Every now and then, I re-read this post

It’s not a very long one, but it’s one worth remembering: you’ve probably read enough. All too often, it’s too easy getting caught up on obsessing over documentation and tutorials and best practices and “the right way to do it.” Humans lived before the internet, before mass literacy, before cave paintings even. Not well, maybe, but they still found ways to advance without learning everything from someone else. So likewise, we could too, without getting caught up in a deluge of material that just keep telling you what to do, without you actually starting something and learning from your own experimentation, practice, trial and error, and just general experience. And if there’s something keeping you back, at least there’s a few basic steps you can take. No-brainers, really. The sort of tips that actually nudge you in the right direction, instead of similarly enslaving you to “more stuff you have to learn instead of actually doing the right thing.”

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be doing something this weekend, lest these inspirationally snappy “get off your butt and go do something” posts become the same thing they warn against- more reading material that one consumes and learns from instead of actually applying.

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Scaling Mt. Backlog

I haven’t touched this blog for a few weeks, having been swarmed by pending tasks and priorities. I’m at critical mass right now in terms of work. As such, this will be a short entry-

I’ve been experimenting with some different lifehacking techniques, reading on theories of motivation and anti-procrastination articles. At this point, it’s a bit too late to implement a long-term plan. So I’m going to machete my own path through this thicket! Some thoughts:

1. Even with a deadline, breathing space is necessary. I thought of this approach during a jog- cleared my thoughts right out. There’s only so many hours a day you can remain concentrated and energetic enough to handle a project.

2. Go for short term accomplishments. It’s time to do this one-man Agile style. Achieve something, check to see if I’m on the right path, iterate. Getting this done correctly keeps me in the game- mastery is one of the big three of Daniel Pink’s motivators.

3. Focus on the here and now. Don’t dwell on external constraints. Focus on the achievements instead of the failings. Keep the morale up that way and remain driven.

4. Air out the brain. Cut out distractions.

Let’s see if this works. Wish me luck.