I enjoy Cal Newport's Study Hacks blog. A lot of this is revised from that blog, and definitely feels like a mathematician wrote it. Lots of rules and...moreI enjoy Cal Newport's Study Hacks blog. A lot of this is revised from that blog, and definitely feels like a mathematician wrote it. Lots of rules and rehashing of those rules. I think it's worth a read if you think you have to love what you do all the time. Cause that's impossible and takes work.(less)
I saw this on a friend's blog, got it from the library the next day, and finished it two days after that. This was sort of the point of the book--leav...moreI saw this on a friend's blog, got it from the library the next day, and finished it two days after that. This was sort of the point of the book--leave room for fun and don't worry about getting everything done all the time.
The journalism in here was occasionally a bit lacking, particularly in the CAM chapter. I felt like there was a lot of anecdote passing as fact. That said, it was interesting to see the ways in which people are choosing to slow down aspects of their lives, and where we've come. Much of the history is what we discuss in the seminar I teach, and while in some ways we have a lot more free time (no 14 hour 6 hour weeks as standard as in the past) in other ways we have a lot less. I may recommend this as a source to students in the future. It's a few years out of date but I know basically still sound.(less)
So right. I hear about the extreme misuse of PowerPoint in the federal government all the time from family members employed therein. Seeing the exampl...moreSo right. I hear about the extreme misuse of PowerPoint in the federal government all the time from family members employed therein. Seeing the examples in here makes it even more alarming.
I dislike cutesy slides and boring slides both. As much as possible I try to present only salient graphics and photos. This can be challenging in teaching settings when you want to present a chart, but honestly I like to show the chart once and then draw it on the board later. I think that's probably more pedagogically useful.
Though I am ok with a picture of the presenter's cat during the question period. (less)
I first read this book a few years ago when I taught a class about the GTD method offered by the UIUC library. I just signed up to teach the class as...moreI first read this book a few years ago when I taught a class about the GTD method offered by the UIUC library. I just signed up to teach the class as part of my job, but definitely took the message of the book to heart. Since then I have been a little bit of a productivity junkie, though I try to tone it down when I see it is getting out of hand, i.e. Merlin Mann suggesting that joining a Facebook group about productivity is like buying a chair about jogging.
Anyway, I find it helpful to review from time to time as it really is a good method for dealing with a complex set of stuff and shifting focuses and calls on time. Aimed at the executive set, the GTD methods can be adapted by anyone. But it mostly works if you really do it, and falls apart when you start to make "improvements" that do exactly the same things he said not to do because they will mess you up. So like I say, good to review from time to time.
Could you just work on stuff and get it done? Sure, but will you? I think there's something to be said for putting your whole life out in front of you and figuring out what to do next. (less)
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