patrickrhone

I really have nothing in particular to bring you today. No specific topic. No enlightening new gem of life changing wisdom. I just have some thoughts that have been bouncing around my head. Just little reasons to sit down and write. You know, get them out and set them free. You are going to start seeing more and more of these types of posts. Think of it as a more freeform version of my “remainders” posts but with a few less bullets and a whole lot more in the way of my rambling.

As a matter of fact, remainders are my dirty little lazy secret. When I felt like I had not posted here in a while, and I need to post something, I simply went through the starred items I had racked up in Google Reader and collected them together with links, bullet points and the least real thought possible. In a way, I thought this was real content. I thought this satisfied my obligation to keep up with this little online publishing thing I have going on. Of course, this was a lie.

The fact of the matter is that this was really nothing better than many of the blogs I regularly decry. They are filled with entry after entry of what I like to call “list posts”. I know you must have seen them… “50 ways to be the king of your world” or some other such title. I could count off 10 or so “productivity” blogs that are filled with these types of posts. Why are these posts popular? I think for the blogger it is because they are easy to write. Tick of a list, throw in some links, and no real writing has to be done.

Not only that but, for whatever reason, these types of posts done by bloggers seem to draw traffic! Precious, precious traffic. Traffic is the commodity upon which bloggers dreams are built. More traffic means more clicks on ads. More clicks means more money. More money means you might just be able to turn this little hobby into a real paying gig. It is the same reason people play the lottery, the hope of little effort in return for a big payoff. Nothing wrong with trying to make a little scratch I guess, but wouldn’t it feel better to, I don’t know, feel like you were being rewarded for actually doing something? Won’t that help you sleep a little better on top of the pile of cash?

I don’t have ads on my site. I don’t care about traffic. I am not trying to get rich doing this. I also have never done a “list post”. But I would argue, I have done their functional equivalent. Not for money. Not for traffic. Just out of the feeling of having to post something. Lazy.

Well, here is where my gauntlet meets the table. I resolve to be better. I am going to make sure that the content I post here has a voice. I’m going to make sure it is my voice. I refuse to waste time, yours or mine, because time is very precious. More precious than money. One can always make more money but one can’t have back this moment… Or this one.

Now, this is not to say that there have not been posts here that I have been really proud of. There are a lot of them. Like this one, and this one. I just want to make sure that, I am bringing that kind of quality with every single post here and, if not, I wont post at all.

P.S. Thanks Merlin.

It has been a while since I did a remainders post (or any post for that matter) and have a lot of stuff saved up. That being said, due to aforementioned time passage, you may have seen some of these already. Yet, into the breach I go…

Stepcase Lifehack has been doing a good series called Back to Basics about getting back to the bare bones of GTD. Here is a sampling:

• Back to Basics: Capture Your Ideas

• Back to Basics: Your Inbox

• Back to Basics: Processing

I personally find these sorts of little refreshers helpful in staying on the right path. I never tire of reading them.

I also will never tire of Merlin Mann dropping the mad science on the troubles with e-mail overload as he does in the post NYT: Businesses Fight the Email Monster They Helped Create.

Here is a post that resonated with me from Unclutterer… What to do if you are organized and your partner isn’t. Luckily, Princess Bethany and I deal pretty well with this issue (and I will leave it to you dear reader to decide whom is who in this equation).

Kelly Forrister of DavidCo recommends using that too-late-to-start-anything 4pm Friday slot in your workday for a context she calls @BrainToast. That is, regular maintenance type things that we all seem to forget way too often.

Linda Stone asks – Is it Time to Retire the Never-Ending List? Hmmm…. Princess Bethany has regular fantasies about completing everything on her “Big List”.

Perhaps you are stuck getting through that list. Well, here is a good primer on How to Jump Start a Listless Action List at Tool for Thought.

By now, I am sure you are aware of my affinity for the simple daily todo list. Here is one take on how to format such a list.

Finally, my beautiful and brilliant wife, Princess Bethany, offers up her Top Ten List of How to be Productive With a New Baby.

My good friend Ryan over at Brassing Adds Character has a good little series of posts going right now about cheap fountain pens. How cheap? Well, yesterday he highlighted pens that can be had for $10.00 or less. Looking to spend a little more? How about a great budget writer for $30.00 or under? There are some fantastic suggestions, short reviews and tips in this series. If you are looking to get into fountain pens without breaking your piggy bank, these are must read lists. Be warned though, nice pens are addictive and that piggy bank will likely be broken into sooner rather than later.