Matthew Lang

I did try and build Journalong according to lean practices but at the end of the day I wanted something that I would be happy with and I have it. Next year I'll be adding more features to Journalong, but only if they make me happy as a user.

As a matter of fact, the first true user of any product will be its creator. It was then I concluded that once your product works well enough for you, you haven’t failed. Once it makes you happy, it’s a success.

— You are Your Number One User by Jared Erondu

Glad to see I am not the only one with this fear. Even great people like Patrick Rhone have the fear.

... and everyone who wants a more productive year in 2013 is invited.

Curtis McHale's blog is definitely one to watch for 2013. His post on not selling your solution is a mistake I've seen too many people make including myself. The solution is simple:

To that end, sell yourself as a problem solver.

Thanks Curtis!

... with Michael Wade.

Great to see one of Arthur Rackham's illustrations in my Google Reader this morning. This is from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I've been reading this book every Christmas for years and this year I decided to start reading it to my six year old son. He's loving that the story has ghosts and spirits.

via Madame Scherzo

Next time you think about signing up to a free service, remember this:

via xkcd

via Pedal Consumption

The last few weeks have seen me attending a number of different interviews and each time it seems my nerves get the better of me. More confidence is definitely needed for any interviews I attend in January.

TechCube is a world class space for technology startups in Edinburgh. It provides affordable office space, services and community support for companies trying to tackle big problems. Situated two minutes’ walk from the University of Edinburgh and directly adjacent to the Meadows, TechCube is at the heart of Edinburgh’s rapidly developing startup scene.

— Scotland Opens First Privately Financed Incubator by The Wall Street Journal

It's great to see Scotland on the technology map once more. I'm really looking forward to see what TechCube produces in the next couple of years.

via Snook

... with Nicholas Bate.

Great advice for people like myself that edit their work wrongly! I don't how many times I have re-read back to myself my writing from the screen and failed to see all my mistakes.

Print Out Your Work

Always do this. Always. It's a pain, but when you're talking performance reviews, that 20-yard hassle of a walk to the printer could mean the difference between a 4% or a 5% raise.

Here's why: As any writer or editor will tell you, critiquing someone else's work is much easier than deconstructing your own, because outside eyes bring a fresh perspective. To approach your own work critically, you need to simulate this "outsider" perspective by viewing it in a form other than the one you wrote it in.

— How To Edit Your Own Writing by Lifehacker

... with Curtis McHale. I should do this as well if freelancing becomes my preferred alternative to a full-time job for next year.

via Pedal Consumption

I know and I'm sure you know that networking is important, but I didn't realise how important it was until a couple of weeks ago.

At the start of the year I made a choice to move away from what I perceived to be an in-secure job in an agile development back to my previous job in an ERP consultancy working with Dynamics NAV. Having resided myself to a career of working with Dynamics NAV, I deleted my LinkedIn account and stopped looking for work in the Ruby community.Fast forward six months and I have been paid off from the ERP consultancy due to budget constraints within the company and I have exhausted all leads in the west of Scotland for Dynamics NAV work. What to do now?

I had very few people in my network that I could turn to to ask about possible leads for freelance and permanent work.I fell back to Twitter for a couple of days to see if any of my followers were looking for a developer. It lead to one interview. The interview wasn't successful, but it was still a potential job and that's what having a good network is all about. Making sure that you are well connected to people that can help find you leads and opportunities. Even though I hadn't posted on Twitter for a while, people were still reaching out with suggestions.

I decided to create another LinkedIn account again to see if I cold improve on my search for a job. The last time I had a LinkedIn account I didn't use it to look for jobs or keep my profile updated with what I was working on. This time it will be different.Having spent the last couple of weeks looking for work I've started to see the benefits of using your professional network more regularly. In he last week alone I've had a number of messages from people I have previously worked with who have leads for potential jobs.

Don't neglect your professional network, it's important. Keep people updated with changes in your employment status and projects you are working on. You never know, it could lead to a great opportunity for you when you need it the most.

Functional bike clothing is great, but so is functional bike clothing that you can wear when you're on the bike for nipping down to the shops.

This jacket from iMiNUSD ticks all the boxes.

Writing, real writing, makes you smarter.

via Who Writes For You

I need to do this more often. Much more often.

Not surprised at all that so many corporate blogs are very rarely updated.

I've seen too many company blogs that are simply half-ass attempts are trying to keep them up to date. More worrying though is the number of company websites that don't even have a blog.

— 7 Reasons No One Reads Your Company Blog... by Successful Blog

via Cultural Offering

Michael Wade examines places where you achieve more work.

It is obvious that where we work can affect how we work. Consequently, we need to learn which settings are best. A certain oddness may come into play. I've found that my home dining room table is ideal for some projects and not for others. The reason why has not been discovered but I suspect it may have to do with its height and width as well as the nice amount of light from some French doors.

Our den at home is a place for adults only. It's really just a second sitting room and office but I always find it a great space for working. Minimal distractions and clutter.
— Stacking Deck by Execupundit

... with Kurt Harden.

Avoid the “Jack of all trades, Master of none.”-mantra, as this not only defocuses & complicates your execution, but it most definitely decreases the quality of your work / products / services.

— Do One Thing by Adii Pienaar

It's something that I have to rectify. My development career has moved from one programming language to another without me taking the time to truly specialise in one specific language. I think I've just found my theme for next year.

... with your own creative director, Nicholas Bate.

via FGGT / Photo by Father Tu

Why wouldn't you want Paradoxical Productivity by Nicholas Bate?It's mega portable, it's always on, it's future proof.

Get productive today with Nicholas Bate.

Steel frame? Check.

Rigid forks? Check.

29" wheels? Check.

On the wednesday wishlist? Check.

via Genesis Bikes