Bloke redux, the 15 minute emergency office, and a short automation experiment

Goodness, Matt! I had no idea...must have missed this post. Ouch! To add to commiseration I too went down on icy stairs about the same time and I hit the ribs, scared the hell out of myself, and couldn't roll over without a big ouch for weeks ; its taken until just this week to get some normalcy! Hope you are mending fast!

Great post, Matt. For your text experiment, you might look at Direct Access. I reviewed it a while back. I've since gone back to AutoHotkey, but that's mostly because I need a solution for work and home, and I didn't have two Direct Access licenses.

I'm sorry to hear about the leg! We had lots of snow and ice here too.

I've been disappointed with the text entry products of all kinds - my typing speed is such that the computer may not keep up. Even if it does, it slows me down to have to go back and correct it.

Most of these products don't seem to take into account those of us who can type well. Oh, well.

About Macs: I've always been a fan of Macs and of UNIX - so when they came together - it was love at first sight :-)

I might add it was the ever irreverent Jef Raskin who pushed mightily for the one-button mouse. For geeks with some history behind them, the Canon Cat was almost entirely Jef Raskin's baby.

David
Administratosphere

Matt - sorry about your leg!!

A few quick thoughts:

* I don't do any automation at the moment, but I used to use Macro Express, and I recall that I liked it (although the UI was a little sluggish; a Java or .NET thing I think, and may not be true on today's PCs.) Also, QuicKeys is the "gold standard" on Mac, and I think they have a Windows version. I have AHK but never liked the interface.

* Programmer's Notebook: I've often thought of putting everything in a wiki, and looks like at least one other person has suggested that.

* Yes, in a sense, virtualizing on Mac "misses the point". But in another sense, NOT doing it misses the point! When you first started running modern Windows, did you abandon all your DOS apps? No, you ran them inside a DOS box, even though you usually couldn't use the mouse at first, and they didn't share the clipboard, etc. Over time, even as integration got better, you (mostly) abandoned them for newer, shinier products. I'll bet once in a while you still discover you've somehow launched WOW.EXE, right? And if you ever run Java apps, they're running on a virtual machine too.. it's just a much simpler one.

I'm planning on that with the Mac. Most programs I use are cross-platform, and for the few key ones that aren't, what do I care if, under the surface, they're running Windows? So they'll have a blue title bar instead of a grey one. But Parallels's "Coherence" feature is amazing; clipboard, mouse, windows, drives, printers, Expose', everything is just seamless.

* It's true that Mac laptops only have a single visible button, but all modern ones have a two-finger right-click (and two-finger scroll) ability that's so incredibly natural, I find myself wishing my PC mouse had it.

* What are the odds I'd talk you into changing your template to show the *dates* of comments instead of/in addition to the time? Because that's a lot more interesting.

Matt: I'm sad to read of your near frictionless fibular fracture - I certainly don't miss the ice storms in Western Mass (although I do miss other aspects of life there).

I recently saw Buzz Bruggeman demonstrate ActiveWords, and was impressed in both positive and negative ways. Given earlier exchanges (I have the feeling I resemble a remark in one of your previous comments), I thought you might appreciate my feelings on the productivity gains (and potential losses in other dimensions). At the risk of being shamelessly self-referential, here's an excerpt from my blog post on ActiveWords:

"Buzz Bruggeman and Robert Scoble visited NRC Palo Alto yesterday and presented at our Thursday Lunch Forum. Buzz demonstrated ActiveWords, a Windows utility for customizable keyboard macros that can launch applications and/or insert text in an application. One of his examples was using a few keystrokes to launch Outlook and create an entire email message ... that looked exactly like the one he'd sent me when he proposed some things that he and Robert might talk about. On the one hand, I was very impressed with the potential productivity / efficiency gains offered by this tool ... on the other hand, I have to admit somehow feeling a little less "special" having been on the receiving end of such an easily constructed email."

I hope your leg mends well (and soon). I'm glad that you have turned this experience into such a powerful learning experience (for you and you readers)!

Okay Okay, I finally figured out what I am referring to.

WHen I tried to figure out the action system I came across your blog post of 6/1/06; this had to do with with "work flow stage" another post called "Transitions: the secret ingredient..." and "work transitions." Also refernce to Batchelder's business card cube.

As an aside: I got real confused about the business card cube; not sure if it was meant to be a serious way of GTD or a way to fold paper. COnfused more when Matt put his work transitions ONTO the cube which totally confused me...

Anyhow: I came across your paradigm on work transitions and work flow stages. This is similar to what I had been thinking about:

HOW MANY MODES OF THINKING DO OUR MINDS GO THROUGH??

This is very useful as a concept because it helps me to figure out where I am, what am I supposed to be doing and why am I so distracted? etc.

I came up with at least Four Modes of Thinking and I was thinking of sticking them onto my Batchelder cube....

1) alpha brain. This is like when you are doing grunt work. Typing, making the page numbers in the table of contents; etc. The thing about alpha work is often creative ideas pop into your head and you must capture them immediately. Understanding the relationship of alpha to beta helps me...example:

The best capture tool: Post it pad. The smaller the better. Large post it pads lead to more elaboration on the idea. Using a steno size pad only leads to outlining the original idea and more explanation. Using a legal size pad for this task is the worst as that only leads to a 10 page dissertation on the New Idea and you've lost 30 min. of typing time. Not to mention: 10 p. dissertation missed the mark completely although initial idea remains viable.

Alpha takes its name from Beta brain wave activity as grunt work is the opposite of beta thinking. Not sure if alpha waves is correct scientific def'n of that though.

2) Beta Thinking. Totally stream of conscious of new ideas. Takes its name from beta waves that form your head as I understand this science. One must capture beta thoughts rapidly as they will disappear. Spending time on beta will mess up alpha though.

3) FOcused activity. This not as free form as beta and it is not as mindless as alpha. Example: Planning my day; you dont create so much as you manipulate existing things to do; compare them to one another etc. Organizing stuff. You have to call on different brain abilities, perhaps recall, perhaps analysis. etc.

4) At play. This can be simply enjoying a shower, or a hot dog or deep REM sleep. The mind needs these things I guess so I list it here.

That's a start. I was thinking of putting each of these on my Batchelder cube, but then I came up with a better system for the six faces of my cube;

1) my Calender; next 3 weeks

2) Things to do: next couple of days or maybe just today.

3) Beta thinking; anything that I capture on a post it note is stuck here rather than have to file it.

4) Recent reference. This is like a way to temporarily put stuff that might be tossed or might be a reference material someday. Like I go to the store to buy tulips. I talk to the guy I take notes. I get this thing done, now I cross off my things to do list and I tend to toss out everythign associated w/ tulips as its done. SUre enuf, 3 days later someone asks me about tulips and I dont have my notes caused I tossed them. So I can park stuff in this sleeve or envelope for a few days.

5) the operational orders/working plan.


Okay that's what I was thinking but I still have that six side of the cube with nothing to put on it. What do you think?

Okay in response to matt:

Q: Does focusing on the current project (which sounds like Mark Forster's current initiative) cause trouble because other work isn't happening?

Not really because the Operating Orders or the Working plan is really only used when Im on a deadline and it is specific to that project. So it sort of ensures that I will keep that project on the expected trajectory.

Usually this is something that is due in 24 or maybe 2 or 4 or 6 hours. And I'm counting it down. I know just about how much time certain tasks will take e.g. footnotes, give about an hour of grunt work to them and I know they'll be ready.

Other, usually creative, tasks the time is not so easy to estimate. Other tasks cannot be done until other tasts are finished. E.g the table of contents CANNOT be drafted until the outline is made. The Outline of the argument must come from first. But the page numbers in the Table of contents, well they have to wait; in fact they may come in at the last minutes as the text is changing continuouslu. And the page numbering in the ToC maybe jettisoned at the last minute, I mean if its off by a page or two well it's not make or break.

It is useful because it relates to the idea of the ubiquitous idea catcher or whatever you call it. Let's say there are different modes my brain is in w/ 6 hours left on the project. One type is grunt work like typing or footnoes, and there is another like totally stream of conscious like creating new argumetns and there is other type of thinking which focuses on stuff and has to think about it, e.g. an outline....

Example. My brief is due in 6 hours, My working plan says I need to really get section B typed there is nothing there. Okay so while I am typing that a new argument hits me...so I have to put it on a post it and slap on the easel I cannot look up from this typing task...then as I type I notice the Table of Contents in sec. B is totally messed up; let's re-do that now while I am here (better use of time) no sense coming having to come back to this....okay now back to typing and finish that.

Now: I look at the Operating Orders I was just operatign under: Says "1) Type sec. B; 2) read opposing argument finish by 5 PM; 3) Cases on Golden Retrievers (by 6 PM). 4) Page numbers for Table of Contents (6:30) . 5) cover letter..

Okay sec. B is typed. But that idea I just wrote down. That is now the key argument, forget reading the other brief i dont care what they said, this is where it's at. And Golden retrievers? I dont need that with the new argument And page numbering...? I've just got done most of the page numbering when I went back to B. so hell dont even worry about that it's mostly done.

And as Im sitting here I see the opponent's address, so let's make the cover letter now so it'll be ready when I fly out the door.

So new operatign order:

1) Re draft new argument by 6 PM; 2) tie in to section A. 3) RE do outline/table of contents to reflect that (by 7 PM).

So the plan change rapidly to adust to new conditions. Some stuff may come off the order w/o even getting done, other stuff was saved for later has now moved up in que.

Mostly it has to do with queing up these projects, as for many of the tasks you can assign a time frame, so they are placed w/ that in mind.

And as I am typing more ideas will come to my head; and other stuff will take care of itself w/o actually planning on it...

Hey I had another question you mentioned in connection with the Business Card cube or something. You mentioned that our brain operates in different modes...

How many types of modes are there and can you define? I'd be interestd.

Oh Matt! Hope the break mends fast! On the mac thing: Get a MacBook Pro - it is intel based, and using parallels, it runs Windows natively, so you get the best of both worlds. All the productivity, and the ability to go back to Windows for PowerPoint, Word etc...

Okay Matt: That was a great explanation; that makes a whole lot of sense. I've got something similar with one elaboration: I call "The working plan.."

[I hope I dont digress this thread too much. I'm not sure if you look at Comments as article specific of a sort of free flowing discussion.]

Anyhow: The working plan is a sort of things to do list but it is based on a current project I am working on right now AND it can change at a moment's notice. Unlike a Things to Do list where you basically can only cross them off, you cant re structure a Things to Do.

Example; I go to the library to do legal research. The plan was: a) get stuff on dog bites postman, b) locate address of witness; c) make copies of evidence.

I go to the library I find a bunch of cases on dog bites postman. Call from my mentor/boss: "Did you find anything?" "Yeah a whole bunch of cases, in fact you know that law of canines? There is a whole line of cases that has to do with golden retrievers that..."

Me; "Should I go back now and get that witness?" Mentor: "No we can have someone else do that. IF YOU'RE MAKING GOOD PROGRESS ON AN ISSUE NOW, DONT JUMP OFF IT."

Principle: What's the best use of my time RIGHT NOW?

That principle has been mentioned many times here and in other motivational materials.

So the working plan changes, at the drop of a hat when you make an insight, hit a goldmine of wealth, find a new argument. etc.

It is most useful when under a strict deadline like writing a brief. As you get down to the last day or so, you are so focused on tasks like proper footnoting or making the table of contents, that you can lose sight of the fact that I need to wrap up section C by 7 PM and I need to call that printer by 8 PM.

So that's kinda the idea...

Penny: Thanks for the support. Maybe I should take up knitting - your work looks great.

Ernest: Thanks for your experiences. I appreciate the 15 years of compiled muscle memory - I'm that way with Emacs, and it would be very difficult (and foolish!) to throw that away.

jp: what the hell is an action system? Sorry about that - I'm not being consistent in my terminology. I often call the system I teach an "action management system." This is because everything in your life comes down to whether it needs to acted on or not, what the action is, and how it should get done (and by whom).

To enable making that all happen, you track it using four tools: A Calendar and three lists (Projects, Actions, and Waiting For). I won't go into it here, but briefly:

o The Calendar holds only date-related action, e.g., appointments and reminders. No todos.
o The Actions list holds tasks that can be done in one sitting, e.g., an hour or less.
o The Waiting For list tracks delegated items, including to other people, things you've ordered, refunds, etc.
o The Projects list is a master index of larger tasks that will take more than one action to accomplish. Each project has at least one action on the Actions list.

I think it's very surprising there are only four needed!

That's extremely brief - if it doesn't help, give me a holler.

Matthew wrote:

"Ray: Thanks re: productivity. I think teaching this is a bit like religion: In some ways you're held to a higher standard than others. I'm sure you understand."

Okay, you got a good chuckle out of me on this one. And yes, I do understand. :-)

Get well soon, Matt...

Hey what the hell is an action system? I am not a lifelong reader of the blog but only recently happened upon it. ANyhow I did a site search and only managed pull up a couple of meagre articles.

So are you just referring to the idea of a support file for your calendar/ticker? A system sounds like so much more Can you elaborate on this??

Hey Matt, sorry to hear about your leg!

I slipped once on the soapy surface at a DIY car wash and never went back. I can barely make it down my driveway on a sunny, clear day without tripping over something.

So you won't see me moving to a snowy, icy place any time soon.

Sorry to hear about your leg, Matt. I wish you well with the healing process.

I'm on a Mac, and I'm using Typinator for text expansion; it works well for me. I haven't tried any other tools to do some sort of comparison, though.

I bought it after reading Bit Literacy, which convinced me I needed this type of tool. Typinator was one of the two options author Mark Hurst listed for the Mac.

I use it for pretty basic stuff, like the e-mail replies I send repeatedly in my role as a Freecycle moderator, and my standard craigslist posting. It's much quicker than the cut-and-paste routine I used to follow.

Oh, and I always use an external mouse with my MacBook, so I don't really care about the built-in mouse. My Apple wireless mouse has a right-click option - that I believe was turned off by default, but that was an easy change.

Thanks a bunch, Handy. a "one-button laptop"? It's a pet peeve with me that Macintosh laptops still have a single mouse button. Apparently it's Steve Jobs deal-breaker: one button on all mice. You can buy 3rd part multi-mice buttons, but the built-in laptop one is all that's available.

Why do I care? 1) I'm a power user, and the frickin' right mouse button is awesome. (Actually, you could argue that getting rid if the right button would motivate one to use keystrokes, which are *much* faster...)

2) It bugs my design sense that there actually *is* a right button, but it's hidden - you have to hold the propeller key then click to get it. So Jobs didn't get rid of the right button, he just made it very hard to access...

My 2c of course...

Thanks for reading.

Thanks GTD Wannabe. That's a good image :-)

combination of AHK, SlickRun, and Launchy (plus a small smattering of DOS and Perl scripts) Have you documented this somewhere on your blog? I'm surprised AutoHotKey doesn't supplant the others...

Thanks everyone - much appreciated. Should heal pretty fast (lots of exercise and good diet - payoff!)

Rebecca: Get well soon!

And: I don't judge replies. I got push-back once from someone for a short "that's interesting, good luck" type of reply, and I don't buy it. As the man said, I think that, any lovin's good lovin (my 80s rocker roots coming through ;-)

Ray: Thanks re: productivity. I think teaching this is a bit like religion: In some ways you're held to a higher standard than others. I'm sure you understand.

Michael: Quite right re: self-employment. No sick leave!

Archaeogeek: autocompletion ... programmes you're using ... Open Office: Good question. The advantage of a single program is that a) it spans all programs in the OS, and b) does so uniformly. I still use Firefox's very cool Google search completion, BTW.

Programs I use: Firefox, WebDrive, Emacs, Putty, Open Office writer and spreadsheet, Excel and Word as needed, PowerPoint, and Skype.

(Hey - I could use a tasty beer, but not one quite so aged: Archaeologists revert to type, discover ancient brewery ;-)

Oh no! Matt ... sorry to hear about a broken leg. That's generally unhelpful to the self-employed!

:-(

M

This will be a non substantive reply only to commiserate on the ice issue. We also got the rain disguised as sheets of ice over here in Somerville. I've got a swollen kneecap, a bruise on my hip, and a scratched palm to prove it. No broken bones though---I was lucky. I know several people who didn't fare so well. Heal quickly!