Tag: memory

Getting Things Done (In 15 Minutes)

I’ve always appreciated the simple, real life approach of Getting Things Done by David Allen. One read is a good introduction but after that I find I need to come back to it. So coming across this primer was a great way to remind myself of the high-level implementation: GTD in 15 minutes – A Pragmatic Guide to Getting Things Done

Here’s a taste of what GTD is all about,

GTD—or “Getting things done”—is a framework for organising and tracking your tasks and projects. Its aim is a bit higher than just “getting things done”, though. (It should have been called “Getting things done in a much better way than just letting things happen, which often turns out not to be very cool at all”.) Its aim is to make you have 100% trust in a system for collecting tasks, ideas, and projects—both vague things like “invent greatest thing ever” and concrete things like “call Ada 25 August to discuss cheesecake recipe”. Everything!

Sound like all other run-of-the-mill to-do list systems, you say? Well in many ways it is, but there is more to it, and it’s really simple. Promise! So please read on.

One of the basic assumptions of GTD is that you are dumb—or, rather, that your subconsciousness is quite dumb when it comes to thinking about things you should have done. For example knowing you need to fix your bike before next week, but instead of reminding you when you actually drive by the bicycle shop, it implants an incessant feeling of “I need to remember… something” in your brain.

A great part of the “magic” is to convert both tasks and whims into physical and visible actions as you soon will see.

In this photograph…

In this photograph, you are falling. Running through long grass, twirling around, you have lost your balance, and the summer sun is lost in the shine of your smile.

This photograph is now a blur, shot in an unprepared instant, a real moment with you. But my memory of that moment is strong. No memento would serve me better than the love my eyes rested upon that day.

You lay on the ground, giddy, dizzy, delirious. I remember wanting, wishing I had laid down beside you in the grass to stare up at the wide open blue sky, to stare into your eyes.

This memory haunts me still, just like every other moment with you.

To do it all over again…

But I can’t go back. No one can go back. There is only this moment in which I can make the choice I really want.

In this photograph, my love is frozen. Many moonless ages have passed, and my heart has warmed. I long, now, for the warmth of that summer sun, to warm your heart to mine, to bring us back together, and to grant that moment to remake the choice I’ve always wanted. The choice for you, for always and evermore.

Firefox is winning me back!

I wrote earlier about how Chrome was winning me over. Well, after a brief fling, I’m back to Firefox and I now find it not so bad.

I wrote earlier about how Chrome was winning me over. Well, after a brief fling, I’m back to Firefox and I now find it not so bad.

The advantages of Chrome just weren’t enough to make me move completely. I tried for a few days at work and at home but in the end I’m back to Firefox.

Why? Well, I’m a techie, I have a lot of firefox addons and Chrome, while it has lots, doesn’t have exactly the ones I find I really want to have with me.

Also, some of the usability differences between Firefox and Chrome irked me. And there’s no advanced configuration tool (like Firefox’s about:config) to deal with those issues.

So, I’m back to Firefox. I’ve recently been hacking away in about:config again to make my experience better, so here’s what I’ve been looking at:

I guess sometimes the grass really does seem greener. I’m quite happy to be back on firefox with all my addons and customizations. The only thing I really hope for is a boost in javascript performance with the next few major releases…that and separated processes. Things are looking up for Firefox!

Send me some feedback on how you’re making Firefox better!