The Blog that Noone Reads

I may or may not have already mentioned that I’m a contractor now. The reasons for this transition are really the subject for another post, but it’s relevant to say that I wanted more diversity in the types of projects I’d be working on.

One of the major challenges of contracting is that I have projects constantly beginning and ending and, often, overlapping. I’m switching contexts at least daily, if not several times per day. There are also all of the new surrounding tasks associated with this type of work: invoicing, estimates, looking for the next gig, etc. I’ve been trying to work out a system for managing all of my tasks so I can get that stuff out of my brain and focus on the task at hand.

The solution I’ve come up with is a combination of technology and process. I’m using OmniFocus on my iPhone, laptop, and desktop. On top of being a really slick app, the syncing functionality is key for me. The data is useless if I can’t access it where I need to. Things I need to do are captured and organized in OmniFocus. From there, I can let my brain forget about everything and bring up a focussed view of only what I’m working on.

That part of the solution is fairly obvious. The real challenge is the capturing tasks as they are presented in a way that’s efficient requires little thought. If it’s too difficult or distracting to capture a task, I won’t do it. I’ll just go spelunking through my email and chat logs to figure out what I should be doing next or to look up that piece of info I forgot to write down about my next task. I’ve identified the four major places tasks come from during my day: Email, Chat, Phone calls

OmniFocus Clippings are a fantastic way to capture any input that comes in through the computer. You simply select the text you want to turn into a task and hit designated keystroke and the quick entry window comes up, pre-populated with your selection. An item that might previously have gotten lost and forgotten in your inbox can, instead, be added to the task list for a project with just a few keystrokes.

Similarly, you can define a keystroke to bring up the quick task entry window if you have an idea you want to capture without losing focus on whatever you’re working on.

This last tool is a slightly older technology. I carry a paper notebook. Even though my handwriting sucks, a notebook is the perfect tool any time you’re not at your PC, and even some times when you are. I don’t find my notebook nearly as useful for task retrieval, which is why I tend to enter tasks into OmniFocus when I have some spare cycles.

If I’m having a face to face meeting, I do not bring my laptop with me. It’s too distracting and I have to really change focus away from whoever’s speaking to capture something. Instead, I bring my notebook. I turn to a blank page when we sit down. I write down anything that may be useful later. Anything that I can act on get’s a little, empty check box in the margin. I may type the items into my task management system at some point in the future, but getting them captured is all that’s important during a meeting.

One thing that’s great about a notebook is that it’s separate from the computer screen. You don’t have to change focus on the screen. Instead, there’s a simple physical action required to review my notes. I just look down.

There are a lot of systems out there that are very helpful if you use them. They key is to finding something that works for you and use it religiously. The lower the barrier to entry, the better. Start with a notebook and look at software only after you’ve discovered your usage patterns.

I’m moving on Friday. Not really looking forward to it. I hate moving. The good part about the deal, though, is that I’m going to have my very own office in the new place. For that, I can’t freaking wait. Right now, I have about 6 square-feet where I spend about 60 hours a week. The new place will feature over twenty times the space. This is important because, right now, I’m sporting two 24″ monitors and my desk can just barely even support a key board and mouse along with my screens. The new space will allow me to have books, papers, and maybe even my laptop on the desk at the same time.

Can anybody recommend a good desk for someone with a lot of gear who hates cables?

There’s a new iPhone app out there for accession your worspress blog on the go. It’s pretty darn slick. I haven’t tested it against my custom engine yet, but it looks like it just uses the api. It should work with any blog that implements the metaweblog api.

This post Is from the app.