Hacking Your Passions » Productivity

Words That Matter

Iain Hamp — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 07:33:45 +0000

I had several goals going into the Blog-A-Thon.

Write a huge number of posts
Have the content of the posts be meaningful
Establish the three new blogs I had in mind to begin – Heartprint, Internal Innovation, and Resolution Revolution
Write at least one new post on each of my eleven blogs
Introduce my group writing contest
Have fun
Learn about myself
Help others

I accomplished all but the first and fifth ones, and I am working on getting that fifth one tackled before evening’s end.

I also got a lot of things done in the last 31 hours that I had no idea I would accomplish. I sort of planned on just writing, but life got in the way in interesting ways. Besides writing, I

cleaned the bathrooms
did five loads of laundry
made the beds
vacuumed
joined a gym (and was not particularly upset by most of my measurements)
had dinner with my wife’s parents and aunt
filled a swimming pool
slept a reasonable amount of time

So the answer to “was the day particularly successful” is a resounding “yes”! no one contributed any money to Make a Difference, but I think I didn’t market that well either. I’ll give that more thought – would sure like to get some donations flowing their way.

Anyway, tomorrow will be time for doing chores around the house and out and about. But chances are, I’ll get a few blog posts in too. And I’ll be quite happy with it, I suspect.

Travel Tips For Lone Goers

Iain Hamp — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 21:46:02 +0000

I have picked up a few neat tricks over the last year and a half, now that I’m at least occasionally a business traveller. Ways to fold clothes in on themselves so as to maximize space, minimize wrinkles, and get a week’s worth of gear in carry-ons for airplane travel (so as to not have to check luggage in). The somewhat inexplicable and potentially frustrating inverse relationship that seems to exist between the speed/cost of high speed internet access at a hotel and the cost of the room per night (cheap hotels almost always have better and free access, and seem more likely to have wi-fi).

Reading through this list of forty additional tips, I’m seeing a few that could come in handy in the future, like…

Buy something from a local store. Want to blend in? Try making a purchase from a local grocery store. The local bag will make you look more like a native and is much less likely to be stolen than an expensive purse or day pack.

Split up cash and credit cards. When traveling, alone or otherwise, it’s always a good idea to keep at least some of your money and credit cards separate. This way, if you do lose one set you’ll have another to fall back on and your trip won’t be disrupted as heavily.

Keep your hotel’s phone number and address on you. You don’t want to end up stranded in a foreign country with no way to get back to your hotel. Keep your hotel’s business card with you so you can show it to the cab driver if you don’t speak the language and have the number handy so you can call if you need to.

Something Borrowed, Something New

Iain Hamp — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 05:14:15 +0000

I spent a year of my life recently going through an intense development program at the company I currently work for. I learned untold numbers of new skills, and built significantly on those I already possessed. I learned over time how to succeed in that role, how to take the potential it held and what was expected of me and push myself to harness the opportunities present and excel. In other words, I would deem my role in that program a success.

As I moved into my new role in the company, I wondered how to take what I had learned and apply it to the new tasks at hand. What had made me successful in meeting/exceeding expectations in regards to my previous responsibilities, however, didn’t necessarily transfer one-for-one to the new role. I addressed this discovery with a friend and fellow coworker, who challenged me to consider that what worked before might not apply at all to the new job. Some things have, but it has been wonderful and an entirely new journey to learn what I need to do differently to meet and exceed the needs of my new team.

When I read this post regarding getting past done, and learning what you can from the successes and failures of a project once it’s passed, the first thing I thought of was this “aha” I had, of taking the new role and treating it like, well, something new, different, with different needs and responsibilities and expectations.

More Ways To Stay Productive

Iain Hamp — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 01:48:49 +0000

I really enjoyed this list of different ideas on how to stay productive. There are many things I had already known and taken to heart on the list (and some that are sort of obvious, I think – though I don’t like to presume), but there are a few gems that I definitely need to pay more attention to:

29. Shut the room door to block distraction – I hate to do this when I am home since I’ve already not seen my wife all day, but if there’s something I just have to get done in a small amount of time, I need to just explain that, close the door, git’r done, and then enjoy relaxing time with my wife afterwards.

26. Read books on subjects that interest you to refresh your mind – I do read a lot of self-development books, but I’ve been neglecting about every other kind of reading. I need to focus on some autobiographies and history reading to satisfy that part of my curiosity, and I probably need to delve into fiction more often and let my imagination run around in some non-reality-based worlds for a while.

6. Look in the mirror and compliment yourself, just say “God, you are good looking !” – Seems a bit goofy, but I’m game to try something new tomorrow morning

Official Blog-A-Thon Begins

Iain Hamp — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 01:09:45 +0000

Beginning oh, say, NOW, I will begin blogging for 31 hours. My goal of blogging 31 times on average over the course of the 31 days of January is a HUGE stretch to reach at this point, so I’ll need to do something huge to even come close. Something like blogging for 31 hours straight. I will blog across all of my different blogging outlets at some point in that time span, including:

And three all new blogs:

There will also be a contest. Details to come.