Tumblr (3.0; @ideamatt)http://ideamatt.tumblr.com/<p>Testing questions?</p>http://ideamatt.tumblr.com/post/145016562http://ideamatt.tumblr.com/post/145016562Sun, 19 Jul 2009 21:12:09 -0400<p>From “Late Night Thoughts on Listening to Mahler’s Ninth Symphony” (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Night-Thoughts-Listening-Mahlers-Symphony/dp/0140243283,">http://www.amazon.com/Night-Thoughts-Listening-Mahlers-Symphony/dp/0140243283,</a> <a href="http://www.ccdmd.qc.ca/media/pdf/en/EEE_SevenWonders.pdf">http://www.ccdmd.qc.ca/media/pdf/en/EEE_SevenWonders.pdf</a>), page 61:</p> <p><i>So far, we have learned how to be useful to each other only when we collect in small groups - families, circles of friends, once in a while (although still rarely) committees. The drive to be useful is encoded in our genes. But when we gather in very large numbers, as in the modern nation-state, we seem capable of levels of folly and self-destruction to be found nowhere else in all of Nature.</i></p> <p><i>As a species, taking all in all, we are still too young, too juvenile, to be trusted. We have spread across the face of the earth in just a few thousand years, no time at all as evolution clocks time, covering all livable parts of the planet, endangering other forms of life, and now threatening ourselves. As a species, we have everything in the world to learn about living, but we may be running out of time. Provisionally, but only provisionally, we are a Wonder. <br/></i></p>http://ideamatt.tumblr.com/post/53875184http://ideamatt.tumblr.com/post/53875184Thu, 09 Oct 2008 22:25:00 -0400“We can discover the meaning of life in three different ways: 1) By creating a work or doing a deed; 2) by experiencing something or encountering someone; and 3) by the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering.”<br/><br/> - <em>frankl</em>http://ideamatt.tumblr.com/post/46841152http://ideamatt.tumblr.com/post/46841152Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:59:40 -0400<p>LessonsLearned: for my expert interview series, I’ll drop the conversational transcription format in favor of a from-scratch article like MarkForster’s: <a href="http://ideamatt.blogspot.com/2006/11/conversation-with-mark-forster.html">http://ideamatt.blogspot.com/2006/11/conversation-with-mark-forster.html</a></p>http://ideamatt.tumblr.com/post/18661594http://ideamatt.tumblr.com/post/18661594Wed, 07 Nov 2007 08:48:30 -0500<p>I couldn’t *imagine* being productive without emacs. outline mode, very fast key-based navigation, macros - whew! Thanks to my grad school and programming background!</p>http://ideamatt.tumblr.com/post/18660009http://ideamatt.tumblr.com/post/18660009Wed, 07 Nov 2007 08:27:31 -0500<p>IdeaMattBlog: OK, Gmail’s new interface has some serious limitations<br/> around contacts, but the URL update is *awesome*. use it with<br/> Firefox’s smart keywords to speed up email without getting stuck<br/> (i.e., seeing) the inbox</p> <p>Matt’s Idea Blog: A few thoughts on vacations & GTD, used time management books, a few productivity tips, and heroes - both super *and* real<br/> <a href="http://ideamatt.blogspot.com/2006/08/few-thoughts-on-vacations-gtd-used.html">http://ideamatt.blogspot.com/2006/08/few-thoughts-on-vacations-gtd-used.html</a></p> <p>scroll to “Productivity tip: Firefox smart keywords”</p>http://ideamatt.tumblr.com/post/18657990http://ideamatt.tumblr.com/post/18657990Wed, 07 Nov 2007 08:05:49 -0500<p>Productivity tip: WebDrive is very cool (Windows): <a href="http://www.webdrive.com/products/webdrive/index.html">http://www.webdrive.com/products/webdrive/index.html</a></p> <p>Use it with SyncToy: <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/prophoto/synctoy.mspx">http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/prophoto/synctoy.mspx</a></p> <p>Sweet!</p>http://ideamatt.tumblr.com/post/18656561http://ideamatt.tumblr.com/post/18656561Wed, 07 Nov 2007 07:50:08 -0500<p>You know you really need email help when…<br/> … you need a disclaimer about “falling through the cracks!”</p> <p>came up because of this email reply:</p> <p>> If you don’t hear from me, there’s a chance your<br/> > email “slipped through the cracks” (I get over<br/> > 300 emails a day), so please have patience and<br/> > re-send your message if you don’t hear from me<br/> > in a day or two.</p>http://ideamatt.tumblr.com/post/18655174http://ideamatt.tumblr.com/post/18655174Wed, 07 Nov 2007 07:31:00 -0500<p>productivity tips from “The Unit”<br/> ‘break it down’<br/> ‘first things first’<br/> execution<br/> :-)</p>http://ideamatt.tumblr.com/post/18655094http://ideamatt.tumblr.com/post/18655094Wed, 07 Nov 2007 07:30:18 -0500<p>Why “I’ll do it later” can either kill you or save you<br/> save: defer<br/> kill: clutter, procrastinate</p>http://ideamatt.tumblr.com/post/18654988http://ideamatt.tumblr.com/post/18654988Wed, 07 Nov 2007 07:29:36 -0500<p>why it should only take 90 seconds to prepare for a<br/> meeting or call (and how to do it)</p> <p>o due diligence (google, linkedin)<br/> o -> Action Support (see elsewhere): has due diligence, agenda (if meeting)<br/> o get tools/supplies (should always be ready/at deskside): [phone,<br/> headset] (if calling), notepad and pen, agenda (with phone number or<br/> room location), water/snacks</p> <p>note: plan adequately to be on time - traffic, etc.</p>http://ideamatt.tumblr.com/post/18654933http://ideamatt.tumblr.com/post/18654933Wed, 07 Nov 2007 07:29:05 -0500“Progress means simplifying, not complicating.”<br/><br/> - <em>Bruno Munari</em>http://ideamatt.tumblr.com/post/18654782http://ideamatt.tumblr.com/post/18654782Wed, 07 Nov 2007 07:26:00 -0500<p>Read/Review best practices<br/> o basic use: not for actionable (use Action Support); must be<br/> comfortable tossing (i.e., FYI reading); use rip-and-read; take<br/> advantage of ‘between’ moments<br/> o queue (big arse)<br/> o file chronologically (newest in back)<br/> o take from the front<br/> o when low, refill from queue<br/> o if tempted to “read later” and put back (in back): toss it! for me,<br/> if too long</p>http://ideamatt.tumblr.com/post/18654720http://ideamatt.tumblr.com/post/18654720Wed, 07 Nov 2007 07:25:30 -0500“Order and simplification are the first steps towards the<br/> mastery of a subject”<br/><br/> - <em>Thomas Mann</em>http://ideamatt.tumblr.com/post/18654739http://ideamatt.tumblr.com/post/18654739Wed, 07 Nov 2007 07:25:00 -0500<p>the power of folding: brains (convoluted), cardboard (folded internal structure), etc. advantages: strength, increased surface area (more neurons), etc.<br/><br/></p>http://ideamatt.tumblr.com/post/18654329http://ideamatt.tumblr.com/post/18654329Wed, 07 Nov 2007 07:19:12 -0500<p>Big, *big* idea - applied recently with good results so far: </p> <p>Tip 88 Don’t Hide from Unhappy Clients<br/><a href="http://nevereatalone.typepad.com/blog/2007/09/tip-88-dont-hid.html">http://nevereatalone.typepad.com/blog/2007/09/tip-88-dont-hid.html</a><br/><br/></p>http://ideamatt.tumblr.com/post/18654287http://ideamatt.tumblr.com/post/18654287Wed, 07 Nov 2007 07:18:36 -0500<p>OK, this is turning out to be huge. It’s the equivalent of the two minute rule for books.  </p> <p>Matt’s Idea Blog: Reading gone wild! How to read five books a week (or why Scott Ginsberg is my hero)<br/><a href="http://ideamatt.blogspot.com/2007/10/reading-gone-wild-how-to-read-five.html">http://ideamatt.blogspot.com/2007/10/reading-gone-wild-how-to-read-five.html</a></p>http://ideamatt.tumblr.com/post/18654163http://ideamatt.tumblr.com/post/18654163Wed, 07 Nov 2007 07:17:18 -0500