![]() ![]() When you’re programming, you need to be able to simulate the code in your head, stepping through each line and understanding how that line affects the current values of each variable. If you’re carrying everything you have to do later around in your head, you’re not using that space for thinking about the thing you need to do now.įor programmers especially, having that extra space can make a big impact. Granted, you’re reading articles on Simple Programmer, so you’ve probably got a lot of brains. The important thing is that you get everything out of your head! If Trello doesn’t fit your style, use a note-taking app, an actual paper notebook, or something else. Sorting your tasks allows you to quickly find the next thing you need to work on and get started in it, minimizing the brain space your task management system takes up. I like to put the things that I need to (or can) finish first down at the bottom of my lists and work my way up. ![]() Is it somebody else’s blog post I want to remember to read later? Is it a future idea for my own blog? Is it a programming project to complete? I’ve got a list for that.Īnd as you list your tasks, try to sort your thoughts in order of urgency and/or ease of completion. ![]() Personally, I tend to make lists based on the category of the thing. If you’ve got a ton of items in the pending list and someone asks you if you have time to take on just one more quick task, there is a concrete record that you can look at, instead of trying to remember all of the things you have to do. This process gives you a nice, visual snapshot of your progress at any given point. You can create a card when you first get a task and just drag it from one list to the next as you work. You can create a task, keep all the information about that task (including conversations, history, and data) bundled along with the same card, and even use your lists as a form of workflow control.įor example, you might have several stages to your programming workflow: tasks that are pending, currently-being-worked-on, ready for review, and those that are finished and ready to publish/push this week. The most important feature for me is that Trello allows you to drag and drop your lists and cards. They can have images, comments, documents (like this article), checklists, and even due dates attached to them. You can use these cards to store individual brain items. On these boards, you can create lists, which are vertically aligned and ordered collections of cards. Trello is a web app that provides users with any number of boards, which are basically blank canvases that will eventually house all of your to-dos, ideas, projects, and everything else. I use Trello because it’s a tool that really fits with how my brain works. Find someplace to store all the things you need to think about and remember. Remember Nothing Record Everything.ĭon't remember anything. I like to think about it in terms of a few catchy mantras that I came up with all by myself. I'll go over my own process step by step, which is loosely based on the GTD approach. You can read more about the philosophy behind it on the Getting Things Done website. I heard about it from Wes Bos and Scott Tolinski on their Syntax podcast. It was created by David Allen around 2002 and been discussed in Wired magazine and on Hanselminutes (Scott Hanselman’s podcast). There's a method that is fairly well-established called the “Getting Things Done” (GTD) approach for managing the things that you have to do. I wanted to share mine because it seems to work pretty well. That being said, here’s the question: how do you keep track of your thoughts? How do you make sure that everything you need to do gets done?Įverybody has some sort of system-even not having a system and trying to remember everything is technically a system. Depending on how much you’re storing “in memory” at any given time, even these small distractions can be enough for you to lose your focus and have to get back into “the zone.” In order to be successful and productive, being able to get into that deep focus state and stay there is key.Īt the same time, it seems like the universe is trying its best to keep you out of that state by peppering you with other things that clamor for your attention at irregular and infuriatingly unpredictable intervals: email, meetings, phone calls, and more.Įven if you manage to successfully get rid of all of the unnecessary distractions, there is some minimum amount of outside world engagement that is required to be a successful and well-adjusted employee, co-worker, and human being. It’s fun, it’s rewarding, but it’s definitely not easy. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |