Writing a Get-it-Done Guy episode is easy. I have one main point and usually 2-5 quickie subpoints. The whole episode fits in my head at once and it’s easy to try out different phrasing, etc. Also, since I’m writing the script and reading it back, talking through a concept out loud works well. It gives me a nice article that will sound good when read as a podcast.
An 80,000-word book is different, though…
I’m writing this on a fine day, right around my birthday. And what a glorious time to be alive! The sun is shining, birds are chirping, and automated “social networking” sites have started sending “Happy Birthday” e-mails on behalf of my so-called friends, to make their lives more convenient. I can’t begin to describe how touched I am.
read more…
Ok, big epiphany today.
I was complaining. Then I noticed that somethings, I complain about. Others, I don’t. What’s the difference?
For me, complaints seem to be statements of where in my life doesn’t seem under my control. Even when complaining about myself (“Darn these love handles”), I only complain about the things I have trouble with and perceive as being something I can’t change.
Is this universal? Are your complaints expressions of control frustration?
What are your favorite complaints? Is there any pattern about what we all consider under/not under our control?
I’m trying to get a sense of what kinds of things stay on our backlogs and clutter up our mental lives.
When you don’t get to something on your “to do” list on a given day, how long does it stick around before you finally do it or drop it from the list? What kind of things chronically stick around?
For me, it’s: people to call who I haven’t already talked to recently; books to read; low-priority changes to my web site to make; important-but-not-urgent household things (“find that leak in the roof”); financial stuff (“balance checkbook” “pay bills”).
I did a half-hour live interview show today about social media, its impact on productivity (business and personal), and more on the career lies (see this post for the handout).
You can hear a recording here:
http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/tscmd/tc/18410
Click on episode 4.
Enjoy!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
Here’s a video by Barry Schwartz, the author of “The Paradox of Choice.” Having more choices seems to be a recipe for doing less and being less happy (exactly the opposite of what we all want). I want to work this material into the book somehow, but am not quite sure how to do it.
Today’s podcast is about how to be self-promoting without being a jerk about it. I think it’s one of my better podcasts. What do you think? Should this be expanded into a chapter (or part of a chapter) in the book?
If so, do you have specific examples, questions, stories, etc. that you’d like me to elaborate on? This could be done as a pretty brief topic, or as a pretty big one…
Ok, my desk sometimes gets a tad messy. So now I’m working on techniques for whipping that desk back into shape. Looking around, there’s a clear pattern: I’ve got Books-I’ll-read-someday here, along with a bunch of incoming paper mail that needs attention (utility bills? I don’t need no stinking gas! … oh, wait. Yeah, I guess I do), etc.
Question for my friends out there who have messy desks:
What do the piles consist of? I’ll bet you have whole categories of stuff that never end up in piles (men: think back to your teenage years, when you had certain, er, magazines that never got accidentally left out in the room). But what kind of stuff actually does end up in piles?
What stops you from getting the pile clean? For example, some people won’t throw away books, but don’t know what else to do with them. In my case, seven evil gnomes live beneath my desk and threaten to lock me in a tower if I actually clean up the pile.
Thanks!
I’ve been getting a lot of letters from college students asking for tips that are specific to them. I’m trying to get a sense of what the big issues are in college these days. In my Taking Killer Notes episode, I talked about my note-taking technique from college. What other issues/problems did you have in college?
You can see the video of my presentation at http://qik.com/video/68444. They graciously gave me 5 minutes, I graciously took 10.