I initially started this blog because of a challenge from my friend Naomi Takeuchi - she decided to start blogging *daily* (and she did, for quite a while).
I knew that I would never be able to do that, so I just posted sporadically. And then 16 months went by, and I hadn't posted.
No good.
So what keeps me from posting? I certainly want to make sure I'm writing something worthwhile, something of value. I know not many care about the minutia of my daily life, as we all have that - and my particular minutia is no more interesting than anyone elses'!
I certainly can truthfully claim that I am busy - but really, who isn't? I love traveling and visiting friends, but weekends where I get stuff done are particularly satisfying. Of course, combining the two is even better!
That said, the real reason is the constant struggle to make posts worthwhile - when really, posts that are "good enough" would yield not only more content, but likely are better than I think they are. This is not applicable only to my highly irregular blog postings - it is applicable to my entire life, it seems!
It is a case of Voltare's adage: Perfect is the enemy of the good (or to paraphrase, Perfect is the enemy of done.) How many projects have I postponed, half-completed, or spent WAY too much time on? Too many to count. I have to stop trying to achieve that 100% perfect, because the 80/20 rule applies: the last 20 percent takes 80 percent of the time!
This is solvable, with deliberate attention to how I work on things - and it does not mean that I will work with no attention to detail. It is a fuzzy balance between detail and speed.
But it is not the only challenge...
Showing posts with label time. Show all posts
Showing posts with label time. Show all posts
12 November 2010
16 September 2007
There *are* some smart people in this world...
We regularly hear about the stupidity that exists all around us. Just turn on the television or radio, watch any moderately successful movie, read any popular fiction, open your local newspaper - you won't have to look far. Between reality TV, talk shows and mind numbing drivel, one might be lead to think there is not much intellect out there. Certainly, much of what is offered to us is not geared to engaging our brains.
Output from the brightest and most ingenious is somewhat harder to find, but they do have outlets as well.... TED.com is one of those outlets.
Instead of spending a few hours watching TV, have a look at the Technology, Entertainment, Design website. Some of the most brilliant minds at work today are invited to speak (often quite articulately) for only 20 minutes on their subject.
Two examples:
Tony Robbins asks why we do what we do.
Aubrey de Grey says we can avoid aging.
Watch with an open mind. Listen to genius speak.
Output from the brightest and most ingenious is somewhat harder to find, but they do have outlets as well.... TED.com is one of those outlets.
Instead of spending a few hours watching TV, have a look at the Technology, Entertainment, Design website. Some of the most brilliant minds at work today are invited to speak (often quite articulately) for only 20 minutes on their subject.
Two examples:
Tony Robbins asks why we do what we do.
Aubrey de Grey says we can avoid aging.
Watch with an open mind. Listen to genius speak.
08 September 2007
What is your time worth?
Sage wisdom came from a business owner for whom I worked a few years ago:
I knew our office made a lot of long-distance calls, and I spent about 15 minutes trying to explain to our office manager some ways the company could probably save some money every month by subscribing to Vonage or another unlimited LD plan. Another engineer joined me, and another 15 minutes passed as we discussed the upsides and downsides.
The CEO came out of his office, and suggested that our time would be better spent finding ways to earn the company $20K than to save $200 - and that in the time we'd spent thinking about the savings (30 minutes * 3 people), we'd expended well more than that $200.
Certainly, from the company perspective, employee time is best spent focusing on that for which you have responsibility - it is why you are employed.
Similar thinking applies to our personal lives - what are you doing with your "free" time? Are you using it to your best advantage? Weekday evenings and weekends are short enough as it is - are you making best use of that time, doing what you need to do, and hopefully, what you would like to do?
For example, would it be worth it to spend $100 every two weeks to get your home cleaned by someone else, and get back the several hours you'd otherwise spend on it?
I commented to a friend of mine a few years ago that I was always amazed at what he would accomplish - teaching himself this skill, completing that project - and I asked him how he found the time to get it all done.
His simple answer: "I stopped watching TV."
What is each of your hours worth?
I knew our office made a lot of long-distance calls, and I spent about 15 minutes trying to explain to our office manager some ways the company could probably save some money every month by subscribing to Vonage or another unlimited LD plan. Another engineer joined me, and another 15 minutes passed as we discussed the upsides and downsides.
The CEO came out of his office, and suggested that our time would be better spent finding ways to earn the company $20K than to save $200 - and that in the time we'd spent thinking about the savings (30 minutes * 3 people), we'd expended well more than that $200.
Certainly, from the company perspective, employee time is best spent focusing on that for which you have responsibility - it is why you are employed.
Similar thinking applies to our personal lives - what are you doing with your "free" time? Are you using it to your best advantage? Weekday evenings and weekends are short enough as it is - are you making best use of that time, doing what you need to do, and hopefully, what you would like to do?
For example, would it be worth it to spend $100 every two weeks to get your home cleaned by someone else, and get back the several hours you'd otherwise spend on it?
I commented to a friend of mine a few years ago that I was always amazed at what he would accomplish - teaching himself this skill, completing that project - and I asked him how he found the time to get it all done.
His simple answer: "I stopped watching TV."
What is each of your hours worth?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
