I had a pretty surreal conversation when I walked out of the building last night, post-work.
A couple of co-workers and I were just bs-ing, and both of them asked me why I was still here. After the requisite pretending-I-don't-know-what-you're-talking-about-I'm-walking-to-the-parking-garage-aren't-I?, I didn't really have a good answer. It's not like this is the most mentally challenging job I've had, but I think there's a deeper problem.
I think deep-down, I have no way to recognize that I'm actually good at what I do when I don't get to see it from the outside. In the old days, pre-economic crisis, getting to a conference and talking to people would help provide context. But not having that outside peer review of what we're doing (and how I'm doing) makes it difficult to know how well what I can do will translate to the outside world.
More to ponder
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
The strange case of the to-do list
I'm a somewhat organized person. As I'm a mobile worker, I have time every morning after I've run the cable lock and power brick for my laptop into the wall to update my to-do list.
I tried a Franklin Covey organizer, but what I've found is a standard wire bound notebook plus a modified Covey scheme for tracking items is just as useful and 2/3s as bulky.
Here's how my system works:
1) ALWAYS update this list in the morning. It's the very first thing I do when I am waiting for my laptop to boot: update the list. It mentally refreshes me as to what I have outstanding to do, and frequently generates some additional things that I want to get done today.
Why does this work for me? I, through long experience and trial and error, have come to realize that I have a working set of tasks that I keep in the forefront of my mind that are things that I need to do or have associated some higher value to. By refreshing that mental list with the previous list of things, I can prioritize and de-prioritize activities, and most important, have a traceable line back to when something became a to-do. It's sometimes as important to know when something went on the list as it is what is on the list.
The other rule 1): Only I can add things to this to-do list. Notwithstanding the occasional funny addition from co-workers, this is a rule I've held from when I first became a sysadmin and had my to-do list on the whiteboard in my office. Controlling the work via the to-do list is vital to making sure that you're keeping in sync with the list and also keeping most of your sanity. It's one thing to be asked to do something, it's something completely different to allow others to task you with something. For me, the mental gate of committing to doing something is when it makes it onto my to-do list.
2) Each left hand page is the to-do list. Starts with the date on top. I move forward all open Action Items from the previous to-do list, and once they're moved forward, drive a line under the number. Anything that gets added below that line is New Work. That way, I can see immediately what I've been carrying and what I've been adding.
3) Items are marked as follows:
a) Not started/new, there is nothing to the left of the number.
b) When an item is complete, it is marked with an X to the left of the number.
c) When an item is waiting on someone else, an arrow pointing to the left of the page is marked.
d) When an item is deleted, the number is crossed out.
4) The facing page (and subsequent pages as necessary) are work pages. I jot notes, doodle, and generally work on the other pages. I used to start the to-do list on the right hand page, but I found myself flipping back and forth to the to-do list, so a simple change to start the list on the left page and work on the right made it so simple and easy to get a look at my day.
5) Calendar is not something I want to keep on paper. My calendar changes too much that a printout is useless. Meetings appear or disappear, are updated, have information in them updated or something else happens that I can't possibly keep up. That's what my phone is for.
Sound a little OCD? It probably is. But in the end, trying to work inside someone else's mental layout is always going to cause friction, so I modified it to work for me.
I tried a Franklin Covey organizer, but what I've found is a standard wire bound notebook plus a modified Covey scheme for tracking items is just as useful and 2/3s as bulky.
Here's how my system works:
1) ALWAYS update this list in the morning. It's the very first thing I do when I am waiting for my laptop to boot: update the list. It mentally refreshes me as to what I have outstanding to do, and frequently generates some additional things that I want to get done today.
Why does this work for me? I, through long experience and trial and error, have come to realize that I have a working set of tasks that I keep in the forefront of my mind that are things that I need to do or have associated some higher value to. By refreshing that mental list with the previous list of things, I can prioritize and de-prioritize activities, and most important, have a traceable line back to when something became a to-do. It's sometimes as important to know when something went on the list as it is what is on the list.
The other rule 1): Only I can add things to this to-do list. Notwithstanding the occasional funny addition from co-workers, this is a rule I've held from when I first became a sysadmin and had my to-do list on the whiteboard in my office. Controlling the work via the to-do list is vital to making sure that you're keeping in sync with the list and also keeping most of your sanity. It's one thing to be asked to do something, it's something completely different to allow others to task you with something. For me, the mental gate of committing to doing something is when it makes it onto my to-do list.
2) Each left hand page is the to-do list. Starts with the date on top. I move forward all open Action Items from the previous to-do list, and once they're moved forward, drive a line under the number. Anything that gets added below that line is New Work. That way, I can see immediately what I've been carrying and what I've been adding.
3) Items are marked as follows:
a) Not started/new, there is nothing to the left of the number.
b) When an item is complete, it is marked with an X to the left of the number.
c) When an item is waiting on someone else, an arrow pointing to the left of the page is marked.
d) When an item is deleted, the number is crossed out.
4) The facing page (and subsequent pages as necessary) are work pages. I jot notes, doodle, and generally work on the other pages. I used to start the to-do list on the right hand page, but I found myself flipping back and forth to the to-do list, so a simple change to start the list on the left page and work on the right made it so simple and easy to get a look at my day.
5) Calendar is not something I want to keep on paper. My calendar changes too much that a printout is useless. Meetings appear or disappear, are updated, have information in them updated or something else happens that I can't possibly keep up. That's what my phone is for.
Sound a little OCD? It probably is. But in the end, trying to work inside someone else's mental layout is always going to cause friction, so I modified it to work for me.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
It finally gelled in my head
Arizona just passed a bill into law requiring that Presidential candidates present their birth certificates when running for office. This, in and of itself, is a little odd. The Federal Election Commission regulates such matters, so I'm not quite sure how a state law interacts with that, but that's not what I'm concerned about.
Clearly, the Arizona Legislature is full of conspiracy theorists.
Let's run the scenario that President Obama presents his birth certificate to anyone who wants to inspect it. What then? What standard of proof would those people who question his citizenship apply that is greater than that of the FEC?
The answer is: they wouldn't accept it. Ok, so we go to the next step: the President presents his birth certificate that is then authenticated by the Registrar of Births in Hawai'i. Is that enough proof? The answer will be: no. See the sentence about conspiracy theorists.
That's what makes the birther movement so... strange. Here you have a President, duly elected by the populace in accordance with the laws concerning elections, with a birth certificate authenticated by the appropriate State authority, and it's STILL NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
At which point does the demand for authenticity cross over into conspiracy? If you reason this it out, this means that at some point since 1961, President Obama hatched a plot to be illegally elected as President of the United States by defrauding the FEC, and conspired with every official in the Great State of Hawai'i that is involved with births to continue the charade that he was actually born in Honolulu Hawai'i. Further than that, the DNC conspired to keep this deception quiet, and the FEC itself was complicit in the coverup.
I have to admit, it sounds pretty far-fetched even for my deranged mind. Arizona: you need to take a leaf out of New Mexico's book and locate Area 52 in the borders of your state. That way we can get back to the tried and true conspiracy that the Government is covering up UFOs.
Clearly, the Arizona Legislature is full of conspiracy theorists.
Let's run the scenario that President Obama presents his birth certificate to anyone who wants to inspect it. What then? What standard of proof would those people who question his citizenship apply that is greater than that of the FEC?
The answer is: they wouldn't accept it. Ok, so we go to the next step: the President presents his birth certificate that is then authenticated by the Registrar of Births in Hawai'i. Is that enough proof? The answer will be: no. See the sentence about conspiracy theorists.
That's what makes the birther movement so... strange. Here you have a President, duly elected by the populace in accordance with the laws concerning elections, with a birth certificate authenticated by the appropriate State authority, and it's STILL NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
At which point does the demand for authenticity cross over into conspiracy? If you reason this it out, this means that at some point since 1961, President Obama hatched a plot to be illegally elected as President of the United States by defrauding the FEC, and conspired with every official in the Great State of Hawai'i that is involved with births to continue the charade that he was actually born in Honolulu Hawai'i. Further than that, the DNC conspired to keep this deception quiet, and the FEC itself was complicit in the coverup.
I have to admit, it sounds pretty far-fetched even for my deranged mind. Arizona: you need to take a leaf out of New Mexico's book and locate Area 52 in the borders of your state. That way we can get back to the tried and true conspiracy that the Government is covering up UFOs.
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
There's just something about thunderstorms
So today was one of those days in the Midwest where the thunderstorms were rolling in. I was late out of the office and should have been home earlier, but I was driving north admiring the line of thunderstorms in front of me. It brought back such an awesome memory.
We were living in our old house, and I was headed home northbound on I-435 and there's a thunderstorm rolling from the east, and I have the windows rolled down on the Focus and "Back in Black" is cranked on the radio and I can see the lightning strike hit the transformer and the line of them go up as Brian Johnson hits the right note.
I love thunderstorms.
We were living in our old house, and I was headed home northbound on I-435 and there's a thunderstorm rolling from the east, and I have the windows rolled down on the Focus and "Back in Black" is cranked on the radio and I can see the lightning strike hit the transformer and the line of them go up as Brian Johnson hits the right note.
I love thunderstorms.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)