There are Summers, and then there are
summers. This Summer has been almost nothing but work and learning. Not enough time with my high school friends, but I digres...
What's Changed in the Last 3 Months - A completely different approach to my work. Working smarter, not harder is the mantra I'm striving to adhere to, and it's producing some serious dividends. Examine your life. What do you do repeatedly? Can this be automated? Can you build tools to make painstakingly slow tasks quicker? Perhaps you're unaware of how your life can be made more efficient. Remember, putting in hard work now will allow you to be lazy later.
- KISS - keep it simple, stupid. This principle repeats itself in every facet of my life. If it's not simple, something's usually wrong. While I love my day planner, a simple stack of 3x5" notecards, a binder clip, and a pen are all I really need to wrangle with the organizational complexities in my life.
- Simple is beautiful - look at Apple Computers, IPods, Google, your favorite websites. Chances are, they're simple.
- Plan, plan, plan, plan, and then plan some more - this piece of advice falls in with my new approach to work. If you plan, your task will go much more smoothly. Consider multiple angles of attack. This is critical for business presentations and meetings where your ideas will be heavily scrutinized. Remember, if your ideas fail, you will eat your shirt.
- Uncompromising Ethics and Simplicity - Ethics keep your life straightened, they strain the good in you from the bad, and they help balance your life. I'm much more at peace with myself and others than ever before, and while I'm nowhere done growing, I feel like I've made some decent strides.
- Question everything. Question yourself first and foremost. What are the reasons for your actions? Are you okay with this? Is there a better way? Does this make sense? These few questions constantly stew in my mind.
- If you're thinking about it, it's not getting done - simply put, if it's troubling you, it needs to be dealt with.
These tenets are really helping me out lately, and while this comes off as authoritarian, preachy, and self-centered, I think the value outweighs the apparent arrogance if it helps someone.
Peace out,
-Kerry
