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Speed up in the long term by slowing down in the short term
On most projects there is a tendency for someone involved to become the “expert” in one or more areas. As they become comfortable and more knowledgeable in an area they will naturally gravitate to picking up tasks related to it. The need to deliver as quickly as possible can also drive this as the person who knows most is likely to be the person who can do the work quickest.
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A remote family breakfast
Someone I work with mentioned that each week he takes time to have coffee with his mum. This might sound quite normal but there are two parts that stand out for me.
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Watch an octopus dreaming
Obviously we have no idea whether the interpretation in the video is correct however I love they way the octopus changes colour and shape as it “dreams”.
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Goggles give back sight
This short clip is pretty remarkable. A young woman lost most of her sight due to a brain tumour. All she has left is a small blurry circle in her right eye. With the use of some AR goggles and some very clever tech she was able to read for the first time in years - very moving.
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Sleep is your superpower
This is one of the scariest videos I think I have ever seen. It is not a horror movie or a thriller - it is a talk about the impact sleep has on the body and in particular the impact a lack of sleep has. This includes increasing the risk of cancer, decreased brain function and reduced immune system. I am seriously reconsidering how I “do” sleep after watching this!
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Even more book summaries
I read a lot of books - a bit less at the moment as I commute less - but still probably more than most people. However there are so many books I would like to read I can’t read them all. I still prefer to read the full book but sometimes book summaries are useful - either to get the key concepts or as a reminder of what I have previously read.
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Tackle the difficult problems first with #MonkeyFirst
I was listening to the audiobook for “Questions Are the Answer” by Hal Gregerson and it mentioned an approach used by the X lab at Alphabet nicknamed “MonkeyFirst”.
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Consensus 2019 - Conference Notes
These are my notes from attending the Consensus 2019 conference in New York - there is a good chance that some of the notes I made are incorrect.
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Lazy programmers can be the most productive
There is often a work culture that you should be busy all the time - if you are a programmer you should always be typing and producing code. Programming is a mental process and so requires thinking. Sometimes a little thought upfront saves a lot of pain and work down the line.
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A clear desk helps avoid being the bottleneck
I really like Seth Godin’s blog - I could easily link to his posts every day - however occasionally a post really stands out for me. A recent post called Bottlenecks had an interesting observation that was a different way of thinking about them.
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