Delaying gratification to increase productivity

Roger on 14/05/2016

You’ve got a list of projects to work on or tasks to complete. How do decide which to do first? You could use an important/urgent matrix to help you prioritise the tasks but there is a flaw with this kind of approach; it assumes that all tasks are equal. But they aren’t. Some of these tasks you are looking forward to, some you are dreading. Some you’ll enjoy, others will be a chore. Some will be exciting, others boring.

You can get more tasks complete if you understand your tendencies to procrastinate, to avoid the difficult tasks, and to convince yourself that you really should do the things that you’ll enjoy most first. Delaying the gratification you get from doing the fun things first by completing some of the tasks are aren’t looking forward to, and then using the fun/interesting/exciting tasks as rewards means that not only do you get more tasks done but you also get the things you don’t want to do done.

Credit becomes credibility

Roger on 13/05/2016

With a tight deadline looming a colleague and I worked on a high dependency task and got it done on time. Someone else then sent the email to inform everyone else and implicitly claim the credit. My colleague said it didn’t matter who gets the credit, getting the work done is what matters. And if it was an isolated project with no future then I’d agree, but in corporate life credit becomes credibility. Getting things done creates a reputation for getting things done. And the reputation that a person and/or team carries within an organisation greatly affects who wants to work with the person, and how they work with them, so it in turn affects the success of the team. Credit isn’t about ego, it’s corporate currency that should be earned, invested in, and spent appropriately for the greater good of the team.

People are the biggest flaw in any security

Roger on 12/05/2016

Having spent a lot of money on penetration testing to ensure the new website is secure, the tester then sent the report with some results from a different customers test. People are always the biggest flaw in any security, even people who are supposed to know a thing or two about security.

ATBA-UK Team Meeting

Roger on 08/05/2016

We had our first team meeting of the season to discuss things like insurance, the competition and instructor training. It was a really good meeting with lots of energy, ideas, discussion, and some good decisions being made.

Actually useful Every Day Carry

Roger on 07/05/2016

Google ‘Every Day Carry’ and you’ll get all kinds of advice from various websites, lots of knives and torches, and all kinds of ‘useful’ gadgets. But it doesn’t have to be all tacti-cool torches and five different keyring lever bars. The point of EDC is to be better prepared for solving those unexpected little problems that life throws up, it’s not about surviving the Zombie Apocalypse. The best EDC items are multi-purpose and can be used in lots of different ways (some times requiring a bit of divergent and creative thinking). Here are some of the things that I think are actually useful things to carry.

1. Smartphone

Most people already carry a phone anyway so it has to be on the list. A phone with the right apps and an internet connection is a powerful tool for solving all kinds of problems from putting up a shelf (clinometer app) to getting unlost (Google Maps and a compass app), from getting you up on time (alarm clock app) to making notes about things you don’t want to forget (Evernote app).

2. Small roll of Sellotape

Sellotape can be used for all kinds of things, from sticking two sheets of paper together, to removing lint from clothes. It can be used as a plaster if you cut your finger and as a length of string if you twist it so it sticks to itself.

3. Spoon

A spoon is a very useful implement, from the obvious use of eating cereal or soup, to an unconventional self-defence tool, to the practical use as a lever bar to jam a door open or shut or change a bike tyre.

4. Buff

Essentially just a piece of cloth, a Buff can become a hat or scarf if you get cold, a handkerchief, emergency toilet paper, or a bandage.

5. Carrier Bag

Carrying things, waterproof wrapping, and suffocating someone (just kidding) makes a carrier bag great for solving problems but also for everyday use a carrier bag is handy for when you go shopping rather than using more is environmentally-friendly.

None of these things are the kinds of EDC items that would raise eyebrows if someone noticed you had them, but all of them are really useful for solving all kinds of little problems that occur.