I have had this post sitting in limbo for a long time. I have been trying to gather all of my thoughts on the subject and I think I have finally reached my conclusion.

What is the point of learning how to click, where to click, without understanding why to click.

In my freshman year of college (circa 2000), I took “Introduction to Technological Systems”, which was a renamed “Introduction to Computers”. I enjoyed the class and quite liked the professor, eventually getting an A in the class, along with pretty much everyone else in the class. The introduction to technological systems went through a computer part by part, from CPU to databases to the internet, giving a broad overview of a little bit of everything.

While the number of students entering college are becoming more technologically savvy, the problem that professors are, or should, be running into is teaching students why to click instead of where or how.

Speaking in broad terms, students entering college have a firm grasp on technology. Can they point to the ISA card slot on a late 80′s motherboard? Probably not. Can they install iTunes 7.3 and sync their iPhone? Probably. The level of computer literacy is rising rapidly. Students are rapidly coming to high school and college never knowing what a computer-less household is like. And fewer remember a time when the internet required the computer to make very strange noises via its modem.

The imminent failure of basic computer education is this: By focusing on the mechanics of how a computer works, the human element of computer is lost. By this, the computer education received tells us that a computer works, but does not educate us in how to interact with it. What is the most efficient way to store files? How should one reply to email. What are the basics of security when it comes to the internet? Why, when sending a mass email, should one use the BCC: instead of the To: in addressing? Why does my computer run slowly when I have 7 applications open, each with 16 windows?

These skills, while not as concrete as the how the laser reads the data on a CD-ROM, are the ones that are not being taught, but can ultimately be the most useful. Efficient, courteous and savvy computer users don’t need to know the physical happening to get work done. While it may be helpful in diagnosing problems or troubleshooting, there are plenty of people willing to take the time and put in the effort in that arena, I happen to be one of them. For the average user, teach them that repetitive task can be shortened to key-commands, that click around the computer’s interface can be shorted by using a launcher, or that email “stationary” is not really all that cute and can sometime gunk up an email client would go miles.

Education encompasses teaching and learning specific skills, and also something less tangible but more profound: the imparting of knowledge, positive judgement and well-developed wisdom.
from Wikipedia

The rote memorization of how a computer physically functions is no longer relevant in today’s world. Computer education instead needs to focus on the imparting of knowledge and well-developed wisdom.

Technical note:
I have had some issues with comments not showing up, I think I have resolved that. If you try and post a comment (’cause I know you want to) and it doesn’t work, please contact me

Now back to your regularly scheduled post

The last few days have reminded me that sometimes you have to give yourself permission to suck. What? Permission to suck.

Yes, I had originally resolved to post to the blog every day, but I have been so exhausted and busy that I just haven’t had time to write. On Friday, after not posting on Thursday, I was beating myself up, wondering if I should make it up, but I had to give myself permission to suck just a little bit. I have been doing really well in the arena of posting and i have been rocking out the work, so something had to give. Permission to suck granted.

If you haven’t done a check up on your New Year’s resolutions, today is a good day to start. If you have done well on some and not on all, like me, then give yourself permission to suck and then get back on the horse and try and make those resolutions stick.

Last night I was watching Enterprise, yes, I know I’m a geek, and “Trip,” the chief engineer said something while dressed for shore leave. “You have to be seen to be noticed.” He was of course dressed in a loud and obnoxious Hawaiian shirt.

The funny thing is that he is completely right. I used to know a coworker who did very little to take credit when it is due to him and he essentially locked himself in his cubicle. Not only did he miss out on valuable social interactions that could have clued him in on office happenings and politics, he also missed out on appropriate opportunities to make his contributions known.

If you are the nail that sticks out furthest you’ll get hammered on, but if you never get seen, you’ll never get noticed never

I read today on a GTD yahoo group, and I have heard the same thing from friends and colleagues before:

If I do this Getting Things Done, won’t it make me more likely to procrastinate. Won’t this system give me an excuse to not work but instead work on the system.

Here is my response.

Yes, continuing to tweak, reclassify and over complicate your system can definitely cause you to procrastinate. The problem doesn’t lie in the system, it ultimately lies in your desire to avoid work. That desire could arise from a couple of different sources, other “more important” things, a lack of energy, not being in the proper context or a general dislike of the task at hand.

You would be procrastinating around that specific task if you had a productivity system or not, the only thing that is different with a productivity system, is that you have a way of classifying the anxiety that comes with procrastination.

Merlin Mann, crazy productivity guru and author of 43folders.com, said recently in a podcast entitled “Kung fu, Meditation, and Sexual Intercourse” (forgive the paraphrasing)

… You can study kung fu for years, but until you start kicking people you are wasting time. You can read all the books about meditation in the world, but until you actually do it, you’ll never me a monk and you can french kiss and neck all you want, but until you do the deed … well, you get the point.

Having a new productivity system shouldn’t be a crutch for you not getting things done.

I promised earlier this week that I would detail how I have built my personal productivity system. The short course will be here, a longer more detailed version will be available if you click the “more” link below.

The Short Course

I have become a disciple of David Allen‘s Getting Things Done, it literally revolutionized my life almost two years ago.

David Allen’s system is a simple one with many complex iterations and sub sections. Essentially it is broken down into the following steps:

• Collect
• Process
• Organize
• Review
• Do

I don’t want to infringe on David Allen’s product or process, if you are interested, I would highly recommend spending the money to read it. Check it out at Amazon.

My first line of defense (or collection) is the nigh famous hipster PDA. A college professor used to joke about his PDA, literally ink on his palm, mine is slightly more refined, stack of index cards and a binder clip are the easiest way for me to capture every fleeting thought that I have. And that is the front end of my productivity system. Writing everything down.

I won’t lie. I scribble notes on lots of paper, but I always consolidate it to an index card as soon as possible.

I use iCal both at work and at home to manage my appointments. I have tried for years unsuccessfully to use a paper calendar, something about mucking up the pages when appointments are shifted. I share my calendars with each other via icalx.com, allowing me to see both home and work and the other location.

Unfortunately, I have not mastered David Allen’s recommended tickler file. I just can’t seem to get the hang of it.

Read More »

I have been trying to post regularly about my things happening in my life. Yesterday was a good example of why a personal productivity system is essential to maintain organization in your life.

Yesterday was a very hectic day, a lot of projects needing attention, more projects being created, plenty of hurdles to overcome. Almost a standard day, but without my productivity system, I would have probably gone to the corner, assumed the fetal position and wept. The sheer number of tasks that had to be accomplished yesterday was larger than normal and I was able to manage my stress because I knew what I had to do and broke it down into completable tasks.

Take CD to Kinko’s
Brainstorm postcard design
Find and email photos to fellow designer

Before I found the joy of a personal productivity system, most of those tasks lived in my head, but related to the post on breadcrumbs and on a day like yesterday, the psychic RAM would have maxed out and the “least” important items would get dumped. The critical thing is that those “least” important items are still tasks that need to be done. They might be a lesser priority than the ones I have just been given, but they still need to get done.

If I weren’t writing down my tasks, the ones that get dumped could become lost forever, or until the person who wants the tasks completed calls me and asks where their widgets are. GULP. That’s never good.

Over the next week, I will be working on documenting my personal productivity system, to give you an idea of how I operate, but in the interim I highly recommend reading David Allen’s Getting Things Done. It is a system agnostic way of productivity. You can integrate it with Covey or any other system you have tried in the past and are comfortable with.

Before I babble on about that, I’m going to stop and let you think about your own personal productivity system and I’ll talk more about the specifics later this week.

The importance of a personal productivity system is a post in my attempt to find a better niche for this blog. Don’t worry, the personal stuff will continue.

For my birthday, my wife got me a gift certificate for a sushi making class. It was incredible, firstly because I love sushi and secondly because it was incredibly insightful in the realm of productivity. How, you ask?

When an Itamae, sushi chef, is preparing a Norimake, a traditional sushi roll, his goal is uniformity through out the larger roll. Each piece, when cut, should look exactly like every other piece from that roll.

This is how any productivity system should work. Every project or speed bump, no matter it’s size or intensity, should be uniformly treated. It should be treated the same as every other project. If you have some cucumber in every piece of sushi, and by cucumber you mean effective project planning, it shouldn’t change if it is a huge gnarly project or a little spicy tuna roll, er, small personal project.

Sushi rolling and your productivity is a post in my attempt to find a better niche for this blog. Don’t worry, the personal stuff will continue.

Damn! I was really productive today. I knocked out a whole buncha things that needed to get done. Of course, when one thing exits another enters. I still have a whole bunch of things that need to get done. Met with a client tonight about a freelance job. It went really well. i think that it will be a good project, it’s a fairly easy one.

A very busy boy, Jered was.

Tags: jered, jeredb, jeredb.com