Disqus - Latest Comments for AndyP

Re: 10/03/2011 Market Outlook (When pattern and signal conflict)

Andy P — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 22:48:33 -0000

"Strictly speaking, such a sell signal, HAD a 14 out of 14 or 100% successful rate and the most importantly the profits WERE mostly huge, which in another word is, in most cases, the SPX dropped a lot after such a sell signal."

Mostly looking for what you consider HUGE and a lot? Like 1079 is about 4.3% from Friday's close. Just wondering when you would consider that STO huge drop might be satisfied.

Re: 10/03/2011 Market Outlook (When pattern and signal conflict)

Andy P — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 22:37:51 -0000

Hey Cobra,
Would the 1079 close satisfy the STO lower low from the weekend report?

Re: Trent Hamm on Haircuts and Frugality

Andy P — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 20:55:26 -0000

I actually considered adding the bald-man caveat. That's hard to argue with. There is really only one result and anyone can indeed achieve it. :)

But here's the real question: do you tip taxi drivers?

Re: How to Help Great Productivity Blogs Get Discovered

Andy P — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:25:39 -0000

Found this one too:

http://timelesslessons.com/

Looks like fairly new, but off to a really great start!

Re: Ask The Readers: Can You Disconnect And Still Be Productive?

Andy P — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 13:16:00 -0000

Hello Geri, James, Jared and Tim,

Thanks for the great responses. Sounds like its a concept worth more experimentation. I like the idea of taking afternoons offline a couple times a week. Maybe I'll toy with that some more. I'll report back the results!

Thanks again! And I hope the conversation keeps going. I'm really enjoying the feedback!

Re: My Scandelous Confession and A Royal Rant About GTD

Andy P — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:43:12 -0000

Hi Neil. Your post does indeed reflect the best of GTD, and what most people take away.

I think it can work, just need to figure out how to better apply it to the digital world. We'll be exploring solutions over time. I don't like that people just say "GTD sucks" then you discover they are still doing 80% of GTD in their "own" system. I think the key is figuring out what about the other 20% is making GTD hard to stay behind.

Re: Why Working Long, Hard Hours Gets You Behind (?)

Andy P — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:45:27 -0000

Hi James, thanks for the comment.

Glad you enjoyed the article. I think that is what it is important for people to remember... Eventually productivity becomes a way of life and us productivity geeks need to re-focus our attention on the more important parts of life.

Re: How to Help Great Productivity Blogs Get Discovered

Andy P — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:41:00 -0000

I just found:

http://www.keenerliving.com/

Seems like there are some interesting posts to be had at first glance. I'll have to read more later!

Re: My Scandelous Confession and A Royal Rant About GTD

Andy P — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:27:03 -0000

Hi Patrick. Great comment. I agree on the religious front. I just keep coming back to one debate in my mind...

Lets take the religious stuff further. If I accept the system is good and I am the "sinner," then what can be done to minimize my sinning? Would the availability of better tools enable me to screw up less? Or is the system actually not as good as I think it is and in need of a new set of principles that better reflects our technology-driven world? Maybe its both?

So much to explore :) Thanks again for weighing in.

Re: My Scandelous Confession and A Royal Rant About GTD

Andy P — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:26:26 -0000

Hi Tink...

I agree with all points in principle, but whether it is practical for someone to do any or all of them boils down to what people want out of life. (There is something to be said about pairing down and finding more balance though, I have an interesting post in the works that talks about some research on work/life balance vs finding career success.)

I'll probably be writing a bit about tech's role in productivity as well. It can play a big one, but it has to get out of your way and "work like you do" in order for it to really help. That's the hardest part about being a developer who cares about the experience and not just writing code.

Thanks for stopping by and chiming in!

-Andy

Re: My Scandelous Confession and A Royal Rant About GTD

Andy P — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:17:19 -0000

Hi Daniel,

Great comments. Thanks for adding to the discussion.

As I read things like "The most popular tools such as Basecamp and Backpack just don't reflect the way I think" I see it as a good point, but immediately wonder what sort of tool would work the way you do? What is lacking? I have the same gripe in that I need something that works the way I do.That is what I aim to figure out. Whats the next *useful* evolution in productivity systems or software.

As an aside, I understand point about big-picture thinking, but at some point someone needs to get in the trenches. For example, I use Backpack to do high-level research and brainstorming. Then I go over it with someone that works for me and she uses the debrief + Backpack to create the details in Basecamp and manage projects. I can't deal with detail, so I work with someone who can :)

-Andy

Re: My Scandelous Confession and A Royal Rant About GTD

Andy P — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:10:17 -0000

Reading it would still be much more useful :)

I should add that most of us are more productive because of GTD, we just all seem to go through a similar path and find it hard to keep up.

I am not abandoning GTD. As I say, I still find it to be the best option available. I just recognize that I need to find either: a) A better way to implement it or b) Figure out what aspects make it hard to stay on top of it and figure out solutions.

Please stay with it and keep on reading. Thanks for the comment!

Re: On New Beginnings (And More About Your Host)

Andy P — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 23:17:46 -0000

Hi canion... Its fun to go back and look at the data sometimes.

Now I tend to just update once a month or so. Online banking tells me most of what I need to know. The only reason I really do it now is because it makes taxes/cap. gains super easy :)

Re: On New Beginnings (And More About Your Host)

Andy P — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 12:01:15 -0000

Hi Stuart. Thank you! I'm very glad to hear it.

Re: How to Use Basecamp and Backback In Perfect Harmony

Andy P — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 19:11:22 -0000

Hello Mr. Ronik1

Thanks for the tip. I checked out goplan.info. Looks cool enough. How does it handle the backpack part of it?

-Andy

Re: How to Use Basecamp and Backback In Perfect Harmony

Andy P — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 19:05:24 -0000

Hi PM,

I appreciate the comment.

The reason they won't do that is because the two tools have different strengths. Trying to bridge a piece of software that is strong in one area with a piece of software that is strong in a completely different area creates complication. It just isn't the 37s way. There are plenty of complicated project management solutions out there.

I like them seperate, Backpack can be like my junk drawer, messy and freeform, and Basecamp is my filing cabinet with everything neat and tidy.

-Andy

Re: I Have a Ton of Beta Invitations - Want One?

Andy P — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 12:26:33 -0000

Hi Eric, Evernote is now in public beta. Head over to
http://www.evernote.com to get signed up.

Re: Productivity Systems Don’t Suck, But Sometimes I Do

Andy P — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 03:47:03 -0000

Hi Chris, thanks for chiming in.

I never bought into the productivity pr0n concept. It just never made sense how one note pad or digital to-do list app was better than the next -- they were all equally deficient, so why move stuff around just to create busy work. I like the idea that bloggers seem to be focusing more on creating value these days.

IMHO blaming the Internet for when my lack productivity becomes lax is like blaming my bike for not making me ride it. Before the Internet, we had Warcraft and Super Mario Brothers stealing our attention, before that it was cable TV , before that I suppose there were readily accessible mind-altering drugs, etc. etc. The difference between those who achieve their dreams and those who do not is the ability dig in deep, cut out the crap and focus on making the right decisions, big and small, that bring them closer what they really want.

BTW I recently discovered your blog and have been really enjoying it. Keep up the great work.

Re: Productivity Systems Don’t Suck, But Sometimes I Do

Andy P — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 03:19:35 -0000

Hi James. I appreciate the comment. Very insightful.

In your post you give a disclaimer that you don't necessarily agree with all the gripes against GTD. I'm curious which ones are/were your own and if you still feel that way now?

Re: Converting Coworkers to GTD

Andy P — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 18:32:09 -0000

Hi Michael. Thanks for stopping by.

I agree that when you're the boss you can do certain things differently. For our customer service department I adapted our P&P to a close-to-GTD methodology to ensure we are proactive and nothing slips through the cracks. It has been working quite well.

Also for people who report directly to me, I ask them to keep track of the outcomes (projects) in a list I've assigned to them and give me a weekly report on actions they've taken to move each of the projects forward. I also ask that they have a next action for each project defined when they submit their progress.

If I had peers, I think this would be a harder sell (even if it would be for their own good!) :)

Re: How to Reclaim 15 Hours of Your Life Back – Every Week!

Andy P — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 23:36:09 -0000

Hi Travis. Thanks for stopping by.

I've been thinking that will be the way to go when I get rid of cable altogether. DVD's via Netflix. $15 beats $100.

I also try to save up certain seasons of particularly addictive shows for when I travel. For example, I go to Europe a couple times a year on business. Nothing makes the 11 hour flights whiz by like watching 24 on my laptop. And its nearly impossible for me to do productive work on a plane so I can enjoy every minute of what I am watching.

Re: Ask the Readers: What happens to “Do it Now” Actions?

Andy P — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 16:00:39 -0000

Hi Dan, Thanks for the opinion.

Lets suppose you do use a digital system. Is it worth 2 clicks and maybe a few keystrokes per action to attach to a project/file it?

Re: Ask the Readers: What happens to “Do it Now” Actions?

Andy P — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 00:03:53 -0000

Thanks, Jaimie. So it sounds like the your answer is "maybe/depends" to all four points? With a heavy leaning to junk it!

I'm wondering how often actions actually deserve being kept?

Re: Ask the Readers: What happens to “Do it Now” Actions?

Andy P — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 23:35:01 -0000

I'll start with my thoughts :)

I don't really do this now, but I would probably look at my complete actions if I had the chance. Sometimes what has been done can trigger a useful action that still needs to be done. When in the middle of org-fu battle sometimes its easy to forget to next action something.

So in my ideal world I'd like to have the option to attach the completed action to a project, then go back and add a second action for that piece of stuff . So forth and so on.

If the stuff doesn't belong to a project, I just junk the stuff. If it won't provide value later, why keep it?

Re: I am Productivity (And So Can You!)

Andy P — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 03:47:20 -0000

Hi John, Thanks for stopping by. I've tried Nozbe but it didn't meet my needs. Most apps I've tried don't seem to cut it actually. Among other reasons (which I can expand on in later posts), they are generally limited by the fact that they are to-do list apps with a context option and not a true implementation of GTD in the digital world. I got fed up searching for what works best for me and have been programming my own in my spare time... Sometimes you just need to scratch your own itch :)