Creating productivity tools at the intersection of product strategy, mobile software development, and user-centered design

Monthly archives for October, 2012

Becoming the Best



In order to get good at something, you have to be able to reach a breaking point and take one step further. When you lift weights, your muscles hit a breaking point, and that one extra push-up is what helps you get stronger (after you heal and rest). If you lift weights, but never push yourself, then you won’t get stronger. If you shoot jumpers, and never push yourself one step past your breaking point, then you will never become a better shooter.

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In order to get above average at something, you have to go through more of those cycles than other people are willing to endure. You have to continue pushing yourself over a long period of time. You don’t just work on your jump shot for a couple weeks. You work on it for years.

In order to be the best at something, you have to have pushed through more cumulative breaking points than everyone else. It’s that simple. You don’t even necessarily have to do it that long since breaking through walls is something very few people engage in at all. Most people don’t even get good at anything, much less above average at something.

Therefore, while talent obviously helps, what matters most in becoming the best at something is hard work and determination.  Talent gives you the ability to reach your breaking point quickly, but determination is what allows you to keep going past it.

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All Things for All People



“While it may be obvious that Evernote and OmniFocus are not meant to do the same things, pointing out this difference speaks to a larger point about apps like Evernote that try to be all things to all people. That simply is very hard to do, and rarely works out for the best. It would be better, I think, for Evernote to do fewer things very well than many things just okay.

That may be the biggest reason why Evernote simply hasn’t worked for me.”

Evernote, you can’t be an Everything Bucket, please focus!

[Reposted from: http://readwrite.com/2012/10/24/why-evernote-just-doesnt-work-for-me]

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Close to Famous



Today, I ran into Drew Houston (of Dropbox fame) at my local coffee shop, and generally acted like a typical fanboy.  This made me realize a number of important truths, some of them harder to face than others:

  • I am a total tech geek - People who know me will tell you that I’m not usually shy about introducing myself and meeting new people. In fact, I probably wouldn’t be fazed if I saw Justin Timberlake in person. But for the first time in a long time, I was in celebrity shock and didn’t know what to say.  Upon first walking into the coffee shop, I did a double take and then quickly glanced away to pretend that I hadn’t noticed anything. I went about my business, ordering my coffee and sat nervously at the adjacent table, wondering what to say.  He and his friend were just chatting, but I only got the guts to interject when they were getting up to leave. I mean, what kind of person gets nervous about this stuff?!
  • Success comes through dedication – The CEO of a company has to live and breath his company all day, but even at night they are still talking about their product and how to make it better.  I didn’t catch much of the specifics, but the pair was clearly talking about Dropbox, and Drew was still clearly focused on taking it to the next level.  There is no rest, there is only forward.
  • I am not ready for the big leagues – Even though I was connected enough to the tech world to understand the bits and pieces I heard, I knew I wouldn’t be able to add to the conversation. My passion is productivity software and I’m listening to a chat about productivity software, yet all I had to say was “Hello, nice to meet you.” How embarrassing. A true visionary must have something to (literally) add to the conversation, and should also be able to back up those ideas with deep insight and meaningful experience. Which brings me to my next point …
  • Knowing how to code is essential – This is Silicon Valley.  I don’t care if you’re a designer, marketing manager, or work in bizdev.  If you want to make it big at a real start-up you have to at least know the basics of programming.  (Fortunately, this is something I am actively working on, ergo spending time at a coffee shop).
  • Anyone can make it – I am not at the top of my game now, but there’s no reason I can’t get there. I might not make a million dollars, but I have only myself to blame if I don’t at least reach my full potential.  As, his friend mentioned as they left, “See, just look at Drew, any can make it.”

If just one other person gets motivated to become more productive and finally get their act together, exposing myself this way will be totally worth it.

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20 Things I Should Have Known at 20



1. The world is trying to keep you stupid. From bank fees to interest rates to miracle diets, people who are not educated are easier to get money from and easier to lead. Educate yourself as much as possible for wealth, independence, and happiness.
2. Do not have faith in institutions to educate you. By the time they build the curriculum, it’s likely that the system is outdated– sometimes utterly broken. You both learn and get respect from people worth getting it from by leading and doing, not by following.
3. Read as much as you can. Learn to speed read with high retention. Emerson Spartz taught me this while I was at a Summit Series event. If he reads 2-3 books a week, you can read one.
4. Connect with everyone, all the time. Be genuine about it. Learn to find something you like in each person, and then speak to that thing.
5. Don’t waste time being shy. Shyness is the belief that your emotions should be the arbitrators of your decision making process when the opposite is actually true.
6. If you feel weird about something during a relationship, that’s usually what you end up breaking up over.
7. Have as much contact as possible with older people. Personally, I met people at Podcamps. My friend Greg, at the age of 13, met his first future employer sitting next to him on a plane. The reason this is so valuable is because people your age don’t usually have the decision-making ability to help you very much. Also they know almost everything you will learn later, so ask them.
8. Find people that are cooler than you and hang out with them too. This and the corollary are both important: “don’t attempt to be average inside your group. Continuously attempt to be cooler than them (by doing cooler things, being more laid back, accepting, ambitious, etc.).”
9. You will become more conservative over time. This is just a fact. Those you surround yourself with create a kind of “bubble” that pushes you to support the status quo. For this reason, you need to do your craziest stuff NOW. Later on, you’ll become too afraid. Trust me.
10. Reduce all expenses as much as possible. I mean it. This creates a safety net that will allow you to do the crazier shit I mentioned above.
11. Instead of getting status through objects (which provide only temporary boosts), do it through experiences. In other words, a trip to Paris is a better choice than a new wardrobe. Studies show this also boosts happiness.
12. While you are living on the cheap, solve the money problem. Use the internet, because it’s like a cool little machine that helps you do your bidding. If you are currently living paycheck to paycheck, extend that to three weeks instead of two. Then, as you get better, you can think a month ahead, then three months, then six, and finally a year ahead. (The goal is to get to a point where you are thinking 5 years ahead.)
13. Learn to program.
14. Get a six-pack (or get thin, whatever your goal is) while you are young. Your hormones are in a better place to help you do this at a younger age. Don’t waste this opportunity, trust me.
15. Learn to cook. This will make everything much easier and it turns food from a chore + expensive habit into a pleasant + frugal one. I’m a big Jamie Oliver fan, but whatever you like is fine.
16. Sleep well. This and cooking will help with the six pack. If you think “I can sleep when I’m dead” or “I have too much to do to sleep,” I have news for you: you are INEFFICIENT, and sleep deprivation isn’t helping.
17. Get a reminder app for everything. Do not trust your own brain for your memory. Do not trust it for what you “feel like” you should be doing. Trust only the reminder app. I use RE.minder and Action Method.
18. Choose something huge to do, as well as allowing the waves of opportunity to help you along. If you don’t set goals, some stuff may happen, but if you do choose, lots more will.
19. Get known for one thing. Spend like 5 years doing it instead of flopping around all over the place. If you want to shift afterwards, go ahead. Like I said, choose something.
20. Don’t try to “fix” anyone. Instead, look for someone who isn’t broken.

(Reposted from: http://inoveryourhead.net/20-things-i-should-have-known-at-20/)

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Peak Time for Productivity



According to recent research, people can be more productive each day if they did everything at the optimal time dictated by their body’s natural rhythms.  The article also suggests that such habits can decrease the risk of diabetes, depression and obesity. For most people, actionable steps include performing cognitive work in the morning, physical work in the late afternoon, and creative work at night.

However, it feels like the research merely recognizes common patterns in human behavior and devises a framework around that data, rather than divulging some novel truth. For example, we all know people who are “morning people” and others who are “night owls”, but rather than explain their behavior, the article simply describes them as  ”two distinctive chronotypes.” This sounds scientific, but doesn’t add anything new to the conversation. Additionally, the article gives suggestions about how to optimize Twitter and Facebook consumption. The underlying assumption here is that these websites are an important daily activity worth crafting your day around. Frankly, if I’m trying to optimize my work day, perhaps spending time on social networking sites isn’t necessary at all.

Finally, the article completely ignores the real reason for not listening to our bodies: we all have external dependencies beyond our control. Most people work in high-demanding environments where we are often encouraged to push ourselves to the limit every day as we juggle work, exercise, family, and other extra projects.  So while listening to your body’s call to take a nap in the afternoon would be nice, such behavior simply isn’t allowed at most workplaces.  As a result, the piece ultimately ends up reading more like pseudo-science than groundbreaking research – not because the results are inaccurate, but because the realities it acknowledges are already common sense.

In conclusion, if your body is trying to tell you something, don’t ignore the signs. How to do that is a matter of better managing your schedule and priorities so that instead of running on your corporation’s schedule, you are in charge of your own time.

Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444180004578018294057070544.html

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Quote of the Month



There is little correlation between sophistication of a banking system and productivity growth.

– Paul Volcker               

Are you creating real value in your life or are you just pushing paper?

From: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2009/02/20/usa-economy-volcker-idUKN2029103720090220

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