Family guy and web developer
An argument that working faster is better.
Slowness seems to make a special contribution to this picture in our heads. Time is especially valuable. So as we learn that a task is slow, an especial cost accrues to it. Whenever we think of doing the task again, we see how expensive it is, and bail.
— Speed matters by James Somers
I'm not sure about this, I tend to find that I'm better when I work at a more sustainable and slower pace.
Read, write, ask, plan, move, start and hold fast. It's all in NB's break out guide.
Atom’s startup time is certainly a nuisance but if that’s my only critique of it then I can live with it.
I’ve just checked the order on a batch of Pentel pens and refill cartridges I bought from Amazon. It was around sixty days ago. Since receiving these pens from Amazon I’ve tried to build a habit of writing my morning pages on weekdays. Rather than typing like a demon possessed, I’ve used pen and paper for this task. To be honest I’ve skipped a few days, but I’ve fulfilled my daily quota on most of the days.
Yesterday was a bit of a milestone. I ran out of ink. That one pen lasted about sixty days in total. What I was left with was an empty ink cartridge. I’m not sure how many pages I’ve written in my notebooks in total as my morning pages are spread out across two different notebooks and there’s stuff between each set of morning pages. Might be time to dedicate a notebook to this.
Checking back on my writing I’ve looked through what I’ve achieved and been impressed by the amount of words that I’ve written. Most of it will never see the light of the Internet but there’s a few ideas in there for posts and writing projects. Hell, there’s even a few ideas for novels in there.
I’ve popped in a refill cartridge ready to start the process all over again. Around sixty days from now I expect to burn through another cartridge. If I haven’t, then I’ll know I’ve missed out on more than a fair share of writing days.
Work begins on a couple of software products. I'm not getting too wrapped up in the finished product, it's just too distracting.
Star Wars Battlefront just keeps getting more and more awesome. Can't wait for November.
This brings back nightmares of timesheets being used to measure performance. It's a poor way of measuring any employees performance regardless of what they do.
What do you use to measure employee performance? For many years I worked in places where time was what I was paid for and so work time was what was measured.
This became a problem when I’d see other people spending the day on Facebook and still getting paid. They produced nothing, but production wasn’t measured, time in seat was. So by that standard, those employees were doing what was required.
— Measure the Right Things
by Curtis McHale
If you know me and you read my blog on a regular basis you’ll know that I’m an advocate for paying for the software you use. It’s simple, support the software that supports you. Lately though I felt that I was paying for software that I rarely got any use from. As I checked my recent outgoings I noticed that there were a number of software services I was using where I couldn’t justify the monthly fee for using them.
For the last three months I’ve been using OnePageCRM for managing leads and deals. It’s a nice and simple CRM for small businesses and it does a fine job of managing leads and contacts but I was using it just once a week. It cost me £8 per month to use but when you multiply this by four or five similar services, I was looking at £40 in software that wasn't necessary.
OnePageCRM didn’t fit the bill but I still needed something that will let me manage my contacts and deals but on a free plan. Then when the time comes for more functionality and there’s room in the budget, I’ll be able to scale up to a paid plan.
In the past I gave Highrise a short spin, but at the time I couldn’t justify the $29 for the Solo plan. It was simply too much money for what I needed but I didn’t give the free plan a look.
After a quick import of contacts from OnePageCRM I’m now up and running on Highrise’s free plan. Okay, I’m not paying for it now but in time I’m hoping that with a busier schedule and more clients, I’ll be able to spring for the solo plan and it will continue to help keep my business ticking over.
Paying for the software you use is good to do, but when you your own needs are for a service that gives functionality on an ‘as and when’ basis then free plans are an ideal way to make sure that you get the functionality you need while also ensuring that you can upgrade to a paid plan in the future.
We went through two cabled headsets before I suggested spending more for a wireless headset.
All I can say is thank goodness for books.