Update: Still alive, busy. Plus some Twitter tidbits

Hi everyone. I'm sorry for not posting this last week. Consulting has kept me busier than usual.

For fun, in between work I was able to fit in some Cambridge Science Festival events between appointments. These were inspiring. Microsoft, IBM, Google, MIT - these are good examples of some of the folks I enjoy working with. Smart people doing interesting work in science, academia, and technology.

As a consolation prize for no post, I'll share a few Twitter tidbits.

• How paperless is your office? I'm curious if 80% is possible.
  
• Pressure can be your friend or your enemy. Friend: Parkinson's Law (anti-perfectionism). Enemy: Unnecessary stress.
  
• "There is something fascinating about science. One gets such wholesale returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of fact." -- Mark Twain
  
• The source of all workflow-related stress is fear. That you've forgot something, that you'll look bad, etc. Agree?
  
• Asking the meta-question ("What question should we be asking?") is the sign of an enlightened intellect.
  
• "Education is the transmission of civilization." -- Will Durant
  
• Eric Horvitz at Microsoft is working on Achieve, a project to help reclaim lost time. I'd love to see it! High-Tech Time Management Tools
  
• Before clicking "Send" ask: Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it kind?
  
• What are the time management implications for The Law of Requisite Parsimony? Public Engagement Principles Project - Requisites for dialogue and design
  
• What ebook publishing scheme do you use? lulu.com? e-junkie.com? I have a series of small ones coming out...
  
• "Brain bounce": when something grabs your attention, then RE-grabs it.
  
• If you don't know about this, check it. colorless, odorless, unregulated, deadly: Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division.
  
• Six rules for effective forecasting
  
  
  
  • Rule 1: Define a "cone of uncertainty"
    
  • Rule 2: Look for the "S" curve
    
  • Rule 3: Embrace the things that don't fit
    
  • Rule 4: Hold strong opinions weakly
    
  • Rule 5: Look back twice as far as you look forward
    
  • Rule 6: Know when not to make a forecast
    
  
  
• The vacation test: 1) Are you processing inboxes? 2) Is your calendar empty? Is that all?
  

Comments

[Greenman]

>How paperless is your office? I'm curious if 80% is possible.

As of 1/1/09 (and after two months of mini-experiments) I'm scanning every piece of paper that moves through my inboxes. But I'm also saving and filing most of it. This past week, being able to retrieve a crucial piece of paper (from four years ago!) saved my ass from a major waste of time and money. But my desktops are all about 95% clear of paper, a big change from how I lived my entire life until discovering GTD two years ago, and I won't go back again. I've found that handwriting task lists on paper is extremely helpful and provides clarity that performing the same act digitally doesn't achieve. Digital work just isn't visceral, and sometimes the visceral experience of work is essential. Are you thinking that "paperless" is a virtue? Which problems does it solve, and which does it create?

>The source of all workflow-related stress is fear. That you've forgot something, that you'll look bad, etc. Agree?

Absolutely true. I'd go further: the source of all anxiety is fear. (Thanks for encouraging me to indulge my penchant for broad generalizations!) I tend to use the word "anxiety" more than the word "fear" in my thinking about various problems -- for example, I think anxiety is at the heart of procrastination, and getting at the sources of anxiety is the key to overcoming procrastination -- but fear is at the core of much of what ails us.

>"Education is the transmission of civilization." -- Will Durant

In our post-modernist world, I think the words "education" and "civilization" must be placed in quotes -- in this statement, and probably everywhere. And, post-Guantanimo, I'm not sure "civilization" can even be used in anything but an ironic way anymore. It's always been a word too-freighted with moral judgment anyway.

>What are the time management implications for The Law of Requisite Parsimony?

I see your Law of Requisite Parsimony and raise you one Paradox of Choice (Schwartz, 2004).

>Before clicking "Send" ask: Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it kind?

Thanks for this. Decency and thoughtfullness permeate your blog and your correspondence.

[matthewcornell]

> Decency and thoughtfullness permeate your blog and your correspondence.

A big thanks, Greenman.