Category: Getting Stuff Done

Greg Hoy on the Cycle of Agency Life

“Time and time again, ideas were presented to various internal stakeholders, all of whom had their own agendas and budgets. Pushing ideas through the maze of red tape and exhausting levels of buy-in was usually a soul-sucking effort in futility. Even though everyone was theoretically working for the greater good, everyone was working against each other at the same time. Great ideas became mediocre ideas that became ghosts of ideas put on the back burner.”

https://the-pastry-box-project.net/greg-hoy/2014-april-17

Having only worked with and for large internal shops I’m always curious as to what the other side of the table (at a dedicated agency) would be like.

Put Your Phone Away

“I would often catch myself pulling out my phone to merely check the time (and then check the time again since I never actually remembered it the first time). This frequent ‘time check’ reenforced the habit of constantly pulling out my phone and undoubtedly led to unnecessary browsing if a waiting notification piqued my interest. Buy a watch. Wear it.”

https://medium.com/p/15308056cfae

Speaking of distractions, put your damn phone away.

Matt Griffin on Working with Email

“And when you’ve finished that batch of email responses and are ready to return to your work? Close that email client, friend! Don’t open it back up until you’re ready to dedicate your attention to it again. Otherwise, it’s just a distraction. I find it useful to set times for checking my email throughout the day, for instance 10 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 4 p.m.”

http://alistapart.com/column/my-life-with-email

Some good tips here. Email is one of those deceptively simple things that everyone misuses.

Creating Serendipity with Collision Hours

“Whether in person, or online, the idea of collisions and creating collisionable hours throughout the day, month or year is a powerful concept and one that I’m trying to embody more and more.

When I look back on my career there are a series of key collisions that have opened door to entrepreneurial opportunities and future investments. I’e always seen them as such, but didn’t have a term that captured what they meant to me and how to quantify them until I was sitting in that ballroom listening to Tony that day.”

http://bryce.vc/post/81685761115/collision-hours

Some of my best conversations have been in the times where I’ve bumped into someone (at work, at the store, at the park, etc.) and just chatted a bit about life and work.

The referenced slide deck from Tony Hsieh is worth a read.

Letter to a Junior Designer from A List Apart

“You’re damn talented. But in your eagerness to prove it, you sometimes rush toward a solution. You pluck an idea from the branch and throw it onto the plate before it has time to ripen. Don’t mistake speed for precocity: the world doesn’t need wrong answers in record time.”

http://alistapart.com/column/letter-to-a-junior-designer

Some good advice for younger folks regardless of profession.