Archive for 2004:
'There's always a better way', John Ridgway used to tell me when I worked for him in my late teens. 'Every time I tie my shoelaces, or shave in the morning, I think to myself "there must be a better way of doing this"'.
I'm not quite sure when I first heard of 'GTD' – I think it was when Merlin Mann's 43 Folders blog was launched. Getting Things Done is the title of a book by David Allen, and it's the name of a system he has spent more than twenty years perfecting. It's difficult to describe succinctly – it's more about stuff management than time management; David himself calls it 'advanced common sense'. As someone patently lacking in even beginner's common sense, I thought it would be wise to get along to David's GTD conference in London last week. (Thanks for recommending it, Mark!)
And I'm bloomin' glad I did. It was compelling stuff and David is a brilliant presenter – there aren't many (nearly) sixty-year-olds that could get away with using words like 'dude', 'bandwidth', 'whoah!' and 'karma', whilst simultaneously weaving in topics as profound as deciding your purpose in life and as trivial as making sure your car's brakes are serviced on time.
I've always recoiled at conventional 'time management' systems – the idea of planning and scheduling every waking hour appalls me. I'm a big fan of spontaneity, day-dreaming and doing things for the hell of it, and the beauty of GTD is that it frees up even more time for just that – the Good Stuff. As you can probably tell, I'm sold. If you fancy a trip to Miami next week, that's where the last seminar this year is. If not, go buy the book.
— Filed under Inspiration
…on the 0745 to Penzance: the words 'upskill' and 'impactful' in the same sentence. What is the world coming to?!
edit: 'touch base'?! Aaarrggh!!
— Filed under Rumination
I've had my nerdy hat on again recently, I've been tinkering with the design of the site (again), and I've finally stumbled across a design I'm happy with. As always, it's entirely homemade, although the design influences probably aren't too hard to spot. I'll write a bit more about the redesign soon but I need to get some sleep before a speaking engagement in Cornwall tomorrow…
For now, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the new lick of paint (especially if you actually know what you're on about!) – there a few bits and pieces I'm going to tidy up, but on the whole, not a bad couple of hours' work. (Even if I do say so myself…)
— Filed under Miscellany
I waste *way* too much time surfing the net, but occasionally, in amongst the flotsam and jetsam of Google's 8,058,044,651 cached pages, there's something that inspires me to get off my arse and turn the computer off.
I've just got back from a fast training run, pacing the streets of Fulham in my whizzy new Air Zoom Milers. And despite my bonkers schedule recently, the old legs seemed to have a bit of speed in them.
Today's online inspiration comes live to your monitor courtesy of Ben Hammersley (and chums), kicking away at the horizon, Gregg's World (the journal of a young guy doing what I often dreamt of as a teenager – ditching everything to forge a career as a pro cyclist on the continent) and Catherine Wessel's gorgeous travel photography (Catherine was the photgrapher on the Nike ACG shoot last week).
And if after that lot, you're still here surfing idly, you could always try the death clock. Carpe Diem and all that…
— Filed under Inspiration
The kind chaps at IT Conversations are publishing my 2004 Pop!Tech talk in its entirety (and in glorious quality as well) – thanks, Doug. You can stream it in MP3 or Windows (.asx) format, or download it as MP3 or AAC/MP4.
Hearing a recording of one of my talks is like having a passport photo taken – I'm never entirely happy with it. I'm listening to it for the first time now and I've already slapped my forehead several times…
— Filed under Speaking
…I haven't figured out how to upload photos via my iPAQ, so you'll have to use your imagination:
I spent most of yesterday naked (yes, really), in the crater of a 10,000ft volcano, being photographed for Nike ACG's spring 2005 ad campaign. The stripping off bit was easier than I anticipated (despite the onlooking production crew and passing throngs of pony trekkers) but it certainly ranks as one of the most surreal days of my life. Highlights included having foundation applied to my bum, and stepping out of a white Ritz Carlton towelling robe at 10,000ft. And no, the wind chill wasn't particularly flattering…
Maui is heavenly – part of me is dreading having to fly home tomorrow night, but part of me also knows that I have a heck of a lot to do in the next few weeks…
It was cool talking to Petra Bernhard (a champion downhill mountain biker and fellow Nike athlete) – she too has spent several years chasing a crazy dream and only now is she making a living doing what she loves. I'm still pinching myself – it feels like I've been pushing a boulder up a mountain for four years and only now is it tipping over the summit. For the next few weeks, I'll be running after it as it rumbles down the far side, trying to keep it on course…
— Filed under Miscellany
Posting this from a departure lounge at London Heathrow via the trusty iPAQ and Bluetooth mobile phone.
At the risk of sounding unbearably smug, I'm flying to LA and then on to Hawaii for a photo shoot with Nike ACG.
I promised myself, skiing along this spring, that I'd go and lie on a beach at some point this year, and in a roundabout way, it's finally happened.
I'm aware that my inbox is overflowing – to those of you awaiting a reply to an email, it's coming soon. For now, Aloha! :)
— Filed under Miscellany
Photos of my talk at Pop!Tech last month. This one looks like I've trapped something in the podium…
— Filed under Aside
Enver Memet was the cabbie that drove Tony and I from Manhattan's Parker Meridien hotel to JFK airport on saturday afternoon. I'm glad we got in Enver's cab, because it was a journey that ended up bolstering my faith in humanity.
'You guys eaten?' he asked, looking in the rear view mirror and scratching his beard. 'I'm fine, thanks', we replied in unison. 'You mind if I stop at my place and pick up lunch?' he asked. Tony looked at me and raised one eyebrow. 'Er, yeah, cool'.
We pulled up in a quiet Brooklyn street and a young guy ran out to the car with a plastic bag. 'You've gotta try this', said Enver, passing a paper plate through the hatch in the clear perspex panel dividing his car. 'Shubies', he added, 'from Romania'.
I've had no luck Googling, so I'll take Enver's word for it. A shuby ('shoe-bee') is made from a traditional Romanian recipe – a bit like empanadas, but thinner and less greasy. Homemade by Enver's wife, we tried two varieties: beef and potato.
We drove on towards the airport. 'You see' said Enver, dabbing the corner of his mouth with a paper napkin, 'people are good. Governments, they're bad… but people are good'.
I joined the check-in queue with a full stomach, greasy fingers, and a smile on my face. People are good.
— Filed under Rumination
I've just been taken to dinner at Da Silvano on 6th Avenue. On the menu: wild boar. Fellow diners: Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony.
Once again, only in America. Flying home tomorrow – it's been an incredible week, with some meetings that have blown my mind. Lots happening, stay tuned.
— Filed under Miscellany
Reflections from New York City:
1) In a jetlagged fit of channel-hopping last night, I stumbled across 'Fear Factor'. It would appear that, although Janet Jackson's booby escaping is patently *not* acceptable prime-time tv, a crying woman having ten hypodermic needles thrust through the skin of her upper arm in the name of entertainment *is*.
2) Elsewhere, the hotel's restaurant, 'Norma's' features a $1,000 omelette on its breakfast menu.
Only in America.
— Filed under Rumination
Top 100 US speeches in MP3 format.
— Filed under Aside
