Imposter syndrome. It’s the feeling that pure happenstance or just dumb luck is the reason you’re in this current role. It’s a sense you don’t belong, you aren’t good enough, and – real soon now – everyone is going to see you for who you really are. You might have felt this before, and I’m… more
Without fail, when you tell me about a new productivity system, editor, or typeface, I will drop everything I am doing and give your new productivity system, editor, or typeface a whirl. This happens weekly. It’s a problem. The majority of these excursions are brief and can be summarized thusly: Install the thing. Use the… more
You are a threat. It’s a strong word. I don’t mean that you intend pain, injury, or damage. But I’m an introvert and you – as a new unknown human – are a threat to me. I don’t know what you want and you most definitely want something and until I figure that out, you’re… more
One of the key tenets I talk about regarding understanding the engineering mindset is that software engineers think in terms of flow charts. This isn’t exactly correct – engineers think in code, but most of the planet does not, but, chances are, they understand the concept of a flowchart. You’re in a state. When certain… more
I’ve been hating on status reports for a long time and it comes from my first knee-jerk reaction when my manager asked for one. My unspoken thought was, “Why, wait, what?” I didn’t understand big companies, I didn’t understand politics and bureaucracy, all I understood was that it felt like a waste of time to… more
I sidestepped the evaluation notebook issue in The Gel Dilemma, but this omission has bugged me because I’ve cared about what I’ve written on for a lot longer than I’ve cared what I’ve written with. The Mom is to blame here. When I was 10 she gave me a journal entitled “Moments Worth Remembering”. There… more
It’s the calm before the presentation storm. Over the next three months, I’ve got four different presentations at Webstock and SXSW. I’m also the best man at a wedding in Washington, all of which means I’m spending most of my down-time thinking up things I’m going to say in the future. If you’re looking for… more
The rules are simple: Take 20 minutes from your busy day Grab some stickies (or equivalent) And tell everyone what’s up Post a link with a comment (or don’t) Winner gets a copy of the book (but that’s not the point) Tell a friend.
I’ve got this huge black notebook that I bring to meetings when I feel the Titanium Powerbook is not appropriate. 11×14 sketch book. I usually get long stares when I plop it on the table and the occasionally, “That’s a big notebook”. Glibly, I reply, “I’ve got big thoughts.” The 17″ Powerbook is vast like… more
At the new gig, everyone is sporting fancy laptops and the whole building is wired for 802.11b. This has some significant implications on the way work gets done in a meeting.
