Backstory: I got a G1 for Christmas, and it's amazing. I've been hacking around with writing stuff for it, downloading stuff for it, and generally handing all my personal details over to Google in the name of availability and convenience. I'm pleased.
I've noticed this weird feeling recently. Well, lack of a feeling recently. It used to crop up on the T, or sitting in traffic, or waiting in line at the grocery store. I used to feel, well, bored. Not anymore. Sitting in traffic? Check my email. At the grocery store? Read the news. On the T? Write blog posts (like the last one!).
My first thought to all this is the title of this post. Before, I was wasting time. Now, I'm getting to necessary tasks before they have a chance to pile up! Even reading Hacker News peters out after a while, so if I can get it done in the grocery store, I'll be free later. And really, even if checking email every 5 minutes isn't the most efficient way to do it, it's still progress against this pre-defined list of stuff I have to do.
That's what gets me, though. Where is this pre-defined list? I certainly haven't written it down anywhere. And after a few months, I don't think I'm actually more productive. Well, technically, I am producing more, but that's irrelevant. If I did write that list down, it wouldn't be in terms of what I need to work on. It would be big ideas - projects I want to finish.
While it's great to have my phone when I'm lost in Jamaica Plain or looking for movies at dinner, I don't need everything my phone, or any other nifty bit of technology, has to offer. It absolutely improves my efficiency when I need it too (not having to ever look up directions?), but if I don't need some chunk of information, it doesn't matter how fast or available it is. My life is not bound by the efficiency of my surroundings and tools, so pretending it is warps my priorities.
I know what I want to do, and if I can remember that, there's plenty of time for all of it.
"Where is this pre-defined list?"
ReplyDeleteRSS feeds. Which have the added benefit of being able to delete something when you get fed up with it, rather than just saying, "arrgh, why do i even bother with (slashdot/drudge/espn/mankiw/etc)"
oh, also, my notebook, for the non-computer stuff
ReplyDelete@James: Having a list is great, but there's always a few things that are actually important that don't end up on that list. I actually do have a reasonable idea of what I want to do in my head, but it's the cross-check that always gets me. Just because I'm busy doesn't mean I'm productive.
ReplyDelete