Spinning Plates

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Michael Schechter • 1 Comment

Like most who seek out a site like this, I keep several plates spinning at once. At times it feels like all I’m doing is running from one stick to the other to ensure that there’s enough momentum to keep any and all of my projects from crashing to the ground.

Now, as discerning readers may have noticed, the plate has been spinning a little slower here. Last week – for the first time in years – it stopped altogether. Life came on strong. I had some family issues followed by a cold that kicked my ass. My energy was spent, my mind unfocused. Rather than having one plate come crashing to the floor – which often leads to others following in its path – I decided to spin one less plate for a while.

As the week progressed, other plates came down as well. I maintained my obligations to others, I did what needed to be done at work and at home, but I was far from my best. It was all I could do to get by. Rather than doing it all poorly, I scaled back and did what I could. The remaining plates wobbled, but none fell.

Once A Plate Stops Spinning…

Hard as it may be to keep a plate spinning, it’s a terrifying thing to let them stop. Well, it’s terrifying for those of us who are prone to breaking habits (and plates for that matter…). Getting that initial momentum was hard enough. We live in fear that if the plate stops spinning, it may never start again. Difficult as this may be, it’s an opportunity. Once you’re ready to start spinning again, you have a moment to reassess, to ask the one question that really matters: Am I spinning the right plates?

I may not have chosen this moment to slow down, but I’d be been foolish not to take advantage of the opportunity. When you’re spinning, it’s difficult to see things clearly. You’re so busy maintaining momentum that you lack the clarity to properly assess your choices. Because I had to take the plates down, I found myself with a moment to really consider them.

I’ve been at this for a while now and – while I love the work I’m doing here – there was a part of me that worried it was becoming more of a habit than a desire. The time away did me some good. I won’t lie, it was nice, but I missed this. And while it may not be the easiest thing to get back into the routine, I’m really looking forward to getting the plate spinning again.

See you tomorrow.

Filed Under: Self-Improvement

The Three Things #27

Posted on April 7, 2013 by Michael Schechter • 0 Comments

The Three Things, is a weekly series where Gini Dietrich from Spin Sucks, Howie Goldfarb and I share the one thing that captured our attention and that we believe to be worthy of yours.

5by5 | Systematic #38: Patrick Rhone on Challenges and Success

Michael on Career Paths: This week, two of my favorite thinkers – Patrick Rhone and Brett Terpstra – got together to record an episode of Brett’s always excellent Systematic Podcast. Like any good episode of Systematic, they cover a lot of ground, but I was particularly taken by Patrick’s comments on the arc of his career. While I was late to realize my writing ambitions, I connected with the way he “became a writer by way of technology by way of being a writer.” It certainly touches on my own emerging experience of looking for better ways to go about my work only to discover my own fascination about the ways we go about improving.

I need to expand on this at some point, but Patrick touches on a growing interest of mine that relates to what we do, what we care about, and what happens when they collide. That, no matter what we do to make our living, it can be shaped by our fascinations. That, when we allow our unrelated personal fascinations to infuse our work (and vice-versa), it can lead our life in unexpected directions. It’s also just a great conversation between two guys who I admire greatly.

I Never Wanted to Take Your Guns Away

Howie on Google Search: Or how a little Google will do you. Allow me to explain…

Jim Carrey did a spoof on Funny or Die, which I found through a Google search after reading this on Huffington Post. Then I thought maybe Carrey is small fry against the NRA and FOX News. But if those people had Googled, they would find he has 10 million Twitter followers versus only two and a half million for FOX News and 145,000 for the NRA.

They’d also find FOX News has more than one million viewers watching at any given time and the NRA has more than four million members, which means they have one tenth the fans of Jim Carrey. How many times do I have to say ‘a little Google would do ya’? Heck, even a Yahoo Search would have helped!

As Web Search Goes Mobile, Google Loses its Edge

Gini on Mobile Search: Because of all the writing I do every day, I spend a lot of time studying Google, search engine optimization, and other things that will help us continue to grow through content. That’s why I found this New York Times article so interesting. No longer do we go to the web on our phones and tablets to find something; we go to an app. Yelp if we need a restaurant recommendation, Amazon for goods, books, and wares, Apple to bypass the counter register, and the WeatherBug to see if what kind of wind is facing a bike ride. Soon the day of link building and first page results will be gone. Are you ready?

Be sure to subscribe for free by Email or RSS to automatically receive future editions of The Three Things series and more from A Better Mess.

Filed Under: Self-Improvement

The Three Things #26

Posted on March 31, 2013 by Michael Schechter • 0 Comments

The Three Things, is a weekly series where Gini Dietrich from Spin Sucks, Howie Goldfarb and I share the one thing that captured our attention and that we believe to be worthy of yours.

Find The Thing You’re Most Passionate About, Then Do It On Nights And Weekends For The Rest Of Your Life | The Onion – America’s Finest News Source

Michael on Passion Projects: If, like me, you make any kind of an attempt to balance a job, a family, and a passion project, you must read this. Hat tip to Dan and Merlin for sharing this on the latest latest Back to Work. That’s all there is to be said about this, seriously, just go and read it.

Why the World is Losing Faith in Democracy

Howie on Democracy: This is a great timely discussion on the subject. Vermont just had a big fight against wind power. They want to build massive wind farms on mountain tops destroying the views, the ecosystem, and causing erosion problems. All in the name of going green, even though the power generated is so small it doesn’t make sense. Yet Ben and Jerry’s, Senator Bernie Sanders, and many environmental groups opposed a law giving towns the right to decide if wind comes to their mountain tops. In the United States, we all feel all politicians are owned by big business and special interests. So is our democracy in decline? Seems like it.

Long Night at Today

Gini on TV Drama: When Ann Curry left The Today Show more than a year ago, I watched with some interest, particularly because I thought she was a great replacement to Katie Couric, deserved the promotion, and was very good at delivering relevant news. But also because she never really said anything about what happened choosing, instead, to let others tell her side of the story, even if it was pure speculation. While this still doesn’t tell her side of the story, it’s a very well-researched, thoughtful, and balanced piece about what’s happening at the once most popular morning show program.

Be sure to subscribe for free by Email or RSS to automatically receive future editions of The Three Things series and more from A Better Mess.

Filed Under: Self-Improvement

An Unclear Kickoff

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Michael Schechter • 3 Comments

As an OmniFocus user, I’m always looking out for applications that can bridge the gap between my own task list and the work I do with others. This is especially true with my podcasting partner-in-crime, Mike Vardy. While I still hold out hope for a collaborative aspect to OmniFocus down the road, I needed a collaborative tool that would manage conversations and expectations but that still allowed me to do the heavy lifting on my own. In the past, I’ve experimented with Asana, but it always felt like I was managing two full-fledged task managers rather than a task manager and a collaboration manager. So I was excited when I first heard about Kickoff.

The early implementation of Kickoff seemed to meet my needs. It provided a lightweight environment for managing conversations and expectations. While it didn’t have everything I’d hope for, the execution was well done and the platform had promise. The beta was already mature enough to start using and, after seeing that Apple was featuring the app as an Editor’s Choice, I purchased both the Mac and iOS versions. Based on the early product and the prominent features, I was optimistic that it would continue to gain traction and features. 

Kickoff Featured on the Mac App Store

Except here’s the thing… it wont be gaining any new features. Despite not disclosing this on their site and in their description on the App Store, the team behind Kickoff was acquired by payment platform Stripe on March 11th. While they promise to maintain the app, they have no intention of adding new features. Of course I only realized this after spending my money on the app – and only discovered the acquisition news by accident.

Don’t get me wrong, purchasing an application is a risk. You should always assume that you will never see an update, that you’re only paying for what you initially get. Updates are gravy, not an expectation. That said, it seems dishonest that this isn’t being clearly and prominently disclosed. Yes, they are open about this on Twitter. Yes, the developer blogged about the acquisition, but the average customer will not discover this (hell, I’m a geek and I didn’t realize it).

Much as I’d like to think of this as an oversight, it seems the lack of a clear disclosure appears to be by design. It seems unlikely that Apple would be featuring the application so prominently. It’s also unlikely that people will be as excited by the app with the knowledge that it will not see any new features. While this is purely speculation, there seems to be only one logical reason not to share the good news on their website – it would limit sales. 

I don’t mind that I took a chance on an app that didn’t pan out. That happens. I do mind that it appears that the developer is limiting disclosure. More than anything this is meant to serve as a heads up to anyone who, like me, was optimistic about the potential of Kickoff but would be reticent in light of their acquisition. 

It’s also a question to developers out there: Is this even close to the right way to go about this? Acquisitions happen, but is this even close to how someone should go about handling the aftermath? People may have been frustrated when the popular iOS email client, Sparrow, was acquired, but at least they were clear about it. There’s a good chance that I’m just being entitled here, but this just seems…wrong.

Filed Under: Productivity

If vs. Which

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Michael Schechter • 0 Comments

I received the following comment on ADN from Tully Hansen regarding my post on Inboxes:

Thinking about this very topic yesterday, I’m not sure there’s not an important distinction between the boxes you control completely and those that fill up without any intervention on your part.

It’s a fair callout and for many, it may hold true. If you don’t struggle to get things done, there may be no need to distinguish between the places where you consider and do your work. For me, it’s an important distinction, here’s why…

The Inbox

Whenever you’re dealing with an inbox, I have to ask if this is something I should do. Not should I do this right now, but should I do it at all? It’s a place where anyone can put work for consideration. My email inbox is often filled with things I have no intention or desire to do. The pile in the corner of my desk is a place for people to put things that they’d like me to look over. My RSS reader is full of things that I don’t want to read. My mailbox is a place where I’m never short of amazed by who seems to have somehow gotten ahold of my address. 

An inbox always forces you to question if you should do something. It’s a place to consider and eliminate your work.

The Action Box

When I go into an action box, there’s no if about it. This was something I wanted to read or want to do. The only question I need to ask is which should go first. Yes, sometimes priorities (or even interests) change and something drops off the list, but that’s what a weekly review is for. When I go into OmniFocus, there are only tasks that I need/want to do, when I open Instapaper there are only things I want to read. When I process the pile of papers on my end table at home, there’s only mail that requires a response.

An action box lets you focus on which you should do first. It’s a place to organize and complete your work. 

Inbox vs. Action Box

This distinction between “if” I should do something and “which” thing I should do is the reason I take the time to move anything that takes longer than a few minutes from an inbox to an action box. Trying to handle both at the same time is often too much for my meager mind. It lets me ask the right questions in the right places. It lets me focus on my intentions in an inbox and my priorities in an action box. It creates sacred places for putting the things that matter most, places that only I control and only I can screw up.

As the number of inboxes and the volume of crap in each inbox continues to increase, it has become difficult for me to do any kind of meaningful work there. This is the reason why I embraced the idea of creating a distinction between the two. This may do nothing for you, it may add an additional layer of work, but if if you find that there’s a conflict between your intentions and your priorities, you may find separating one from the other to be a useful tactic.

What do you think? Is there a benefit to this kind of a distinction or is it just moving work around rather than getting work done?

Filed Under: Productivity

Avoiding Inbox Overload

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Michael Schechter • 3 Comments

A conventional aim of productivity is to get you out of the habit of spending time in your email inbox. I’ve always been a fan of this philosophy. It went a long way toward getting me to take a more active and intentional approach to my work. Rather than living my life deciding what to do, I spend more of it doing what I’ve decided.

Lately my concern is moving away from the time spent in any one inbox and toward the overall number of inboxes we allow into our lives.

We tend to take the concept of an inbox literally. We have our email accounts and likely a physical space or two in our homes and at our jobs. But this only scratches the surface of our inboxes which, in my mind, have grown to include anywhere we need to visit regularly to consider or act on potential tasks. Using this definition, you can start to see how our inboxes are growing exponentially.

Each social network is an inbox, especially those with an actual inbox like Facebook. Our text and instant messages are an inbox. Our RSS reader is an inbox. Instapaper is an inbox. Our e-reader of choice is, you guessed it, an inbox. Our task managers even have an inbox. Even apps like Marco Arment’s The Magazine are effectively inboxes.

We’re even starting to see apps like Cloze that even aim to collect our inboxes. This is certainly a solution, but I think there just might be a better one…

Have Less Inboxes

We’ve grown cavalier about what we sign up for, this is especially true in the age of free and affordable services and applications. We’re so excited by new technologies and great sources of content that we take on far too many. We obsess about the message count in our email inbox, but we ignore the fact that our actual inbox count grows daily. This has to stop. When we get ready to pull the trigger on a new service or a new publication we have to recognize that we either have to check it regularly or feel guilty for not. We have to be mindful that we are often allowing yet another inbox into our lives.

Make Action Boxes

Much as Instapaper can be an inbox, if used correctly it can be a place of action. By being selective about what goes in, you can keep things to a minimum. It becomes less a place to consider and more what it’s meant to be: a better place to read. The same is true for your task list. I almost never use the inbox in OmniFocus. When creating tasks, I assign a project (even if it’s just adding it to a single action list), a context and usually a start date. This takes a little bit longer, but eliminates the need to have to check yet another inbox.

As you start to take a realistic look at the number of inboxes that you’ve allowed in your life, see which ones you can eliminate. When looking at what’s left, think of what you can do to turn an inbox to an action box. By separating the places where you consider doing work from the places you do it, you avoid distraction and find yourself better situated to get more done.

Inbox Zero or Zero Inboxes

Okay, no inboxes is an unrealistic idea. But a big misconception of Inbox Zero (or at least a big misconception of those who love to use the hashtag #inboxzero) has always been that emphasis of having no emails vs. spending way less time on email. The goal of inbox zero has always been to spend more of your time doing meaningful work and same should hold true for the actual number if inboxes we allow into our lives. Get rid of what you can, make better use of what remains, but don’t obsess. Spend less time dealing with all of your various inboxes and you’ll find you have far more time for the things that really matter most.

Have you become careless with your inboxes? If so, what do you plan to do about it?

Filed Under: Productivity

The Three Things #25

Posted on March 24, 2013 by Michael Schechter • 0 Comments

The Three Things, is a weekly series where Gini Dietrich from Spin Sucks, Howie Goldfarb and I share the one thing that captured our attention and that we believe to be worthy of yours.

‎Discipline Code – Rules & Policies – New York City Department of Education

Michael on Bureaucracy: I didn’t read much this week. Actually, that’s not true. Despite trying to distract myself with a friend’s new book, I read the same thing over and over and over again. This week, I found myself having to get familiar with the discipline code in New York City, especially as it applies to kids in grades K–5. Something needs to change! While details vary on how situations are handled from grade-to-grade, there are only a few instances that are exclusive to grades four and five:

  • Plagiarizing
  • Gang-related Behavior
  • Sexually-related comments and conduct

It’s assumed children in grades K–3 have a limited understanding of these concepts, so they are treated differently. In fact, the phrasing used to “protect” K–3 students is “engaging in inappropriate or unwanted physical contact or touching someone in a private part of body.” Of the five infraction levels (level one being the lowest and level five the highest), this is only a level two infraction, regardless of the severity. This puts contact, that would otherwise be considered sexual at any other age, on par with “leaving class or school premises without permission […]” or “violating the Department’s Internet Use Policy.”

The bureaucracy put in place to protect some kids and get others the help they need nearly prevent the best possible decisions from getting made. If you read one thing this week, read this…because it needs to change.

The Westboro Baptist Church is About to Get the Shock of its Life

Howie on Google: So much is made about some of the privacy blunders by Google, but they do some good, too. Google Earth allowed us to see refugee camps in the Darfur bringing a closeness from far away. Now Google Earth plus Maps plus Street allows someone to fight back against the hate group ( my opinion) Westboro Baptist Church in literally a very colorful way.

The Art of Fiction

Gini on the Art of Writing: Late last year, my dear friend Abbie Fink told me I had to read Stephen King’s latest novel, 11/22/63. Look, I’m a book snob. My creative writer professor and college advisor drilled it into our heads that King is not a great writer. In fact, critics dismissed him for nearly 30 years until he finally won a National Book Foundation award in 2003. So I’d never read him and was reticent to pick up this book. But I did, because I trust Abbie’s opinion greatly, and I was more than pleasantly surprised. I LOVED the book (so much so, in fact, I’m reading The Stand right now).

That’s why I was happy to see one of my favorite magazines, The Paris Review, do an in-depth interview with King, which is 12 years in the making. They cover everything from Carrie and Cujo to how he got his start as a six-year-old and why he began to write about writing. It’s long, but very well worth the read.

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Filed Under: Personal