Entries Tagged as 'Main'

December 27, 2007

Too Much Information (TMI)

There’s danger in consuming too much information. I’m sure you know what happens when you eat too much food. Like food, information needs digestion. It’s only useful to the degree you can distill it into actions, habits, and wisdom.
Dallin H. Oaks gave a good talk on focus and priorities:
We have thousands of times more available [...]

December 12, 2007

Teaching the unteachable skills

If you tend to perform tasks you’ve never performed before, what does this mean for education? Does your school teach you to solve problems, prioritize tasks, and prepare you for non-assembly-line jobs?
“Training a student to be sheepish is a lot easier than the alternative. Teaching to the test, ensuring compliant behavior and using fear as [...]

December 11, 2007

Tee ‘em up

Golf provides another metaphor for getting things done. Take #2 on “crankable widgets”.
Growing up in Las Vegas, our favorite place to hit golf balls was Desert Pines. It was 30 minutes away, but it boasted a double decker driving range and automatic tees. After each hit, the tee dropped into the floor and re-emerged with [...]

December 10, 2007

Crankable widgets

The concept of transforming my tasks into “crankable widgets” helps me Get Things Done.
Imagine what it’s like to work in a factory: You are responsible for your part of the assembly line. The work may not be easy, but you know how to do it. You do it over and over. You are cranking out [...]

December 7, 2007

Saying No

I received a phone call that impressed me. It was like this:
“Richard, I’m afraid I can’t help with the project like we had planned. Some things have come up, and I no longer have the time. I just wanted to let you know. If I can help in the future, I’ll call you again.”
Flakiness is [...]