christian ross

Test Your Focus

For a long time multi-tasking was a buzz word in the corporate setting and a desired trait in many job interviews. It’s too late for me to hunt down the research but I have come across a few different articles in the last year or two debunking the myths that we are actually good at multi-tasking or that we are more productive when we attempt to be. As much as I like having a variety of projects to work on, I do find that my productivity tends to suffers when I jump quickly from task-to-task during the day.

I just spent the last 5 minutes testing my personal theories on some simple NYTimes interactive tests. As I imagined, I scored quite well on the Focus portion and fell short of average on the Juggling Tasks (multi-tasking) test. Care to see how you perform?

Site tweaks

If you visit this site through RSS then you’ve probably noticed a large drop of stuff coming down all at once today. Occasionally I like to bookmark things across the web I find interesting that aren’t worth a whole post but I like to share. The three most current run in the right sidebar under my Twitter feed.

I’ve always wanted them to mesh together with the current feed but hadn’t done it before today. Sorry. Though Tumblr is far easier for things like this, I’m not in the mood to make the full switch yet; but I do get the feeling that the sidebar links go unnoticed. We’ll trial this for a bit and see how it goes.

Feel free to yell at me below for adding more clutter to your life. I’m also doing some slight layout/site tweaks but nothing too crazy. Please let me know if something doesn’t work in your browser.

My Work-flow

I’ve been meaning to do this for a while now but just hadn’t taken the time. Productivity is a huge word this day in age. I’m not sure if it stems from the problem that our attention spans have grown so short or the fact that we’ve filled our lives with so many distractions; but we know have thousands of resources at our fingertips to help us learn how to once again focus and block out distractions.

I am by no means immune to this conundrum. I am as easily, if not more, distracted than anybody else out there but I can say that slowly I think I am getting better at it. I’ve been blessed to work for myself now for almost five years and in that time frame I have been able to refine some of my processes over and over again to help aid my work-flow and hopefully allow me to get a little quicker/better at what I do so I can spend more time with the distractions that I really love.

The following is a list of software (both local and web-based) that I use almost daily for what I do. Of course some of it is directly related to my profession so you’ll probably have no need for a few but maybe you’ll find an item or two that might help you along as well. (more…)

Smarties, a tribute

As I stood there staring over the bin, I knew what my target would be. Though I was a fan of gumballs, Sweettarts and Saltwater Taffy – nothing could come between me and the gratifying tastes of Smarties. Twenty-five single sweet treats that never seem to get eaten individually. I had a plan in place and knew this was the day I fulfilled it.

I was always the good one of the bunch growing up. First to tattle on others and equally fast to cower in shame when I knew I had done wrong. But today was going to be different. At ten years of age, I was out to prove myself.

Our neighborhood grocery store was small, larger than a convenience store but much smaller than the big box variety. I bet I made eight laps around its isles that day. My friends as I saw it, had started a life of crime; and like any good follower, I was going to get into the action.

The bins were located near the produce section at the front of the store. They differed from the candy section, which had its equally enticing sugar treats, but I wasn’t ready for such a bold strike on my first attempt. (more…)

A Fashionable Thursday v5

My original intention for AFT this week was to do an all-shoe rundown. That immediately went out the door when possibly the worlds’ best fitting button down shirt came across my desk.

I’ll keep an all-shoe post on the to do list for another week.

Band of Outsiders : button down – sea island

As with most things I wear, I have rules concerning button down shirts. I’m a big fan of button down collars on shirts without a tie. Not so much with one though. Call me crazy but why would a person take the time to dress up a look with a tie and then cinch it off with a couple of buttons on a shirt? Let it breathe.

No need for a tie here, this shirt kills on its own. Slim fit goodness. $325

(via Opening Ceremony) (more…)

They Might Be Giants – The Elements

You might have done better in chemistry class in school if they had videos like TMBG’s take on the periodic table called The Elements.

The final piece will be included on a DVD called “Here Comes Science” by Feel Good Anyway.

Update: The DVD was actually released yesterday, you can pick it up on Amazon.

Al Franken can draw

I’m not a huge fan of Al Franken. He was decent on SNL, and by the looks of it, his freehand drawing skills are pretty good. I wouldn’t be surprised if the music for the video loops consistently to score his every move in life.

On Getting Things Done

A good, quick read from Manton Reece on forging your project(s) ahead and possibly having to sacrifice some things to see them through. I particularly like this little nugget from Gary Vaynerchuck,

“Someone with less passion and talent and poorer content can totally beat you if they’re willing to work longer and harder than you are.”

Upon launching Note & Point last week, I did get a feeling of accomplishment and pride that I hadn’t felt in a while professionally speaking. The ability to take a project from concept to finish in a matter of a few weeks and get the kind of positive feedback we received, it made the idea of doing it again seem much more plausible.

And I didn’t even have to skip a meal.