Sadly, we all have to deal with ‘robocallers’Â and similar undesired and unsolicited calls by telemarketers. I have been remiss in sharing a very decent resource that I’ve been utilizing for our house phone for over two years.
I work for an international non-profit and, as part of my work, I occasionally travel overseas. Recently, I was on a red-eye flight from Ghana in West Africa returning to the US. Once we got to cruising altitude and after the flight crew served dinner to the passengers, people were looking to sleep through as much of the remaining flight time as possible. I looked aroud and it struck me as people tucked themselves in and closed their eyes for some rest, how many still had their backseat entertainment displays at full brightness. Did they not realize it could be turned off? Did it not even cross their minds that it was possible? Whether conscious of it or not, leaving the screens on would certainly impact both the amount and quality of the sleep they got (which honestly isn’t great to begin with while flying). This probably happens in other settings…
We all are impacted by technology in one way or another each and every day. Case in point, you’re most likely reading this article on your phone or while sitting at your laptop. Even people that try to avoid technology can’t help but regularly come into contact with it each time they buy their groceries, make a phone call, watch a show, or even drive a car.
Take a moment and examine your current environment. How many buttons, switches, knobs, screens, and speakers do you find around you? Inside or behind each one is at least some amount of circuitry and computing ability to make them work and, hopefully, better your life through their operation. To put it simply, in this modern world in which we all live, technology surrounds us. Additionally, depending on your age, the vast majority of this technology has come about within your lifetime. That can result in some unanticipated side effects.
With so much technology around, consider how you engage with it. Technology and the many forms it can take can be exciting, bothersome, empowering, or devastating. Ultimately, with the wrong approach, it can impede your productivity, but with the right one, you can continue on your path to becoming Asian Efficient. Let’s dig into this further…
Much like the Fixed vs. Growth mindset discussed in the book Mindset by Carol Dweck, Ph.D., I believe that everyone has a default approach when it comes to engaging and utilizing technology. I refer to it as the Accept vs. Affect Mindset. You either simply accept how a technology/device/program works and do your best to accommodate the results or, alternatively, you do what you can to affect how they work and serve you. It’s this difference in engagement that ultimately determines if something helps or hinders your productivity.
What you may not be regularly realizing is that to one degree or another, you can change the things around you, the devices in your life, or the programs you use. You can, in most cases, affect them in some way to keep them from being distractions or impediments and, instead, better utilize them as the tools that they are.
Of course, any individual inefficiency will hardly have a measurable impact on your work. However, the collective impact of dozens or even hundreds of inefficiencies day after day will absolutely add up to lost time, increased frustration, and less-than-ideal results. Instead, stop, examine, and consider the possibilities. Here’s a simple example that might be interesting to non-OmniFocus power users:
OmniFocus is a popular application frequently mentioned by the AE team for organizing your tasks using the GTD (Getting Things Done) methodology. Take the following textbook way to create a new task:
Not terribly complicated, but certainly not the most efficient. There is a better way. Were you aware that OmniFocus has a Quick Entry shortcut? While doing anything else on your computer, you can bring up a small screen to capture an item the moment it comes to mind:
Not only are there several fewer steps, but, by not taking you completely away from what you’re doing, you’ll be able to resume your work much easier as there’s less disruption. Realize how frequently this happens and you start understanding the compound effect of distraction and extra effort.
Experience- and comfort-levels can play a big role in whether you accept or affect technology. When I earlier mentioned how most technologies came about in our lifetimes, that isn’t exactly true for everyone. The Baby Boomer generation lived most of their lives without pervasive technology so it can be very easy to be unaware and unsure. At the other extreme, the Millennial generation has known nothing but, and seems to have been born with, an inherent interest in trying new things and learning all about them.
If you’re more Boomer than Millennial or even just new to technology, don’t feel bad. It’s quite fair to acknowledge and admit ignorance or uncertainty. When you don’t know if you can change something, let alone how to, it’s only reasonable to just put up with it. The challenge is to be aware of the situation, make an assessment, and then decide which approach to take.
Perhaps you’ve felt the pressure to use OmniFocus or similar task management application and, even after weeks of use, you still struggle and feel that you were managing better with your paper journal. Great! That’s the awareness you should embrace. Rather than accept your situation because you’re supposed to, you should instead be conscious enough of how it’s impacting you and make the right decision so you can further improve your effectiveness.
I want to help you become more aware of all the various tools, devices, and general infrastructure that surrounds us and to truly give some thought how it may be affecting you. It’s likely more than you would initially have thought. You know the flashing 12:00 of the office microwave in the distance? The one just enough in your peripheral vision as you look at your screen it frequently breaks your concentration? Do you just accept that as it distracts you countless times each day or do you address it by setting the time or reorient your workspace in a different direction?
Ask yourself questions like:
Thanh is a believer and advocate of the ‘3 times rule‘ which guides you to address anything that bothers you three times (or more). That is a very good starting point and can definitely apply to a device, program, or appliance you use regularly.
Does the program or device have a manual? Read it. You might learn of an option or capability you weren’t aware of or had forgotten. One easy trick is to use Google or YouTube to find if others might have tips or ‘hacks’ that could apply. Lastly, never underestimate the helpfulness of people you know. Ask a colleague or friend that might have some experience to give suggestions.
Sometimes, the best and most-productive thing you can do is turn them off, put them away, or even leave them behind entirely to work in a decidedly low-tech environment like the beach or park. You can opt instead for a more old-world solution. Computers are great, but a paper-based solution might serve you better. Additionally, an ‘analog’ method keeps the distractions of social media from encroaching on your focus time.
When you do your end-of-day or end-of-week review, reflect on how you well you have been working. Set aside time to sharpen the saw of your various physical and digital tools.
I’ve worked my entire career in IT. As anyone similarly in the profession can attest, IT folks need to always be comfortable with technology so typically fall in the affect approach to things. Technology and tools are always changing and the job needs to keep pace. The good people even get excited about a new challenge and can be considered skills collectors as they build a catalog of knowledge to use in their jobs.
I’m also an ‘information is power’ kinda guy so I naturally will explore the nooks and crannies of a program or buttons and dials on a device. I want to see what capabilities it has or the settings that can be changed. It helps me determine how I might use it for the work I need to do or if, instead, I need to change how I work to fit with it.
I just replaced my phone. In setting it up, I could have restored from a backup, accepting the years and years worth of settings and accumulated applications. Instead, I decided to start from scratch and consider each application, each setting, and evaluate how it relates to how I work. It takes quite a bit of time when compared to the alternative, but I’ll be much more efficient in the long term after re-optimizing such a core technology in my daily life.
Hopefully, I have made a sufficient case that tools you use should be just that: tools. The better you can wield them, the better you’ll be. The task now is to examine your physical and digital environments with a critical eye.The ones that are simply obstacles to your efficiency? Don’t accept them, but instead eliminate or replace them so they stop slowing you down. The ones that help you? Learn how you can affect them so you can bend them to your will to make them even better.
This past week, Code42 Software announced they are going to stop supporting their CrashPlan backup solution for personal or home use. That is unfortunate news since I’ve been a customer for over ten years and was quite satisfied and invested in their service. While they have every right to run their business as they choose (especially if the economics don’t work in the long term) the impact to a significant portion of their userbase is not one that will be easy for them to recover from.
My current subscription is only good for a few more months and I now must find an alternate solution that allows my data to be sufficiently protected in a way that is still practical and reasonably priced. So far, the two leading candidates are Arq by Haystack Software and Backblaze. Neither one is a direct replacement so the decision isn’t clear. There may also be other options that should be considered. It will likely come down to the tradeoffs that I’m willing to make. Do I not back up as many computers as I have? Do I no longer also utilize a local backup?
Another possibility is to engineer a bespoke solution by one method or another. That would probably cover my needs better, but would also likely require more upfront effort to implement and ongoing maintenance. Clearly, the classic “build vs. buy” decision isn’t just limited to the domain of business IT.
Ok, I admit that the title’s lame, but I thought it was fun. You’re here reading this so I suppose it’s not all bad…
As one progresses through life and their career, knowledge and experience naturally accumulate. As you get exposed to new things and tackle the novel or unexpected, you generally amass a significant catalog of skills, insights, and, hopefully, wisdom. Over time, you consciously (and subconsciously) incorporate those numerous learnings into your day-to-day playbook to make yourself more efficient or effective. It happens almost automatically because nobody wants to spend more time or effort on something if they don’t have to. Continue reading
Last week, I returned to Ghana to participate in Edify‘s 2nd annual Education Technology Conference. The conference was well-attended and I enjoyed being part of the launch of our e-reader project in conjunction with our partner, Worldreader. Using Kindles to improve the reading ability and enjoyment for students will be a big benefit for many.
Following the event, a group of us had lunch at a rather unique local restaurant: La Tante DC10. Built out of an abandoned DC10 next to Kotaka Airport in 2013, it’s not surprising that it stands out. Very memorable.
Not surprisingly, in working for Edify I’ve learned that life in a non-profit requires being very thoughtful and judicious about how we use our resources and spend our money. Certainly, we could expand our manpower by hiring more staff or simply ‘throw money’ at every challenge that arises. That doesn’t work very well in the long run. In daily practice, the challenge is to find creative solutions or strategic trade-offs to keep our focus on our mission: To improve and expand sustainable Christ-centered education globally.
I’m happy to say that there is one thing, which comes at great expense, that is one of our wisest investments of our time and money: our annual team meeting. Each January, our (growing) team gathers to spend time together in fellowship, devotion, training, and sharing. In the past, the meetings have been in San Diego, but this year’s was our first in the field: Ghana.
When you think about all of the effort and expense that goes into flights, visas, lodging, food, and all the related logistics, it would be so easy to for our management to decide against it. Instead, the commitment to the time by our founders and senior management gets stronger each year.
I was fortunate enough to join Edify shortly before last year’s meeting so the one I’m just now returning from is my second. We now total 53 with over a quarter added in the past year alone. As I’m involved in getting each one set up and oriented, I have the benefit of being familiar with names and roles from the start. Hearing their voices on a weekly prayer call or other phone conferences only goes so far to really get to know people. Seeing them in person, sharing a meal, trading stories, is the only way to truly make a connection. That I did at every opportunity.
I can honestly say that my family has grown considerably since I joined Edify. It’s an honor and a pleasure to share my time and talents in service to them and our collective goals.
I have been blessed by the opportunity I’ve had. I cannot wait for us to be together again in 2018!
As a belated birthday present for our daughter, we took a trek yesterday down to the glider port in La Jolla for her to participate in a falconry lesson led by Denise and Kirk of Sky Falconry. It was an absolutely great way to spend a Saturday morning and being an observer of these beautiful raptors is quite an opportunity to learn quite a bit about the birds and the history of working with them. It was almost as enjoyable as being able to interact with them. Almost.
Back in my early Sony days when I worked at RedZone Interactive, a friend and I got into RC planes. Since the rest of the studio didn’t generally roll in until about 9:00 or 10:00, we had the opportunity to take our planes out in the lot behind the office in the mornings while the winds were quite gentle. It’s a fond memory.
About the same time, I saw online a wireless video camera that was about the size of a matchbook and immediately thought of attaching it to the plane to get a cool POV video while flying. I should note that this was 2004. GoPro didn’t exist yet let alone the whole ‘sports camera’ category. Neither did drones that are so common nowadays. Am I a trend setter? Not really. I just thought it was a fun idea.
Not surprisingly, it was very jerry-rigged. The camera with built-in transmitter was mounted on a stick protruding from the side of the canopy attached to a 9v battery for power. The receiver was on the ground attached to a video camera recording the results. My friend had to spend the entire flight watching the small screen on the camera while constantly adjusting a tuning knob on the receiver to keep the signal usable. The results are pretty poor by today’s standards, but I think it turned out pretty good, all things considered:
Fun times. I still have the plane, though I haven’t used it in years. I just may have to pull it out and see if it still works. I probably won’t bother with the camera.
Since my life-changing event back in March, I’ve had the opportunity to meet many different people and learn about several organizations, each one different from the others. I have also spent a significant amount of time determining who I am professionally (my strengths, weaknesses, and motivations). That combined with my belief that technology can truly make a difference in people’s lives and it has helped direct my search.
Through a most interesting series of events that I’m unable to adequately explain here, I learned of an opportunity at Edify which is a very special non-profit organization that is best summarized from the website: “To improve and to expand sustainable, affordable Christ-centered education in the developing world.” They achieve that by supporting private schools through small loans, training, and technology. To date, they have partnered with over 1,600 schools and have impacted the lives of over 300,000 students.
After many conversations it became more and more clear that there was a unique match between their needs and my background and skills. I’m happy and proud to say that they have invited me to join with them in their work and start tomorrow as their Vice President of Information Technology. I cannot convey how excited I am for this opportunity and look forward to making an impact in ways I surely couldn’t have previously imagined.
Having the Summer off to enjoy my family was a significant blessing. In light of having just taken my oldest child off to college for the first time yesterday, it all couldn’t have worked out better. Yet another sign that the Lord’s plans are the best.
For the last few months, I’ve been doing some contracting developing automation scripts in bash. It’s been a fun diversion from my job search and leverages my sysadmin background. It has also improved my command of vi and several tricks in bash scripting. I wanted to share one that may be of help to others.
In the scripts that I wrote, it was necessary to kick of a long-running process and then act on entries written to a log file. I created a watcher routine to accomplish this:
01 successfulRun=0
02 keepRunning=1
03 while [ $keepRunning -eq 1 ] && read -t 3600 line; do
04 case "$line" in
05 *completion string* )
06 echo "Completed successfully. Exiting monitor."
07 successfulRun=1
08 keepRunning=0
09 ;;
10 *error string* )
11 echo "ERROR entry found in log. Exiting monitor."
12 keepRunning=0
13 ;;
14 * )
15 echo "Just another line. Monitor continuing."
16 ;;
17 esac
18 done < <(tail --pid=$$ -n0 -F ${logfile})
It’s a general while loop, but there are some useful features. First, in line 3 is “read -t 3600” which allows the loop to break if nothing gets written to the file for an hour (3600 seconds). After the loop, if keepRunning is 1 and successfulRun is 0, I know it timed out.
Lines 5, 10, and 14 allow for cases for any strings encountered. For my uses, I was looking for a success string which meant my script could continue on. Similarly, if an error string is encountered, I exit accordingly. The last one (line 14) is the default case, which probably isn’t needed unless you want to provide feedback of progress.
The last feature is in line 18. The –pid=$$ option allows the tail command to close the logfile when the parent script completes. That allows for a very nice wrap-up no matter what happens. Nice, huh?