There are many useful reasons for keeping a daily log. For instance, in a former job, I had a micro managing boss who often popped their head into my office to ask what I had gotten done that day. Because I kept a good time stamped log of what I did, I was always able to tell her exactly what I had done, when I did it, and even how many times I was interrupted by other things that prevented me from doing even more (including her popping her head in my office).

The options and possibilities for how to keep a log are nearly endless. For instance, a simple piece of paper or notebook would suffice. The key, for me at least, is to make your Daily Log as simple as possible to add an entry to.

My daily log is a text file I call @log.txt. The preceding @ sign allows it to sort to the top of my finder window alphabetically. As plain text it is highly “portable” (i.e. I can open it up on any device). The trick is in the workflow and couple of tools I use to add a log entry. Without further adieu, here is how I tie it all together:

To add an entry, I invoke Quicksilver:

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The advantage of using Quicksilver is that it is available to me from any application I happen to be in at the time. I don’t have to “switch modes” to add an entry. I simply type “@log” and it finds my log file. I then hit the tab key and select the “Prepend Text” command. I personally like having the latest entry first in the file.

I then invoke a TextExpander command, triggered by typing “dlog” that formats the entry the way I wish:

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I then type the entry, hit return and it is added to the file. The result is an entry that looks like this:

I store this file in my Dropbox folder so it syncs to all of my machines and “the cloud”. Thus, it is available to me anywhere I can access the internet.

This setup has been working very well for me for years now. I think a big key is to come up with something that is easy and as ubiquitous as possible.

For further reference and ideas, here are some other resources about keeping a daily log:

• For This Guru, No Question Is Too Big – Jim Collins tracks his activities to ensure he is spending time on the things he feels are important.

• Politican as self-tracker – Bob Graham’s notebooks – How a US Senator proved the CIA wrong with his obsessive self tracking.

• Ping’s Thesis – From Diary to Graph – How one man not only tracks his daily activities but also can graph it with fascinating results.

• My Big-Arse Text File – a Poor Man’s Wiki+Blog+PIM - Much of my own inspiration came from this post by my friend and short term personal saviour Matthew Cornell.

• Living in text files - Why do a use a text file for my daily log? The answers are here.

Update

In a serious error of omission, I forgot to include probably the best two posts on this very subject written by my friend Chris Bowler:

• Track Yourself With a Custom Log File

and

• Custom Log File Revisited

Up until very recently, we have been using Backpack’s built in calendar for this task and it has been really great. Bethany and I each have separate calendars for our work and personal items. We also have a calendar for joint events. It is very easy to keep track of which things pertain to our work, which things are personal and which things we had to do together. Because it is browser based it is easily accessible as well.

Once I got an iPhone, things started to break down a bit. I was able to subscribe to the various calendars in Backpack in iCal, and then sync those events to my phone. The only problem was the subscription option is a “read only” solution. I could not add or edit events on either the iPhone or in iCal. I was fine with this for a while as I rarely need to add events when out and about. The calendar is more of a “dashboard” for my day. That being said, when those rare times would occur, my solution was to capture the meeting specifics on a 3×5 card and then add those to the calendar when I returned home. Having to “touch” the event more than once did drive me a bit batty.

Then, Princess Bethany got an iPhone. While I was willing to put up with the limitations of this solution, I knew that her level of patience for such things was less than mine. A change would have to be made.

I knew that, in order to have native read/write calendar functionality across all devices, I would have to use iCal. The problem with this is that iCal does not natively allow you to have calendar sharing and synchronization across machines on a network. There are ways one could workaround this using a shared MobileMe account but this is a less than ideal solution.

The solution is a product called BusySync. It installs as a pane in System Preferences and seamlessly allows you to do real iCal calendar sharing between multiple Macs – with read write and password control. It is a fantastic solution and works so well you wonder why Apple has not implemented this feature in iCal themselves. It could not have been simpler to set up and make the switch. Here is what I did:

1. With the Backpack calendars subscribed in iCal on one of the Macs, I exported each calendar individually. To me, this is the simplest way to get the data out of Backpack.
2. I then deleted those calendar subscriptions from iCal.
3. Next, I imported the calendars I had exported back into iCal, being careful to make sure it imported each one into its own new calendar.
4. I then installed BusySync and followed the instructions for sharing the calendars.
5. Finally, I went to the other Macs, installed BusySync there, and followed the instructions for subscribing to the calendars.

It has only been a day or so but I can already see how much more functional this setup will be.

Let’s add a feature. Let’s put some ruled lines on the paper. Make no mistake, this feature adds value. It allows me to be able to write neatly by using the lines as a guide. This makes the data more legible by providing a structure for me to follow. It also has a cost. It takes away some of the flexibility. Could I still write sideways in opposite direction of the lines? Sure. Am I likely to? No. Why? Well, it would go against the provided structure and thus make the data less legible. Ruled lines would intersect and, to a small extent, obscure my words and drawings.

OK, next feature – A box at the top left corner of the short end of the page. Perfect. That empty box has some value. Perhaps I could write a date in there. Perhaps I could use a colored marker to fill it in – color code the page. Perhaps I could put the name of the project that this piece of paper belongs to. Does the box take away from the available free space on the page? Sure it does. It is a trade off though. What I give up in space I gain in value right? Well, that depends on the perspective of the individual, but I think I like it.

Enough on that. Let’s add a feature to that box we added. Lets pre-print what we think people should use that box for. You know, to make it clearer for the end user. Let’s print a label in that box called “Title”. Perfect. Now I have added value by reducing the amount of thought a user of this paper has to put into figuring out why that box is there, right? I think you can now see where I am going with this…

I think it is far too easy to look at the addition of features to anything – hardware, software, analog, digital, even a simple piece of blank paper – as a benefit without also recognizing the associated and often forgotten cost.

In the world of hardware and software, the companies, developers, and tools that get it right weigh the cost of adding features heavily and take every feature addition under great consideration. In fact, they reject most feature requests right out of the starting gate. They appreciate feature requests but more often than not read them and ignore them. They simply let the signal rise above the noise to determine what features to add. When they do add a feature, they do it in the most unobtrusive and seamless way possible. They are careful to make sure the value far outweighs the cost.

The costs do not stop there. In fact, if you add a feature you now have to support that feature if it breaks or does not work as the user expects it to. Also, adding a feature could actually loose you a sale. Those of us (I am not alone) who are feature wary may opt for something else just for the simplicity.

This does not mean that you cannot have a ton of features yet still maintain flexibility. One example is TextMate. TextMate is a very powerful text editing program for the Mac. It is chock full of features and has a robust plug in architecture that allows you to add even more. Yet all that power is hidden in the UI. When you launch TextMate all you see is a blank white page ready for input. The features are not in your way. If you just want to get some writing done in plain text you have the only feature you need right there. The power is not there unless you need it and then mostly as a menu item optionally accessible via a keyboard shortcut.

On the other hand, Notes.app on the iPhone is very basic in features. You can take notes, you can email a note, and that is about it. But that is what makes it great. You can use Notes.app any way you want. Type up a blog post draft. Enter in a book recommendation. Make a shopping list. Note the dimensions of that room you need to buy furniture for. In fact, it’s lack of features and structure are what provide it’s true power.

As you can see from these to disparate examples, It is not about not adding features. Features in an of themselves are not a problem. It is about adding the right features and only the right ones. I like ruled paper with a predefined area for a title and date just like the next guy. It is about understanding that for every added feature there is a cost and not forgetting to consider that.

This is the second of my series of posts attempting to provide some proper style guidelines for Twitter. It is my hope that, with enough uptake, these will help raise the level of conversation and quality on Twitter.

Following

There are many criteria and considerations one may choose to examine when deciding whether or not to follow someone on Twitter. In fact, many criteria are needed to consider such a weighty decision because every person you follow changes not only the number of tweets in your stream but also the overall personal value of Twitter itself.

Here are some important criteria:

• Tweets – Quickly scan through several pages of the persons tweet history. Are any of interest and/or value to you? If so, how many? Place value on quality over quantity.

• Profile – How one describes themselves in such a small amount of space is often a very accurate picture of their interests and what is important to them. Does it interest you?

• Website – Click on the link they provide to their personal website. Read what is offered there. Does that help to paint a better picture of them and their interests? Do they align with yours?

• Product – Do they produce a product that you use? Do you care to hear about new releases or other product news?

Here are some important considerations:

• Relationships – As a social network, Twitter is designed to cultivate and maintain relationships. Even those who use Twitter solely as a microblogging platform at the least is seeking to build a relationship with the audience. Be respectful of this and follow no more people than you are capable of cultivating a relationship with, no matter how small or one sided.

• Your “noise” threshold – How many people can you follow and keep up without losing important and useful information in between the less useful tweets? Everyone is different here. Some people can follow thousands and be OK with that. I would suggest that 250-300 is the maximum for most people.

• Your time threshold – Anyone you add to your Twitter stream will increase the amount of time you will need to read and process those tweets. Time has value. Consider adding people costly.

Being followed

If you would like to be the sort of Twittizen that people would like to follow, here are some style elements you should follow:

• Give people a good reason to follow. – Use Twitter to provide a mixture of useful information, humorous asides (if your have good humor) and occasionally answer the single question Twitter asks (”What are you doing?”). The information and humor is why people may follow but the ambient intimacy the question asked creates helps people get to know and, thus form a relationship, with you.

• Who are you? – Make sure your bio and the web link you post therein are accurate representations of you and what you hope to offer those who follow. Doing so allows them to be able to make an informed choice.

• Be helpful. – If someone posts a question in an area that you have some knowledge, share it. If there is a product that you love and use, evangelize it. Reach out to those who have a need as it raises the overall karmic nature of Twitter.

• Be respectful. – As stated above, people who choose to follow you are investing their time and attention which come at a high cost. Honor that.

The Useful ReTweet

A ReTweet (RT) is the re posting of a tweet that someone you follow has posted so that your followers might be exposed to the information if they, themselves, do not follow the original author of the tweet.

Here is an example of how it is often done…

Original Tweet:

Here is a great link on personal productivity. Get your butt in gear: http://examplehere.com

ReTweet:

RT @patrickrhone: Here is a great link on personal productivity. Get your butt in gear: http://examplehere.com

The problem with this is that there is no context provided by the retweeter as to why he or she may find this important enough to retweet. It is for this reason that I generally suggest avoiding them. Instead, choose to do what I like to call a “via” instead.

Here is the Original Tweet again:

Here is a great link on personal productivity. Get your butt in gear: http://examplehere.com

Via:

This is a fantastic post about productivity. Really helped me out: http://examplehere.com (via @patrickrhone)

The advantage to this is that now those who follow you to hear your voice and opinions actually receive them. Not those that belong to someone who they may or may not choose to follow.

The Proper “Follow Friday”

Follow Friday is a kind of Twitter tradition. Basically, every Friday you post a Tweet to recommend people you think are worth following and include the #followfriday hashtag.

Here is an example of the usual and, in my opinion, unstylish norm for this:

Follow @person1, @person2, @person3, @person4, @person5, #followfriday

Follow @person1 for great quotes, funny asides and interesting links #followfriday

Owning up to our shortcomings actually puts us in the more powerful position. By facing them, we assume the power to correct them. By denying them, we deny ourselves this ability, thus leaving ourselves powerless.

Also, admitting fault and expressing an honest apology and desire for improvement, more often than not, immediately renders the temper and ill will of the accuser moot. If someone is angered by something that you have done, and they approach you with that anger, that anger is much harder to hold when met with “You are right. I am sorry. Let’s all learn from this.”

I often think about how many corporations could improve their customer service experience by simply training their employees to make “We’re sorry” be the first thing that leaves their mouth when met with a customer complaint. Combining that with giving those workers the power to correct any issue is what separates the companies with unmatched service from the rest.

The bottom line: Mea culpa. Assume the empowerment (and responsibility) that comes from being the one who is actually in control of the situation and the only one who can do something to correct it. Be the hero, not the zero.

This post was inspired by a comment made by my lovely and brilliant wife, who is often burdened with way too many excuse makers in her life.

I think we often times put too much faith in reviews. We put too much trust in the reviewer, as if they are an accredited source free of personal experience that may cloud their judgment. Here is the thing about reviews that I always try to keep in mind when reading them, they are the opinion of the author. It is for this reason I generally take them with a few grains of salt. It is also why I generally avoid doing them.

With this said, this is the first of what will, hopefully, be regular reviews of books I am reading. I will be writing these from my perspective and, therefore, approaching the books based upon my own personal experiences and desires. I think it is important to state such things, up front, so that you will understand that if I give either a glowing or less so review, your milage may vary. In fact, I encourage you to read each and every book I review, regardless of my take, in order to form your own opinion. In other words, I would like you, gentle reader, to not “read” too much into it (and yes, I am aware of the very “metaness” of the pun I just executed as well as my proclivity towards both parenthetic asides and “quote marks”).

Here was my problem with Making It All Work, the long anticipated follow up to Getting Things Done, by David Allen: I have heard it all before. You see, I was one of the many people who really dug deep into the Getting Things Done philosophy. Not only did I read the book several times, as well as practice the system, and try every GTD application, I also attended his GTD: The Roadmap seminar when it came through town here a couple of years back. I really fell deep into line with the program. Because of this, there was not much more for me to get out of the book. Don’t get me wrong, there were some useful nuggets of wisdom that I found. It was just not the further enlightenment I was hoping for, largely because I was already there.

He spends the first half of the book digging a bit deeper into the concepts that he lays out in Getting Things Done. This deeper exploration does turn up an interesting take or two. I especially enjoyed his “What is true now?” approach to getting “unstuck” and deciding exactly what one thing, out of the many, you should be doing right at that time. For someone who is new to GTD, or never really grokked the principles and meaning behind the methods, this stuff is invaluable to helping to cement the concepts.

The second half of the book he uses to discuss, in great detail, the idea of the Vertical Map. I have written about this concept before. A vertical map is basically how your actions and projects are part of and work towards your entire life’s roles, goals, objectives, principals and values. The thing is, this is what the GTD: The Roadmap seminar I attended, led by David Allen, was all about (another aside, this seminar has now been retitled GTD: Making It All Work). We spent the better part of the day immersed in, and doing the beginning work on, these ideas. In other words, this was all well worn track for me. Vertical mapping is something I engage in as part of my review process. That said, if it is not part of yours than this is where the real value in this book lies for a GTD practitioner who wants to take things to the next level and see that there are actually reasons to get things done beyond their own sake.

So, in summary, if you are brand new to Getting Things Done, start with that book. If you are familiar with Getting Things Done but are seeking a bit of deeper meaning then this book will be a good one for you. If you are a black belt GTD ninja with your special org-fu merit patch, you will likely be left unenlightened.

Three Days. One Backpack. from Patrick Rhone on Vimeo.

P.S. I also think this is the first video I have done for this site that does not mention my Levenger Circa (though you can see it if you look close).

Update: I have gotten several requests for links to the items mentioned in the video. Here they are:

• The North Face Mainframe Backpack – No longer being made. The Recon is probably the closest thing to it now.
• Waterfield Cableguy – Used for cables.
• MSR Pack Towel – For wringing out clothes and other great uses(like, you know, as a towel)
• Marmot Ion Windshirt – Use as a light jacket and raincoat.
• Ex Officio Boxer Briefs – Very comfortable and quick to dry.
• Horny Toad Patron – I did not make the name up. Good shirts though.
• REI Adventures Pants – These are on sale right now. Good bargain.
• REI MTS Undershirt – Cool, comfortable, durable and quick dry.
• Kiva Keychain Duffel – They make other similar keychain bags as well.

This brings me to todays thought: If I were a visitor from another planet, and had no idea what a weblog or “blog” is, or even online publishing in general, would I be able to tell by looking at one? For most, I am afraid, the answer is “no”. Here is what most online publishing seems, to me, to be about just by looks alone:

• Advertising.
• Selling eBooks.
• Affiliate linking.
• Page views.
• Your Twitter feed.

Do you notice what is missing from that list? Where is the content? How do I separate it from the rest of the noise that is going on? How to I get straight to the reason I came to the site – what the writer has to say? To borrow one of the most famous pop culture advertising lines of all time, where’s the beef?

Let me tell you how I am going to do it (since most out there will not likely do it for me):

Instapaper – This is where I stack up longer posts that I may not have the time to read now but want to read later. It is especially useful for, and originally designed for, formatting this reading list of long blog posts and articles for the iPhone. Of it’s many wonderful features, the one I love, love, love, is that it can take almost any page and strip it down to just the content. Just text on white background. No ads. No comments. No Twitter feed.

Readability – Is new and experimental but, man, it has captured my heart like few other new things do. It basically allows you to create a configurable bookmarklet that, when clicked, strips away the clutter (see bulleted list above) and gives you just the content. It works so well that, the first time I used it, I nearly cried at the sheer beauty of the new page that appeared before me. It was as if someone came and redesigned the web just for me.

The bottom line is this. Load your page up with everything in the bulleted list above. I don’t care. People just like me are building the tools to get the web the way we want, with nothing but the content. Besides, if that does not work we can always execute the “nuclear option” – not reading what you have to say.

As we continue to share information about ourselves on the web, the things we can do with that data and the cool ways we can visualize it, becomes really compelling. Here are just a few examples I have come across:

FitBit

FitBit is a product and service that is not yet released but I am really looking forward to it. The product is a wearable Tracker with a motion sensor that senses your motion in three dimensions, converts this into information about your daily activities, wirelessly transmits it to a base station attached to your computer and then uploads it to a web app which tracks and visualizes this data. It can measure the intensity and duration of your physical activities, calories burned, steps taken, distance traveled, how long it took you to fall asleep, the number of times you woke up throughout the night and how long you were actually asleep vs just lying in bed. This is not to be confused with a simple step counter or a more advanced tracker for runners. This is designed for regular people with regular activity levels to be more conscious of your health.

Daytum

If you are seeking a bit more of a manual and ad-hoc way to quantify your life data, give Daytum a try. Inspired by the Feltron Annual Report, Daytum is a way to take all of the mundane data sets of your life – How many pizzas your have eaten, length in miles of hot dogs consumed, plants watered vs. plants killed – you can create virtually any type of data set you can think of and easily track and quantify it.

Dopplr

Dopplr is a social network for travelers. Not only does it allow you to keep details about your own past and upcoming trips, it also allows you to share this information with friends and followers. This year, they introduced the Personal Annual Report which visualizes your travel data. You can see what your personal velocity was compared to a giant tortoise, compare the miles you traveled to the distance to the moon, even see what your carbon footprint is in “Hummers”.

You. Visualized.

What does this all mean? I’m not really sure. I just think it is cool. I do think that the information age continues to give us ways to quantify, share and visualize vast amounts of personal data about ourselves. The possibilities of this are as compelling as the privacy concerns are frightening.

With that said, I think that simple knowledge often gives you all the tools you need to make modest changes. How will knowing that you are not that active cause you to be conscious of being more so? Will a tool that allows you to quantify how much Diet Coke you consume cause you to drink less? How will knowing that the trip you want to take will increase your carbon footprint by two Hummers affect your travel plans? Perhaps it wont but at least you will have the data at your disposal to help with the decision.