of honor. Until then, hopefully more Merlins come along to help us mend our ways.
Anyway, watch the talk. It’s only 30 minutes long, it goes by quickly, and you can stick around for the next 30 minutes to hear the Q&A with Googlers.
This shouldn’t surprise anyone really, but in a measure, we’ve created technology that over taxes the abilities of our primitive brains. This article at the NYTimes uses a particularly ‘plugged-in’ family to demonstrate how many of us now live as well as how it affects us.
I can’t help but fixate on the multitasking issue (previous blog entry):
While many people say multitasking makes them more productive, research shows otherwise. Heavy multitaskers actually have more trouble focusing and shutting out irrelevant information, scientists say, and they experience more stress.
And scientists are discovering that even after the multitasking ends, fractured thinking and lack of focus persist. In other words, this is also your brain off computers.
Bottom line: try focusing on a single thing, multitask less and unplug from time to time.
February 26, 2010 at 5:46 PM · Filed under Misc, health
First of all, I need to thank Michael Chu over at Cooking for Engineers for this amazing recipe and instructions. Since I’ve been cooking for a while, I usually tend to improvise on existing recipes based on what I have or feel like doing. But I’m not going to re-create Michael’s recipe here, except to say that I added a few things to his spice rub:
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt (I probably could have left this out)
I don’t even have a bbq grill. I’ve got a Calphalon Grilling Pan which worked amazingly well on top of my electric burner.
Since I’m more cautious about whether my chicken is cooked properly, I decided against the ‘experienced’ way, and just cut it into, especially since I was planning to cut it up anyway. Michael’s 6 minutes + 10 minutes timing was perfect.
February 22, 2010 at 12:35 PM · Filed under health
I should start off with a caveat – just because a food has health benefits doesn’t mean you can still eat what you like and/or eat that (super)food in copious quantities in order to be healthy. Proper nutrition just doesn’t work that way.
Cinnamon is a recent discovery of mine, and although some of the science isn’t yet conclusive, a sprinkling in your coffee or yogurt doesn’t hurt. So don’t think that means that a Cinnabon is now a health food! By the way, as amazing as it tastes, a full Cinnabon roll is a potentially delicious killer. Good thing they’ve got Minibons now!
Potential health benefits:
Anti-infammatory and anti-clotting properties.
Antifungal and antibacterial properties. Effective in fighting stomach ulcers and yeast infections.
Controlling blood sugar. May help people with diabetes
I should start off with a caveat – just because a food has health benefits doesn’t mean you can still eat what you like and/or eat that (super)food in copious quantities in order to be healthy. Proper nutrition just doesn’t work that way.