How big are your blocks?
January 29, 2006
The ability to be productive is not something that is evenly distributed to each human. Take five random people and give them all the assignment to create a storage shed and a week to work on it. At the end of a week, how much variance would you expect to find? Some individuals wouldn’t have started while others would be completely finished.
There are several reasons for this. If one of your subjects happens to be a carpenter, it makes sense that he would make more headway than the Wal-mart clerk. So skill and past experience definately has an impact. However there is another difference that is even more important that has to do with how different people see a problem and what level they focus.
Dealing with Clutter
January 22, 2006
Everyone seems to have some degree of clutter in their lives. The paperless office is still a dream, so we still have to deal with many pieces of "stuff" all around us. This stuff can be paper, equipment, books, printouts, electronics, or any number of things.
A certian amount of clutter may be productive. Some people just function better when things are in site. However when clutter gets to the point that it slows you down, you need to do something about it. If you find yourself spending time looking for things, that is a good indication that clutter is controlling you.
Here are several tips for reducing clutter in your life:
Failing Quickly
January 17, 2006
Failing can be one of the most productive things you can do. Most people try to avoid failure. I’m not saying that this is bad, but in many cases they are just delaying failure to a later point in time. If something you are doing is going to result in failure you should do your best to make sure it happens sooner rather than later. With few exceptions, failing now is going to be less expensive (in time, money, mental stress) than failing one year from now.
Investing in Education
January 12, 2006
Education is an investment in the future. Just like investments have different rates of returns, studying different things will give you different payback. There are generally two types of education available to people after highschool. A technical education prepares you to do specific tasks. A general education prepares you be able to learn.
Many people don’t understand the difference between these two types of learning. Going to massage school may seem great in the short term. It doesn’t take too long to learn and the pay is significantly better than what you can get from a job right after high-school. However, it doesn’t really prepare you for changing jobs in the future. A liberal arts degree on the other hand, doesn’t usually prepare you to do much of anything in particular, but it prepares you for everything in general. It takes longer and your starting pay may be lower, but your glass ceiling is much higher.
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