How to work from the time & place dimensions
To me, there are three modes of work:
- Solitude: anyting that requires quiet thinking, such as reading, coding.
- Work with one or two partners. Best explained by All I Really Need to Know about Pair Programming I Learned In Kindergarten
- Work with a team and meetings
For solitude work, it is best when it is dark outside when everyone is asleep. Since staying up at night will result in bad long term health, getting up before 4:30 am is the only option. The catch is that I need to remember to go to sleep early (before 9 pm).
In quite solitude, you can think, read, code, and work out the plan for the day as well.
| Mode of work | When | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Solitude | 4:30 am before 8:30 am | Home office or quiet quarter in office |
| With others | 8:30 am to 5 pm | Office or anywhere with the phone |
Work with partner(s)
All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten
- By Robert Fulghum (Fulghum 1988)
Share everything.
Play fair.
Don’t hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don’t take things that aren’t yours.
Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Live a balanced life – learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and
dance and play and work every day some.
Take a nap every afternoon.
When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together.
Be aware of wonder.
So
Since staying up at night will result in a poor workday,
- It is focusing on the priorities.
- It is consistenly making progress.
- It is get up where you fall.
- It is practice makes perfect while trying not to rework where it makes sense.
- It is use shortcuts in a difficult and complex world that constantly throws roadblocks at you.
Priorities
Work priorities
Although where you work determines your priorities to the large extend, you chose where you work.
You’d better know its priorites before your boss has to tell you. First thing in the morning, or the night before, put down the top 1, 2 or 3 things that are the most important. Do not check emails before 9 am.
Before 10 am, do nothing but the top most important thing until it is complete. If it is not done by 10 am, continue work on it until it is done.
Non-work priorities: body, mind and soul
- Body By all means, your health is the most important. Without health, we cannot work, we cannot be the best we can for anyone.
Eat good food at regular hours Sleep or rest at regular hours:
I set alarms to put my phones aways, and set alarms to wind down at night, alarms to have dinner.
-
Mind Free your mind of clutter and trash.
-
Soul I do not know what soul is but I know it is within me, and mystically connected to space. A walk outside, whether in urban streets or countryside,always makes me feel better. In a sense, the sky is my father. The Earth is my mother. A walk outside allows me to connect with my mother and father, and my sisters and brothers.
Progress consistently on fewer things
Whatever your goals are, short or long term, make progress consistently.
I heard this story when I was a child: A bear was picking corn in a corn field. He sees so many beautiful corn and is very excited. He grabs one, and puts it under his armpit. He grabs another one, and puts it again under his armpit…and it repeats. At the end of the day, the exchausted bear is disappointed that he has only 1 corn.
Practice makes perfect while not to rework where it makes sense
Get up where you fall
Just get up, and pat the dust off, re-count my blessings and move on.
Use shortcuts in a difficult and complex world that constantly throws you roadblocks
Using shortcuts to be more efficient, and make things easier.
Wisdoms from others
Wisdoms from others can serve us well.
Word
To me, taking good notes and consistently organize them is really important. For people who are constantly multitasking like myself (many of us have to multitask without a choice), notes help us switch from one task/skill/goal to another task/skill/goal quickly without wasting a lot of time to pick up things again. For a specific subject, I like to use Word for taking notes. I have some keyboard shortcuts that help format text quickly.
- code: contrl + shift + Q
- normal text: contrl + shift + E
- insert image: alt, n, p, d
Outlook
Very important tool for work!
Coding
