Genuine Curiosity

Author Dwayne Melancon is always on the lookout for new things to learn. An ecclectic collection of postings on personal productivity, travel, good books, gadgets, leadership & management, and many other things.

 

Funny how time flies...

A friend of mine pointed out a very cool Firefox add-in called MeeTimer that I really think is a good idea. If you've ever spent waaay too much time on YouTube after someone sent you a link to a video, you should check this out. Same goes for getting sucked into web "research" that causes hours to go by without you noticing.

What's MeeTime do? Well, I think they describe it pretty well on their site:

"MeeTimer has a simple role: it records where you spend your time online. It does it in a rather useful way, by allowing you to group websites into activities (e.g. Facebook = procrastination; Gmail = communication) so you can make sense of where your time is going. Finally, it accumulates time spent on a site over the course of a day, so when you think "just another 2 mins won't hurt" you realise that actually, yes, it will ;)"

Meetimer provides some easy-to-understand reporting to make it easy to tell what's sucking your time online, and they provide some good tips for reducing procrastination online.

And, if reporting isn't enough for you, you can configure MeeTimer to popup a warning dialog when you spend too much time on a particular site.

Like most Firefox add-ins it's free, though the author does accept donations if you find that this tool is useful (and you probably will). If you're a Firefox user and want to reduce the time you waste online, install MeeTimer right now.

Read More

Manage your energy - not your time

Am I getting a cosmic nudge? I am in the midst of reading a great book called "Finding Your Focus Zone" which is about managing your energy levels to achieve maximum productivity. I'll probably review it here at some point, as I really like it.

Then yesterday on the plane, I was reading my latest issue of the Harvard Business Review, and there is an article called, "Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time," which has a different take on a similar concept. Both are well written, well researched, and seem to have some tips I can really use to maintain my energy levels, focus, and productivity at work. They also both deal with ways to combat procrastination.

The HBR article is available right now as free content (you will be asked to "Agree" to their terms and conditions but you don't have to pay), so there is no reason for you to procrastinate - click on over and read it.

You can also see how doomed you are with the HBR's online questionnaire, "Are You Headed for an Energy Crisis?"

These resources provide some good information and advice for even the most productive among us. Enjoy!

Read More

Back in the box

Last night, I had a discussion about time boxing with my wife, who's trying to keep all of her volunteer activities from consuming too much time. It's easy to perpetually do "just one more thing" and spend way more time than you intended on an activity, and I thought she could use time boxing to help her contain her time investment.

I pointed her at Dave Cheong's article on the subject, but she was looking for something shorter and more prescriptive so I thought I'd take a stab at a "Cliff's notes" overview of the basics of time boxing.

What is time boxing?

At its simplest, time boxing is the technique of declaring a finite time period to work on a task or project, then getting as much focused work done toward the task or project during that finite period of time. In essence, "I'm going to do as much work as I can on project x during the next 30 minutes," then stopping work when that 30 minutes is up.

Essentially, time boxing is about "I'll work until the appointed time is up," and not "I'll work til I get this done."

Why time boxing?

Time boxing creates artificial "sprints" of focus and intensity, and helps limit the amount of time you spend on any single activity. It can help with any activity - the ones you love (to keep you from going overboard), as well as the ones you dread (to help you see the light at the end of the tunnel).

How do you time box?

  1. Start with your goals and big projects
  2. Create a list of sub-goals or sub projects
  3. Identify "next actions" you need or want to complete
  4. Pick out a significant next action
    Note: I find it helpful to start with a critical path item (a "constraint") or an item I would rather avoid.
  5. Estimate and schedule an appropriate block of time that you will block out everything and do nothing but work on that task or segment of the project. (make a note of your estimate and progress you expect to make - you'll need it in step 8).
  6. When that block of time comes, set a timer and work diligently on that task for the entire block of time - don't dawdle and don't stop until a) the time is up, or b) the task is complete.
  7. When the time is up, record your progress and make a note of what's left to do.
  8. Compare what you got done to what you expected to get done - how well did you estimate?

That's it in a nutshell. By doing this, you'll be amazed at how much you can get done through these "sprints" of focus. And the lightweight analysis (steps 5 and 8) will help you get better at estimating over time.

Does time boxing work for you? Any tips to share? I'd love to hear them.

Related items

Read More

Personal quarterly objectives

Many of us work in places that use quarterly objectives (aka MBO's, or Management By Objectives). These are typically a list of 3-5 "targets" to be achieved within a given quarter. They are a great tool for guiding focus and prioritization, and provide a means to review how well you did at the end of the quarter.

Why not move to an MBO-like model for your personal development? It's easy - at the beginning of a quarter, get into the habit of stepping back and contemplating what you want to get done during the next quarter.

Here are some tips and tricks to increase the effectiveness of this approach:

  1. Keep the list short - 3 to 5 objectives are about right.
  2. Write down your personal MBO's using the "SMART" formula:
    • Specific - make sure you are very clear and explicit about what you want to achieve (practice your outcome-centric visualization.
    • Measurable - make sure there is a way (preferrably objective, and not subjective) to measure your progress and success.
    • Achievable - Are the objectives ones that you can actually attain?
    • Realistic - Dreaming is great, but do you have the ability and resources to succeed?
    • Time-bound -have you set a target date by when you will achieve the outcome?
  3. Review your objectives regularly (some people like to hang the list near their desk. I've also heard of people who keep a copy of their list on the mirror in their bathroom so they see it every morning when they get ready.
  4. At the end of the quarter, review and rate your outcomes. Also reflect on what you've learned along the way.

I'd love to hear whether you've every utilized a similar approach, and would like to hear any additional ideas you have to share.

Read More

NextAction! for Blackberry - a fresh look

I have been spending time with version 2 of S4BB's NextAction! product, which is a Blackberry add-on designed to help manage your projects and next actions on your Blackberry - and is specifically intended for use with the Getting Things Done methodology. This product has been around for a while, but I felt version 1 was clunky with limited functionality, and significant usability challenges. In contrast, the new version 2 is a huge improvement, and I am now comfortable recommending it here.

NextAction! is add-on software designed specifically for Blackberry handhelds, and it adds a new dimension to your Blackberry task management. It syncs seamlessly with the tasks on your desktop, works with Windows, Mac, and Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES), and supports desktop apps like Microsoft Outlook, Lotus Notes, Act!, Novell Groupwise, iCal, Entourage, etc.

Better tasks for Blackberry

Why do you need a better way to manage tasks on Blackberry? The Blackberry's built-in task application is woefully inadequate. It does a poor job with categories, has a cumbersome interface, and offers very little in the way of filtering.

NextAction provides a clean way of viewing and organizing your tasks by Context (category) and Project (Contexts are automatically synched with the Categories you create on your desktop, while Projects need to be created within NextAction!). You can change your view with one click by selecting a new Context (see the view at right).

You can also create new next actions from within the NextAction! application, and mark existing tasks as complete. Furthermore, you hide completed tasks in your view so they get out of your sight when you're done with them.

You can try it risk free with the free trial version of NextAction! -- if you're a Blackberry user, and a GTD follower, I recommend giving it a spin to see if it will work for you.

Pros:

  • NextAction! isell-suited for use with GTD
  • NextAction is much better than the Blackberry's native Task application
  • Excellent support for Contexts / Categories
  • Coexists peacefully with built-in Blackberry applications
  • Excellent integration with Desktop applications and BES
  • Nice keyboard shortcuts to make managing next actions easier
  • Available in English, German, and Chinese language versions
  • Supports latest Blackberry models (Blackberry Pearl, 8800, Curve, etc.)
  • Nice, long, free trial so you can check it out before you buy

Cons:

  • Pricey - $40-$50 depending on where you purchase it (upgrades from v1 are $20)
  • Limited sorting capability - can't sort by due date or priority
  • Only supports Blackberry devices

Related items

Read More