Cheeni,
> I am looking therefore for a solution that will allow me to keep my
> thoughts together, reducing the time needed to switch tasks while
> retaining maximal task efficiency. It would be ideal if there was also
> a way to get the fun back into the tasks without having to allocate
> time on the calendar to spend with the family. That seems so
> robotronic.
It's also all to easy to assume you'll remember something
later... only then you get interrupted... and later becomes
*much* later... I'm there. :)
My system can be summed up like this:
o Keep notes as you go using your text editor
(vim/emacs). Don't be tempted to make
these notes pretty. These are your raw
chicken scratchings. They're for you.
Be free.
RULES: insert date stamps, and put the most
recent stuff at the top of the file.
My notes log is called "notes.txt"
o Make a daily list of things accomplished
yesterday/today and goals remainder of
day / tomorrow. Keep it really short.
Again, these are notes for you, not
a "report" for someone else.
I keep my work log in a different file called
"work.txt". Initially, entries look like this:
Tue Dec 26 22:05:32 PST 2006
- blah blah blah
- so forth and so on
- yada yada yada
I turn the '-' into a '+' for stuff that's done:
Tue Dec 26 22:05:32 PST 2006
- blah blah blah
+ so forth and so on
- yada yada yada
Stuff that doesn't get done gets cut/pasted to the
next day. Sort of like the "Franklin Planner"
system, only without the stupid/expensive paper.
After all, you own a computer... ;)
RULES: You will end up missing days in your
"work.txt" file. That's ok. The thing is,
you need to backfill ... so if you skip
3 days, you've got 3 days of catching-up.
This reinforces the habit.
o Get a Blackberry Pearl.
It's not evil.
They are small (unlike normal Blackberries),
and the calendar is fantastic.
To make this more concrete, here's a snippet from my
my "work.txt" file:
Tue Dec 26 08:40:02 EST 2006
+ In SVN r4700, made the close() async when virtualization server
registration fails (avoids the potential for lengthy timouts)
+ Outlined delegated merge to Dave (wasn't sure if anybody had
discussed it with him yet).
- TODO: want to rationalize sandbox prop names
+ Gave Yong a tour of transparent layers, directory versioning,
virtualization, and EchoDNS.
+ In SVN r4699, removed socket leak in virt server.
+ Review of EchoDNS.
o Need 2 backup nameservers.
o Get devoted / locked-down box.
o Pay attn to geographic distribution
+ JVM bug: Event Handle Leak while using JNI
http://bugs.sun.com/bugdatabase/view_bug.do?bug_id=6399321
JVM: 1.5.0_06 (which I'm using)
> I'm open to suggestions that help productivity, whether in the manner
> of tool suggestions, or schedule / lifestyle suggestions. Meta
> discussions that will eventually arrive at a solution are ok too, but
> responses that criticize this work ethos or preach a less-work
> oriented lifestyle are strictly not kosher. It isn't that I don't
> appreciate those lifestyles, but such discussions won't help me in my
> current quest.
>
> I am not looking to kill myself with work, but merely eliminate slack
> time and meaningless pauses in life.
The nice thing about scratching notes out as you
go is that you can collect info into sub-topics
later if needed (but always make copies ...
don't delete anything from the raw note log).
Combine this "lazy note refinement" technique with
with a Blackberry that helps you set aside blocks
of time for doing tasks that have high priority
but low intrinsic urgency... and you have a system.
It really does work.
I hope this helps,
-Jon
