Useless Tech Tips 101

I've noticed that some of the 'tech tips' web shows have recently started offering micromanagement tips for personal computing. One example (that I will not link to) is a popular 'daily' show where the hosts introduce methods to 'control' browsers, such as 'how to make your browser display over 40 open tabs on the screen at once'. However, it may be time to adopt the time-honored approach of "use the telescope, not the microscope" and to step back and look at some of the overarching principals of personal/time management, instead of learning how to juggle so many balls at once.

One of my friends wrote to me yesterday claiming that she was trying to get her email inbox "under 1000", so I humbly refer you to a useful site that offers some excellent advice on adopting principals and strategies that might help you avoid getting into these 'mass tangles' to begin with. Prevention is usually better than the cure.

43 Folders Series: Inbox Zero

Exiting the infocrack crowd

Lately I've been pondering the benefits of the 'always on' approach to infotech, but maybe it's time to shift the focus to 'getting off the crack' and optimizing our time.

In the spirit of Tim Ferris's bestselling book The 4-Hour Workweek, I'll try to keep this post short, especially for those of you on a low information diet.  Keep in mind that Ferris would actually like to disrupt the current trend of information overload, and to terminate our movement toward being an 'always on'  culture!

Pareto's Principle (the 80/20 principle):

20% of your actions will produce 80% of your results

Parkinson's Law:

Batching tasks - letting similar tasks accumulate, then batching them, eg. only emailing or responding several times a week.

Ferris's advice for trying to break non-productive cycles of using information technologies?  Ask yourself this questions 3 times daily:

"Am I being productive, or am I being busy?"

Image by megadem.  Some rights reserved.