Heh

Quote of the Week: On Multitasking

Merlin Mann — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 08:33:05 -0400

My quote of the week comes from a comment by Eideteker in this Metafilter thread on multitasking:

Multitasking is the art of distracting yourself from two things you’d rather not be doing by doing them simultaneously.

And, for what it’s worth, here’s what I had to say about the myth of multitasking a few years back:

”Quote of the Week: On Multitasking” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on August 22, 2008. Except as noted, it's ©2008 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

Apple's iPhone Battery Advice

Merlin Mann — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:32:55 -0400

Apple - Batteries - iPhone

Apple has 11 tips for increasing battery life on your iPhone.

Turn off 3G

Minimize use of location services

Fetch new data less frequently

Turn off push mail

Auto-check fewer email accounts

Minimize use of third-party applications

Turn off Wi-Fi

Turn off Bluetooth

Use Airplane Mode in low- or no-coverage areas

Adjust brightness

Turn off EQ

In a nutshell? Use it as an iPod. But not too often.

NB: there’s appears to still be an instance of “Push” in there. Was the decision to pull that term just for the non-email stuff?

”Apple's iPhone Battery Advice” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on July 23, 2008. Except as noted, it's ©2008 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

The original 43 folders.

norbauer — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 03:52:19 -0400

I was recently skimming through my beloved old 1934 edition of Progressive Indexing and Filing, which I inherited at a young age from my grandmother—probably my first piece of productivity porn (the book, not my grandmother.) On page 85, I stumbled across a delightful little gem. Apparently, not only did the David not invent the tickler file (news to me), but it’s been around since at least 1934.

The tickler file has been central to the GTD workflow since David Allen’s first book was published, and I’ve used one (admittedly on and off, and with varying levels of success) for the last four years. The name of this venerable blog itself is an allusion to the 43 folders that comprise the tickler file (12 months + 31 days).

Here are a couple of tidbits from text:

As matters are continually coming up which require action on a certain future date, a follow-up system is necessary in any well-organized office. […] The card tickler consists of a set of month guides and a set of 1-31 day guides placed in a card tray and provides a brief reminder of any matter which is to come up at some future time. It is not necessarily confined entirely to the matter in the file, since it may refer to a telephone call or some appointment.

For a good bid of historical life-hackery, check out this classic tome. If Amazon is sold out, you can also give Abebooks a try.

”The original 43 folders.” was written by Ryan Norbauer for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on October 26, 2007. Except as noted, it's ©2008 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

Clever "Real Life Quicksilver" video

Merlin Mann — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 21:27:36 -0400

Very fun video by Matt McInerney — what it would be like if Quicksilver came to life outside your Mac. I sure like it better than living in a YouTube thread.

Quicksilver in Real Life from Matt McInerney on Vimeo.

[via: tumbl.us]

”Clever "Real Life Quicksilver" video” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on September 23, 2007. Except as noted, it's ©2008 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

If life were like YouTube

Merlin Mann — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 19:00:33 -0400

Ok, it’s Friday, and the team and me are pooped from several weeks of site-making. No profound tips today. I’ll just leave you to your weekend with a wonderfully timely video.

I’ll confess that the escalating assiness of internet comments was a huge factor in deciding to move to a membership-based site (yeah, I know it’s no panacea, but it sure doesn’t hurt). Said assiness is illustrated beautifully in this video, portraying a world where life is like a YouTube comment thread. Awesome (if very NSFW). Have a great weekend. Pwnd!

”If life were like YouTube” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on September 21, 2007. Except as noted, it's ©2008 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

Fan-made GTD schwag

Merlin Mann — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 09:11:00 -0400

Etsy :: show me your action list and i will show you my inbox

Awesome.

[via: Kelly Sue]

”Fan-made GTD schwag” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on August 04, 2007. Except as noted, it's ©2008 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

Net Net: Drill down with 'Corporate Ipsum' widget

Merlin Mann — Wed, 09 May 2007 14:28:30 -0400

Corporate Ipsum - Dashboard - Developer

As we all learned from Equus, we don’t get to choose the things in life that fascinate and repel us, and, in retrospect, if I could have chosen to avoid the avalanche of empty businessspeak I’ve been exposed to over the past dozen or so years, I certainly would have. Alas, I could not. And, so here I am, alternately repulsed and amused by the twisted patois of nonsense that passes for communication in offices and boardrooms today.

If you share this sad affliction, you may enjoy the pleasures afforded by the Corporate Ipsum Dashboard widget, cleverly (and pointlessly) designed to generate paragraphs and paragraphs of empty insight for your next pitch, presentation, or VC meeting.

In one instance, this paradigm-shifting functionality was a solution-provider for the following bit of kimono-opening stone soup:

Synergistically engage cross-media human capital for out-of-the-box convergence. Objectively generate fully tested meta-services via market-driven sources. Interactively underwhelm long-term high-impact convergence rather than future-proof convergence.

At the end of the day: awesome. Sand Hill Road, here I come!

Many thanks to jwines’ bookmarks on del.icio.us

”Net Net: Drill down with 'Corporate Ipsum' widget” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on May 09, 2007. Except as noted, it's ©2008 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

“I answer an e-mail once every 6.66 minutes”

Merlin Mann — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 13:51:55 -0500

Where Work Is a Religion, Work Burnout Is Its Crisis of Faith — New York Magazine

This enjoyable article on burnout includes a bit that I love (and sympathize with):

Woo hoo. Re: An appendix to the principles of Jewish Buddhism. Saying hi. Re: Hey pal. Burnout. WHEN are we eating? Open Enrollment Info. Quick q. Arrrrrrrrrrgh.

You are looking at nine e-mail subject lines I received in a one-hour period last week. It was then that I realized I answer an e-mail once every 6.66 minutes. The very thought of committing this fact to paper has kept me crippled for several seconds. It doesn’t seem like the sort of thing my boss should know.

One has to wonder whether the developments of a high-speed world haven’t made burnout worse. First, the obvious: With the advent of e-mail, cell phones, laptops, BlackBerrys (or “CrackBerrys”—the argot here seems extremely apt), and other bits of high-speed doodadry, it has become virtually impossible, in senses both literal and metaphorical, to unplug from our jobs. As Schaufeli, the Dutch researcher, notes, one of the strongest predictors of burnout isn’t just work overload but “work-home interference”—a sociologist’s way of saying we’re receiving phone calls from Tokyo during dinner and replying to clients on our BlackBerrys while making our children brush their teeth.

I suspect that children will eventually support some kind of thin-client email-to-affection gateway. From an evolutionary standpoint, it may be the only solution that scales.

”“I answer an e-mail once every 6.66 minutes”” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on January 16, 2007. Except as noted, it's ©2008 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

Macworld Drinking Game 2007

Merlin Mann — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 06:20:35 -0500

MWSF Drinking Game 2007
Originally uploaded by World Leader Pretend1.

We’ll all be so drunk by 11am tomorrow.

[via Digg]

”Macworld Drinking Game 2007” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on January 08, 2007. Except as noted, it's ©2008 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

Life hacky door mat

Merlin Mann — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 05:36:21 -0400

I always miss the 3rd
Originally uploaded by cherrycan.

[ via: mathowie ]

”Life hacky door mat” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on October 26, 2006. Except as noted, it's ©2008 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"