Gist of Life...

Non-Goals

2012-01-04T10:00:00.000-08:00

Some time back, I read an informative book titled “One Strategy”, written by Steven Sinofsky of Microsoft and Marco Iansiti of HarvardBusiness School. Apart from some fascinating insights into how the Windows Teamcame together to pull off a mega-project like Windows 7, the book also taughtme some thought-provoking concepts.

One of such concepts was “Non-Goals”. A non-goal is a scope-limiting attribute thatexplicitly states some objectives which will not be fulfilled.

Wikipedia has an entry for Non-Goal.

non-goal (plural non-goals)

A potential goal or requirement which is explicitly excluded from the scope of a project.

That's a hard problem, but it's a non-goal for us here.

We always talk about having definite goals, things that wewill or should do. It seems counterintuitive to have a list of things we won’tdo, but it makes a lot of sense when you think about the complex nature of mostof the projects and communication issues between geographically-distributedteams.

In a scope-definition exercise at the start of any project,we usually focus on the things we are required to do. Having a section fornon-goals helps to set the expectations of project team (and also of theclient)!

For example, consider a scenario: Your project team is working on product planning. After some consideration, you decide to develop the UI only in English language in the first release, and to localize the product in the subsequent releases. So, in this case, for the first release:

Goal is delivery of English UI
Non-goal is localization support

This clears the scope of work, and avoids doubts in minds of the project team.

Non- Goals are directly related to strategy. It is easy toget carried away and vigorously nod “Yes, Yes, of course!” to everything that’sbeing asked of us, but it takes a certain amount to courage to say “No”!

Furthermore, defining the things you are not going to doenables you to focus on the ones that you are, and to ensure that you deliver thesefeatures with the best possible quality.

Steve Jobs, one of the best entrepreneurs of our times, famouslyremarked that “Secret to innovation comes from saying no to 1000 things.”

At the beginning of a new year, when many of us are usuallyexcited about planning for the year ahead, this concept brings a clarity to our thoughts,and reminds us that while we may have almost infinite things to do, distinctiveness (and hence success) often comes from doingless, and doing it better.

SkyDriving!

2011-01-10T20:30:00.000-08:00

I have been exploring SkyDrive from Microsoft since last couple of days. SkyDrive (skydrive.live.com) is a online file hosting service, that lets you upload documents, photos and any kind of file and access it. You get 25GB free storage space, and individual file size can be up to 50 MB.

I will be using this site to upload scanned copies of some documents that are required often; for example, copies of passport, PAN card, marriage certificate and stuff. Earlier, I used Gmail account for the same. But , web-based email is blocked at many organisations.

Using SkyDrive has been a pleasant experience so far. There are options to restrict the access rights to various levels, such as public, for friends, and only for personal use. The file organisation is good, and upload/download is hassle-free.

One of the features I really liked was, you can download entire directories as ZIP files, thus saving you the effort of downloading individual files.

The only catch (there always is one!) is that you need a Windows Live (such as MSN Messenger or Hotmail) ID to create a SkyDrive account. I didn't have it, but it took less than a minute to create one.

Productivity Meme - 1: Buffer

2010-12-20T20:21:00.000-08:00

When one talks of productivity, there are a few basic concepts that recur frequently. The implementation of the idea might change; but the fundamentals remain the same. In this series, we will take a look at some of these concepts, which I refer to as memes.

In the first part of the series, we will take a look at Buffer.

What is a buffer?

A buffer is a quantity over and above the required quantity. Buffers act as shock-absorbers against unforeseen issues. We often refer to keeping a buffer time; however, as we will see, there are a number of buffers.

Space buffer:

While taking driving lessons, my instructor gave me a rule of thumb: When driving or when waiting in line at a traffic signal, you should keep your car in such a way that you can see the tyres of the car in front of you.

This simple tip has helped me avoid crashing into another car more than a few times.

Moving into a new flat? Think twice before you fill up all the rooms with furniture that is currently available in the market. Apart from the things you will really need, it usually helps to wait a while and explore for options. You are likely to find better deals, better products in future; and personally speaking, a little bit of empty space isn’t a bad thing.

Money buffer:

Planning to buy a laptop? It would help to keep some extra cash over and above your actual budget handy. Because I can almost guarantee that you are likely to overspend. The only thing that may differ is the margin.

Whenever you step into any shop, what you see is not really what you get. The product on display is adorned with various accessories, most of which come at an extra price. There is not much point in buying a laptop without antivirus software, or a car sans a cover.

Material buffer:

Going out for monthly grocery shopping? Buy a little bit of extra than you really need for the next week/month. You benefit from buying things in bulk from a superstore, and can avoid hassles at home if some relatives drop in unexpectedly.

Even if they don’t; the buffer helps you stretch your next shopping until the next paycheck comes in!

Emotional buffer:

This one is tricky… Every one of us has a threshold for each of negative emotions; be it anger or worry. When things go beyond the threshold; the mental tensions begun to build up. One way to prevent emotional outbursts is to vent off these feelings before they reach the tipping point.

Thus you give the other party some buffer to address the things bothering you; and you give yourself an emotional buffer to help things resolve before they become critical.

Deliverable buffer:

One of my favourite quotes is: “Do your work… and a little bit more. The work will let you stay in place; but it is the ‘little more’ that will get you ahead".

Deliver what you have promised to the customer, and toss in a little bit of extra good stuff. Customer may or may not be happy with the stuff you promised, but he is likely to be delighted to see some unexpected goodies.

There is another facet to this. Consider you are preparing a PowerPoint presentation, and you have 10 slides ready. You are confident they would be sufficient for a 30-minute session. However, it always helps to keep extra stuff handy; it may be in the form of notes or some slides. My experience is that people usually finish what they have to say more quickly than they estimate, and then are left clueless about what to do next!

Time buffer:

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, we are most familiar with the time buffer. Going for a meeting? Give yourself a buffer in which you can reach on time and relax. Estimating time required for providing a deliverable? Add some buffer time to the estimate to account for unforeseen reasons that may cause delays.

A good rule of thumb here is to add 20% as the buffer time to every time estimate. You are mostly likely to need it. In the case that you don’t, you can perhaps think about doing some deliverable buffers!

Manage your personal finances in Percentages

2010-08-17T08:30:00.000-07:00

An office colleague of mine is a fresher, meaning that this is his first job. Naturally, he is quite enthusiastic and not jaded by preconceived ideas about work and processes. It is a pleasure talking with him and we often discuss about a lot of things, both professional and personal.

Sometime back, we got talking about managing personal finances. He shared the way he manages his salary. He said he sends Rs. 5000/- per month to his family, keeps Rs. 5000/- for his personal expenses, spends some amount on movies and hoteling and puts away the rest in savings.
(Please note that the amounts mentioned here are hypothetical).

I was curious to know how he arrived at these figures. He said he just put down these numbers based on his gut feelings.

"Well", I said, “There’s a better way to do this. Try managing your finances using percentages, rather than absolute numbers.”

What’s that, he asked. So I explained to him something that I realized only after a couple of years.

Using Percentages in place of absolute amounts
Consider that your monthly salary (or income) is Rs.100.
Now, note down all the expense heads that you regularly incur each month. This would include your rent, your monthly expenses on food, the electricity bill, water bill, mobile and internet bills, and so on.
Next, allocate a specific percentage of your salary (or income) to each of these heads.

For example, here's a suggested break-down:

25% of income to be sent to your family
25% for your monthly expenses, as discussed above
30% for savings and investments (tax savings, mutual funds, buying gold and so on)
And, the rest 20% is towards a category which I call E-E-E (Tripple-E), which stands for Expense, Entertainment and Emergency.

Of course, the allocation mentioned here is just an example, and it will vary according to individual. Some may not need to send a regular amount to their family.

To summarize: Use percentages rather than actual amounts for each expense head.

What are the advantages?

This approach has a number of benefits.

The most obvious benefit is that once you set up your allocation, it is flexible even when the salary changes. For example, suppose currently you earn Rs. 20k per month. Using the above allocation, it gives you Rs.5000/- for your monthly expenses. When your salary increases, all you need to recalculate the percentages. An Excel spreadsheet can do the job for you swiftly.
Secondly, this approach brings out the relative importance of each expense head, thus (possibly) helping you make better finance decisions. For example, savings and investment are very important, so you need to allocate a bigger chunk of your income towards it, rather than, say, purchasing a funky new mobile when you already own a good one.
The most important benefit of this approach is that it forces you to curb your unnecessary expenses. For example, if you have allotted 10% of your savings on entertainment; and if you earn Rs.20k per month, then the percentage-approach restricts you from spending any more than 2000/- on entertainment.

Of course, this is assuming that you take your plan seriously and are honest with yourself. If this is not the case, then there is not much in the world that can really help you!

My colleague has been trying this method for a while now, and says it has made his money matters significantly better. Hope it works for you too!

Sunday – The Sabbath Day!

2010-07-21T21:20:00.000-07:00

On this blog, I keep harping about productivity, efficiency, optimization, et al. But today, I will go over to the other end and say:

"Spend an entire day away from your machine!"

Before getting down to the actual concept, here's some personal background.

As an unashamed workaholic (and a bachelor until last year), I was totally hooked up to my machine (a laptop) for 12 to 15 hours a day… often more, but never less. I used the machine to do office work, to read e-books, to listen to music, to watch movies, to play games, to surf the net, and so on. It was great fun.

However, after a couple of years of doing this, I began to feel pangs of a strange dissatisfaction. Life seemed dull and monochromatic.

One fine day, HP, a friend of mine, suggested a solution: Stay away from your laptop for a day. Just don’t touch it.

Fine, I said... I won't work on Sunday, but surely I can use the laptop to watch a movie or to read an e-book?

No, said HP... Total ban on the machine for an entire day (and night).

I was aghast. What was I supposed to do then?

The first time I tried this, I ended up getting frustrated and booting up the machine within a couple of hours.

So, the next Sunday, I left the laptop in my office locker.

With no access to it, mind slowly began to work out the alternatives. I went out and bought a couple of newspapers. Next, I called up a few friends. Even had a long lazy bath followed by a nap in the afternoon!

Over the next few weeks, I had not just adjusted myself to this new routine, but began to actually enjoy it!

So, what is this all about?

The idea is pretty simple: Let go of your machine for a day, and relax, chill out. Spend time with your family, friends, and relatives. Spend time on your hobbies and interests. Do everything and anything that is not related to your profession.

Some points to be considered:

Note that I refer to machine. As a software professional, my machine is my laptop. Your "machine" or "tool" will differ as per your profession.
I have chosen Sunday to implement idea; you can choose any day as per your convenience.
When I say don't work on your off-day, you should exercise your own judgement. For example, during a software release phase, it is common for the project team to be occasionally slogging over a weekend in the office to meet the delivery deadlines. In this case, you can compensate yourself later by taking an extra day off.
Care should be taken that the relaxed mood of the off-day doesn't spill over to the next day. If you have been reading a book, force yourself to keep it down. Partying till late night on a Sunday night is no excuse to walk in late into office on Monday.

How does it help?

Taking a day off keeps you relaxed through the next week. You can take care of backlog activities to be done at home.
Your family will be most delighted and comforted with the assurance that you will really be taking them out to a dinner. Your friends and relatives will know for sure that they can always meet you or visit you on a Sunday.

But what about the productivity stuff?
Believe it, this idea actually makes you more productive throughout the week. If you’re a movie buff, the knowledge that you will only be watching the latest flick on Sunday takes the thought off your mind and helps you focus on the work in hand.

Also, taking an entire day off makes you look forward to getting back to office on Monday and hitting the work. At least, this happens to me!

The 3 productivity tools you need

2010-07-16T23:00:00.000-07:00

You want to streamline your work, be more productive, and be more efficient. You take a look around and find productivity tools and techniques galore, enough to intimidate you back into the un-managed ways.

So, what is the easiest -- and probably the best! -- way to go about getting started with getting things done in a systematic way, without investing too much time and effort into myriad approaches?

From personal experience, I would say just three tools are sufficient to do the trick:

To-Do list
Checklist
Reminder mechanism

Let's see how to use these...

THE TO-DO LIST: WHAT to do A good to-do list should consist of two parts. One part should have the task-lists. Tasks are the chores that you need to repeatedly perform with some regular frequency, such as sending out a status report every Friday, or, washing your car every 15 days.

More details about creating task-lists can be read here. The second part of the to-do list should have action items specific for the particular day (or week), such as a meeting with software analyst or attending a wedding reception at 9 PM.

Tools:
For the office work, I used StickyPad earlier. But now I use the Tasks feature of Microsoft Outlook. It integrates nicely with e-mail and calendar features (see below) and has almost all the features one could ask for.
For personal work, I extensively use the Notes and To-Do List features of my cellphone.

Success Mantra: The key is to have specific, actionable items on your to-do list. For example, "I want to reduce weight" is merely a wish; you need to convert it to something like "Jogging for 30 minutes every morning from 7 AM to 7:30 AM". Now, this becomes an action-item.
Some say that the best time to chalk out a to-do list is just before you go to sleep or early in the morning before you set out for the day. Well, I don’t have a specific time to update the to-do list; but just go on adding to it whenever a task presents itself.

THE CHECKLIST: HOW to do
Checklists are a list of items that help you either to perform a task in the best possible manner or to verify if a completed task meets the requirements. Hence, the checklists can basically be of two types: pre-emptive and corrective. For example, a checklist that you use while conducting a software release is a pre-emptive checklist, whereas a code review checklist is a corrective checklist.

I have always been big on checklists, so reading The Checklist Manifesto by Dr Atul Gawande was a comforting feeling!

Tools:
As of now, I am not using any particular tool to create and manage the checklists. They are mostly scribbled on a paper notepad or saved in MS-Excel.

Success Mantra:
The key is to be honest with oneself while using the checklists. It’s a tall order, but you can always try! You need to force yourself to acknowledge that you have skipped some essential steps during a procedure or that your finished work doesn’t satisfy all the expectations. This will not only help you brace yourself for any glitches ahead but will also –hopefully – forewarn you against making the same errors again in future.

REMINDERS: WHEN to do
Most of us use reminders. The hitch is that most of us don't really act on them when the alarm goes off, instead preferring to hit the snooze button.
It helps if you set two reminders for each task, one for any preparatory actions you need to perfrom and the second one for the actual task.
For example, your buddy's birthday is on 1-September and you wish to get your buddy a present. Then it's not a good idea to set only one reminder for 1-September. Better set a reminder a week before so that you have sufficient time to go out and buy that gift.

Tools: For office work, I use the Calendar feature of Microsoft Outlook. It integrates nicely with e-mail and Tasks feature (see above) and has almost all the features one could ask for.

For personal work, I use the Calendar as well as Reminders features of my cellphone.

Success Mantra:
The key here is to make your calendar sacred, something that no one can override… not even you, not without a good reason at least. If you mark a time-slot for studying Linux then hanging out in a mall with friends during that time should be avoided, however tempting it might be.

Of course, you cannot always have things your way. If you mark a Friday evening to watch a football match on TV and your wife informs, “We are visiting my folks today evening”, it would be wise not to insist too much on preserving the integrity of your calendar.

Using these three basic tools in a disciplined way is guaranteed to bring a huge improvement in your productivity and efficiency.

Links I Love... Part II

2010-03-29T06:50:00.000-07:00

This is a series of blog posts, in which I share some interesting, intriguing and informative web sites. You can read the first post here.
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An interesting site where various people, mostly designers, share with you what they have learnt in life, so far. The home page links to the works of individual contributors. Simple concepts are showcased in an amazingly appealing way.
http://www.thingsihavelearnedinmylife.com/
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Alexa is a leading "web information company" that ranks websites based on their traffic. You can view top websites world-wide, or by country or in any of the categories. Alexa also provides a lot of statistical data related to the Web, often used as reference material.
Visit Alexa here: http://www.alexa.com/topsites
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Want to see letters by Galileo, Albert Einstein, Thomas Elva Edison, Robert Oppenheimer, Wright brothers, or Nicola Tesla in their own handwriting? Want to see letters by Mark Twain, J D Salinger, Isaac Asimov and Walt Disney in their own handwriting? Want to read a letter by Marry Stuart just couple of hours before she was hanged by Queen Elizabeth I? Want to see a short note by Monica Lewinsky to Bill Clinton?
Want to read a letter written by a kid about a rocket even before the first satellite was in orbit?
Want to see a real 'masked' code-letter used in a war in 1777? Want to see a "letter" from the year 856 AD?

If you are interested in all of these, and many more authentic letters, you must visit: http://www.lettersofnote.com/
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This one's for all the guys... An article from the Esquire magazine that lists "75 things every man should be able do".
http://www.esquire.com/features/essential-skills-0508
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This one's for those who think out-of-the-box and always have ideas oozing out of them. Browse through this blog... It's an exciting collection of amazing ideas, photos and all the heady stuff.
http://www.ironicsans.com/
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Sachin Special!

"Tendulkar Opus", a superfantastic site for all things Sachin: http://tendulkaropus.com/static.php?page=index2
An Interesting compilation of facts, best knocks and lots of trivia: http://tendulkar.co.in/
YouTube clip of Sachin's knock of 200* runs against South Africa: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI9Q9bPI4W4
Wikipedia entry for Sachin, full of facts and biographical details: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sachin_Tendulkar

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Every morning, the first thing I do in the office is to take a look at Times of India online for the latest news. From today, there will be a slight update to this routine; I will also be visiting this site: http://www.batmya.com/

Headlines of all Marathi papers at one go!
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Here's something interesting: What happened in my birth year?: http://whathappenedinmybirthyear.com/
Just enter your birth-year. Then sit back and see the major events from the year of your birth, unfold before you on the screen.
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And, here's something informative: 100 Incredible Lectures from the world's top scientists: http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2009/06/18/100-incredible-lectures-from-the-worlds-top-scientists/
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Find all the Google tricks in one place: http://www.gtricks.com/
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Watch and listen to best minds at TED: http://www.ted.com/talks
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5 reasons you shouldn't keep praising your kids: http://www.alfiekohn.org/parenting/gj.htm
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If you use any Microsoft products at home or work, here are two links that would be quite useful:
Microsoft at Home: http://www.microsoft.com/athome/default.aspx
Microsoft at Work: http://www.microsoft.com/atwork/default.aspx
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Even a genius has to feed himself, and for that he needs to work. And to get work, you send a resume.
Want to see the resume (actually, it's more of a covering letter) of one of the most versatile geniuses of all time? See Leonardo da Vinci's resume, in his own handwriting, here: http://www.cenedella.com/stone/archives/2010/01/leonardo_da_vincis_resume.html
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Arguably the biggest human-edited directory of the web, the Open Directory Project: http://www.dmoz.org/
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And, if you are as fascinated about maps and data visualization as I am, here is an interesting link. Simply scroll through the page, and be amazed!
Cartogrammar: http://www.cartogrammar.com/blog/
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And, here's what you can do with a single sheet of paper:
http://www.picm.co.tv/2010/01/single-sheet-of-paper.html
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This sea of knowledge, a wonderful initiative from Govt of India, is available at online digital libraries hosted across India. It is a great collection of books and it is available absolutely Free Of Cost.

• Digital Library of India, Hyderabad Server: http://www.new.dli.ernet.in/
• Digital Library of India, Banglore Server: http://dli.iiit.ac.in/
• Digital Library of India, Noida Server: http://www.dli.cdacnoida.in/
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I am not (yet) a great fan of Barack Obama.. but see these photos, and you will see this man is a natural:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/photogallery/first-year
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Are you interested in mathematics? If yes, then here is a treasure... 1000+ videos on math, covering everything from basic arithmetic and algebra to differential equations, physics, chemistry, biology and finance. ... And the site is run by Salman Khan.
Don't believe me? Then visit http://www.khanacademy.org/
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Google 4 queries at once: http://googlegooglegooglegoogle.com/old/
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Here is the biggest collection of rules of thumb: http://www.rulesofthumb.org/
Very interesting... and very useful, too!

Principles that Rule

2010-01-06T06:50:00.000-08:00

Ever so often we come across a rule or a principle that summarizes a wealth of insight in a line or two. More often than not, we find ourselves nodding our head vigorously in agreement.
This blog is an attempt to compile together such principles and rules, with links pointing to the more useful resources. To start with, here are a few rules that I can think of right now...

Pareto principle:
The Pareto principle, also known as the 80-20 Rule, says that 20% of your work will take 80 % of your time, and vice versa.
Wikipedia
Better Explained

Image from flickr

Guy Kawasaki’s 10/20/30 rule of PowerPoint:
Guy Kawasaki suggests that a PowerPoint presentation should have no more than 10 slides, shouldn’t last longer than 20 minutes, and shouldn’t have any font smaller than size 30.
Guy Kawasaki

20-70-10 Rule:
This rule, which became more famous (or infamous) as Jack Welch’s Differentation method, states that all the workforce in an organization can be divided into three categories: The top 20% (star performers, who must be awarded), the middle 70% (the core of company, who must be nurtured and monitored) and the bottom 10% (the non-performers, who must be moved out).
The Welch Way

2 Minute Rule:
This rule comes from David Allen’s Getting Things Done (popularly known as GTD). It says, a task that can be completed in 2 minutes should be done immediately.

Six degrees of separation:

Six degrees of separation is a wonderful idea which postulates that if you are one step away from each person you know, and two step away from each they know, then you are at most just six steps away from any other person in the world.... yes including the US President!
Wikipedia

Rule of 72:
The rule of 72 is a quick (though approximate) method to determine how long an investment will take to double, given a fixed annual rate of interest. To find the time period, just divide 72 with the annual rate of return.
Investopedia

....

And while you are at it, also check out the following:

Using Task-Lists

2009-12-19T23:00:00.000-08:00

In the office, we are required to send a weekly status report and a monthly timesheet report to our customers. Once having to rush them at the last moment due to temporary memory lapse, I set up tasks for these two items in Microsoft Outlook and configured them to run on weekly and monthly basis.

Since then, there was never a missed report.
And that got me thinking: how about extending the idea of task lists?

A significant amount of the tasks that we do routinely iterative in nature; be it shopping for grocery or paying our bills. Yet, more often than not, we keep forgetting to do them on time, just because we forget. The idea of task-list is to set up a process that will take the pain out of remembering.

It can be broken down in a 5-step process:

1. Identify:
Sit down and make a list of all the tasks you do. Brainstorm. Ask your spouse, parents. Ask your office peers. Consider all the facets of your life:

Financial (paying bills, loan premiums)
Social (calling up friends, visits to relatives)
Professional (sending status reports, taking data backups)
Spiritual(yoga classes)
Recreational (watching movies, reading books, going to gym, swimming classes)

Jot down as many tasks as you can. Having said that, also keep in mind that identifying the tasks is not a one-time job. As days progress, you will think of more and more tasks.

2. Classify:

From the list, classify the tasks depending on their frequency, as follows:

Weekly
Monthly
Bi-Monthly
Quarterly

A few tasks could even be on a yearly basis.
Some tasks will classify themselves. For example: a weekly status report will go in a Weekly task-list. Payment of bills and premiums is most likely to be a Monthly task.
For the tasks that are not so clearly well-defined, you will need to take into consideration their priority and importance. For example, consider washing/servicing of your vehicle. Do you need to do it on a weekly basis, or will once a month suffice? It will depend on the nature of its use. Weekly and monthly are the major task-lists.

3. Configure:

Set up the task-lists using a medium on your choice. The lists can be maintained on your computer, mobile phone or even on paper. It wouldn’t be advisable to carry them in your head though, for the primary purpose of creating task-lists is to free yourself from remembering tasks to be done!

4. Implement:
The most important part is to actually implement the task-lists. It might come difficult for a first few weeks, but once you realize how they make life easier, you will feel encouraged to use them!

5. Review:

Review all the task-lists to add/edit/replace/remove the necessary tasks. In fact, include the task-list review as an action item in preferably a Quarterly task-list!

Hushsh! Seems like a lot of work, does it? Well, rest assured that it worth the effort, for it saves the headache.

A few pointers:

Note that task-lists work best for activities that are iterative in nature.
Be flexible. Do not let the task-list rule you. In case of an impromptu event, such as a quick movie plan or a last minute invitation to attend a party, feel free to ignore the scheduled tasks for a while. Over a period of time, you will be better than striking a balance.
If you find a particular tasks being side-lined all too often, consider changing its scheduled time, day, or even shifting its frequency. For example: it’s not really necessary to defrag you system once every week, you can set it to every month or so.
Although tasks-lists are meant to be an individual activity, it is recommended that you share your task-lists with people close to you, especially spouses, parents and close office colleagues. Not only does this give them a better idea of your schedule, you will also be able to delegate some of the tasks to them.

What did you learn today?

2009-11-17T06:50:00.000-08:00

The biodata of Dr R A Mashelkar, a chemical engineer from the prestigious UDCT, never fails to leave me gasping. He is an FRS and was awarded the Star of Asia award. After successfully making CSIR one of the pioneering research labs in the world, when he stepped down as its Director General, one would have assumed that he could easily rest on his laurels. But he chose to take the chair of Reliance Innovation Council.

If I may mention here, he is one of my icons.

At Infospectrum, the company I work for, Tushar Joshi is known as a software guru. An MCP, RHCP as well as an SCJP, he is the one to send an SOS whenever there is some help needed, especially in Java. But there is more to him. He is a prolific writer, a very good poet and not to forget, a doting father of two smart girls. With na amazing net presence, he is usually the first one to embrace an upcoming wave, be it a development platform like NetBeans or a social networking revolution like twitter.
You always learn something new in every conversation with Tushar.

Be it a chemical engineer like Dr Mashelkar, or a software geek like Tushar; what really makes these people tick? During his interview for Pulse, the official newsletter of Infospectrum, Tushar disclosed, “I am a perennial student, I just want to keep learning something new!”

Each one of us would like to be a continuous learner; but how does one actually do it?

Brooding over this a couple of months ago, I have devised a process to try and walk on the same path; and so far, it’s working fine for me. The idea is fairly simple: Learn something new every week.

Where Do I begin?
The best place to start is your workplace.
Being in software industry, I started with exploring the blogs on technical writing during my free time. Within a week, I had bookmarked a number of blogs that were highly informative, as well as inspirational. Some of the resources, such as Tom Johnson’s blog or the EServer Technical Communication Library are so vast that it would easily take a month or two just to get through all the content. Next, I installed MS-Visio 2007, even though the previous version 2003 had served sufficient well.

Find out the best tools, reach out to the best people in your field. Try a few new ways doing your work. If doing things the way you have always done has earned you bread and butter, learn something new that makes you capable of earning cheese and honey!

Where Do I regulalry find new stuff to learn?
The fundamental idea is to almost force oneself to try and explore new areas. It can be picking up a new book to read or visiting a new destination. It can be trying out a new genre of music or tasting a new cuisine. It can even be making a new friend. For the first few months, focus on quantity. As you progress, not only will you learn to separate chaff from the grain, you will also develop the knack of hitting the right direction in the first place.
Surround yourself with people who are curious and enthusiastic. Avoid gossip-mongers; they sap your energy. Read stuff that’s mentally engaging, not just the one that you can swallow without exerting your grey cells.
Sometimes, your work environment itself sets you on a steep learning curve. I was shifted to a new project two weeks ago, and have been fully engaged in trying to get familiar with the new tools, processes and of course, new people.

But... Will I be able to cope with it all?
Try it, and you will be amazed how far you can stretch yourself. We grossly underestimate the learning and retaining capacity of our brain, especially in case of young individuals. If you learn something on your own, in a field that you enjoy and that too at your own leisure, chances are high that you aren't likely to forget it in a hurry!

Okay! So I learn… What next?
As Swami Vivekananda said, “Salvation of society is more important than attainment of Nirvana of an individual”. We may not have such lofty visions, but one can always try and give back to the world in his or her own capacity. If you have learnt a new language, teach it to people who are interested, if you have learnt a new tool, share it with people to whom it might be useful. Write a blog. Tell people about the latest book you are currently reading.

The more you share, the more you will learn. As Sohirobanath Ambiye, a saint from Sawantwadi, puts it beautifully...

"अंतरीचा ज्ञानदिवा मालवू नको रे!"

Let the light of knowledge always burn within you.

Blogs I Love...

2009-10-08T06:50:00.000-07:00

Here is a list of some blogs that I occasionally visit...

Technology

Microsoft blogs

Google blogs

Just Plain Interesting

The blog of "unnecessary" quotation marks

Of course, blogs on technical writing are always a priority because of my profession. For a list of blogs (and web sites) related to technical writing, click this link.

Links I Love...

2009-10-06T06:50:00.000-07:00

Here are links to some interesting websites...

Which file extension do you resemble?
Why search, when you can find all your favourite sites on one page?
Google Vanity Ring displays the number of hits received when you google your name... Quite a gift for narcissists, eh?
Visit this website, but as it says, do NOT click anywhere inside it!
Add digital effects to your photos at a click of mouse
Many of us use Flickr to share photos and videos. Flickr Clock is one of the lesser-known features of Flickr.
You must have received at least one inspirational message from Pravs World.
Website on Navraatri.... an eSakal effort
The Sky of Earth... a thousand billion possible worlds out there!

Use StickyPad

2008-03-22T23:00:00.000-07:00

You must have seen those small pieces of paper people stick to their refrigerators after scribbling some notes on them. (I have always wondered why the refrigerator seems such a favourite place.) Chances are, you may be one among them!

I use an electronic version of the same concept.

StickyPad from Green Eclipse Software is a freeware that lets you create small sticky notes, scribble some stuff on them and then ‘paste’ them on your desktop. This is a great way to keep a track of small but numerous tasks that one needs to do in office or at home.

StickyPad primarily helps as a slate or small whiteboard to make quick notes throughout the day. Here is a screen grab of my desktop as it looks right now.

As you can see, I have created two sticky notes, one for personal tasks & the other for personal tasks. Once a task is done, I strike it off and replace it with new ones.
Furthermore, StickyPad allows you to:

Drag and pin the notes to any position on desktop
Give individual colours to each sticky note, for easier identification
Set reminders for alerts to be raised when an item is due
Save the notes as a file for future reference
Send the notes as an e-mail attachment
Print the notes if you wish to have a hard copy
Hide/Close/Delete notes once the tasks are done

Of course, StickyPad doesn’t have all the features of more powerful tools like Microsoft Outlook, but on the upside, it is easy to install, configure & manage; does not require too much efforts to use; doesn’t hog much resources (memory, desktop space) and most importantly, it is free!

Using StickyPad has enhanced my productivity by quite a few notches, and saved me the headache of having missed a small but significant task.

Install Encarta

2008-03-19T20:00:00.000-07:00

… Or, Encyclopedia Britannica, for that matter…
Many of us have desktops or laptops at our homes. However, they are mostly used as to surf the net or as gaming stations. We need to go beyond that and make the computer a knowledge tool.
Packages like Encarta or Britannica go a long way in doing just that.
Ever since I installed a copy of Microsoft Student with Encarta Premium 2007 on my laptop, I haven’t experienced boredom. Whenever I do get bored, I just open the suite and click my way through its vast knowledge-base.
Microsoft Encarta Premium 2007 has different sections like History, Geography, People & Society, Arts & Literature, Science & Nature, Sports & Recreation.
The advantage that an electronic version has over the paper version is that the videos, 3-D animations and virtual tours make the learning much more enjoyable and interesting than a piece of text.
Moreover, Encarta Kids is a special section devoted to kids. It has information in a simplified manner, with lots of games and animation thrown in.
Microsoft Student 2007 is not just an encyclopedia, but a knowledge-tool. It lets you learn about many of activities one performs in school or college. For example, it has an extensive array of Math tools, geography tools, foreign language tools and search tools. For college students, it has tools to create projects and papers, presentations, and charts & graphs, plus a complete section devoted to college, jobs and career.
If you have kids at home, Microsoft Student with Encarta premium 2007 is one of the best things you can get for them as a (birthday!!!??) gift!

Use Reminders extensively

2008-02-11T11:00:00.000-08:00

Many of us have some fantastic ideas about our own memory capacities. We feel our memory is infallible and forgetting is something that just doesn’t come naturally to us.

Well, having a great memory is one thing; and ability to remember the right things at the right time is just the other. I realized it last year.

My cousin sister’s birthday is in June; and of course I did remember it… exactly 72 hours later. What made things more awkward was the fact that I had spoken to her just the day before.

Lesson Learnt: Set reminder for everything that you need to do.

In office, I use the Calendar feature of Microsoft Outlook. It has some powerful features that you can use to set recurring reminders, or reminders to be sent to others.
For personal matters, I use Reminder feature of my cell phone.
For birthdays of special ones, I have two reminders: one for the day itself, and another a week earlier, to buy greeting card or a gift.

Count thy currency…

2008-02-04T21:11:00.000-08:00

Count the currency every time it changes hands.
Sounds pretty obvious, eh? But just think about the countless times you must have just pocketed the wad of notes given by perhaps a close friend or a family-member, thinking it wouldn’t look good if you counted them right in front of them.
At least I suffered from these thoughts until a short while ago.

A friend had returned the 2000/- bucks I had lent him. Coming back to my PG room, I passed over the same to landlord as the rent for the month. He counted it while we talked and informed that it was only 1900/-.. a hundred less.
Of course, I paid the remainder amount, but then was left wondering whether my pal himself had erred while giving the money or whether I had misplaced Rs. 100/- somewhere.

Lesson Learnt: Whether you are giving the money or receiving it, count it thoroughly.

Welcome to my life!

2008-01-23T08:30:00.000-08:00

Dear All,
Welcome to my (yet another) blog. Every time I create a blog, I promise myself it would be the last one… and then end up creating another.

This one is about the experiences of my life, and the lessons they have taught me. To begin with, it would mostly be about HowTo’s, GTDs, et cetera et cetera. Later on, when (actually, if) I get a bigger picture, a bit of philosophy might creep in.

Each post in this blog would be a live document, in the sense that whenever I learn something new about the same thing, the related blog post would be updated.

At the ripe young age of 27, I cannot claim to have seen it all. The things mentioned here would be stuff that perhaps all of us know, are aware about. The idea is just to log them.
Being a technical writer, am quite fanatic about comprehensive documentation! And, what could be more mission-critical than our own life!

Hope that the entries made here strike a chord with you…

Regards,
-Gautam
23-January-2008