ROWE: Results Only Work Environment (No 9-5)

By Daniel Miessler on March 19th, 2010: Tagged as Productivity
Hennepin County is practicing what’s called a results-only work environment, or ROWE, which gives everyone in a company the freedom to do their job when and where they want, as long as the work gets done. The state of Minnesota signed a contract for the program last year as part of a campaign to reduce rush hour traffic on 35W in Minneapolis. Nationwide, 3 percent of businesses now say they have a ROWE, though as far as participants here in Hennepin County know, theirs is the first public agency to adopt it. Many are ecstatic at the way it’s working so far.
via npr.org

So again we see another instance of an interesting concept: the more open and free something is, the higher the maturity level required of the people using it. You can’t have democracy in a country of idiots. And similarly, you can’t have ROWE in a company of mouthbreathers.

Posted via web from danielmiessler.com | posterous

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Creative Think: Tom Hirshfield’s Rules of Thumb

By Daniel Miessler on December 7th, 2009: Tagged as Productivity

Tom Hirshfield’s Rules of Thumb

1. If you hit every time, the target’s too near — or too big.

2. Never learn details before deciding on a first approach.

3. Never state a problem to yourself in the same terms as it was brought to you.

4. The second assault on the same problem should come from a totally different direction.

5. If you don’t understand a problem, then explain it to an audience and listen to yourself.

6. Don’t mind approaches that transform one problem into another, that’s a new chance.

7. If it’s surprising, it’s useful.

8. Studying the inverse problem always helps.

9. Spend a proportion of your time analyzing your work methods.

10. If you don’t ask “Why this?” often enough, someone else will ask, “Why you?”

via blog.creativethink.com

Excellent stuff. Few things are as efficient as improving how we think. It’s the “axe-sharpening” piece of cutting down a tree.

Posted via web from danielmiessler.com | posterous

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Google Tasks

By Daniel Miessler on October 21st, 2009: Tagged as Google | Productivity

Simple > elaborate / feature-rich.

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20 Excellent Productivity Tips

By Daniel Miessler on September 29th, 2009: Tagged as Productivity

A great list of productivity tips.

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Why I Hate Meetings

By Daniel Miessler on August 9th, 2009: Tagged as Productivity

Paul Graham captures wonderfully here why I hate meetings so much.

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A Great Post on Productivity

By Daniel Miessler on July 22nd, 2009: Tagged as Philosophy | Productivity

This post on productivity is right in line with my latest questions on life meaning, namely, “to what end”. A must read for anyone interested in “doing more”.

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GTD: Task Paper

By Daniel Miessler on July 7th, 2009: Tagged as GTD | Productivity

I am a GTD person, and I’m constantly looking for superior systems for managing projects and tasks. I’m really into simplicity, so up to now I’ve been using the GTD PDA, which is just a set of index cards.

task_paper

I think I may have found a digital replacement, however–or at least a supplement to it. It’s called Task Paper, and it’s a Google application that runs both locally on OS X as well as online. Soon there’ll be an iPhone version as well.

The service is just now getting started, but I like what I’m seeing so far. The key for me is simplicity; I like the idea of simple text editing (with features) that propagates cleanly wherever I need it.

I look forward to seeing how it develops. ::

(thanks to Steve Rubel for the link)

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Announcing Your Plans for Greatness Lowers Your Chances of Doing Them

By Daniel Miessler on July 6th, 2009: Tagged as Productivity | Psychology

This, combined with a few other reasons, is why I have been against New Year’s Resolutions for a while now. ::

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Google Launches Quicksilver Alternative for OS X

By Daniel Miessler on January 13th, 2009: Tagged as Apple | Google | Productivity

google_quicksilver

Well, this is interesting. I’m a Quicksilver disciple, so anything that competes with it instantly gets attention. And if it’s from Google, well…it gets installed immediately.

First impressions after 30 seconds? Most interesting. I’m definitely going to play with this. Here’s the app, and there’s a quickstart guide here.

[ 2009-01-13 | 17:56:28 : My buddy Robby has confirmed that the creator of this Google app is in fact the author of Quicksilver. Wow. I am *very* interested in this project now. ]

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The Myth of Multitasking

By Daniel Miessler on January 6th, 2009: Tagged as Productivity

multitasking

Nobody really effectively multitasks. It’s a myth. Anyone who is good at getting things done still does one thing at a time–they’re just good at changing gears between them.

That may sound like the same thing, but it’s quite different.

Do the current task all the way, then move on to the next one. Forget multitasking–it’s a mirage on the desert horizon. And like mirages that take you off your true course, believing in multitasking can actually hurt you. ::

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