Dave Caolo

Shawn Blanc applies his exhausitve reivew technique to Things for the Mac and the iPhone. I’m almost ashamed to say that I still haven’t decided between Things and The Hit List. Perhaps Shawn will convince me.

In October of 2008, my employer of 15 years shut its doors for good. After a mild freakout, I decided to make a go of working for myself.

I had been working as the IT director for a residental school in rural Massachusetts. I had also been blogging on my own for about five years, and professionally with The Unofficial Apple Weblog and Parenting Magazine for about 2 years each. In that time, I realized how much I love writing and blogging. I’ll admit that I spent the last year with my employer thinking more and more about blogging full time. “I wonder if I could do this for a living?” I thought. That was the dream.

To make a long story short, I’ve been doing it since October. I’ve also helped some small business owners develop blogs of their own. Of course, what I know about writing and blogging is eclipsed by what I don’t. It’s time for some professional development.

It’s January, which is when people resolve to improve themselves. I’m doing the same, but I want to make it fun. Here’s professional development, World of Warcraft style.

Click here to read more about this project.

I’m having a hard time deciding between Things and The Hit List. Both offer a very pleasant GTD experience on the Mac.

Things 1.0 is available (as well as the companion iPhone/iPod touch app [link]) for $50US. The Hit List is in beta and the pre-release price is also $50. I love both, honestly.

Shawn Blanc has written high praise for Things. I agree with this assessment, but I’d hate to plunk down my fifty bucks only to kick myself in four weeks. What’s a geek to do?

Update: Here’s a nice interview with Jürgen Schweizer of Cultured Code.

Here’s a simple little trick I came across this evening. If you create a link with “http://twitter.com/home?status=@your_twitter_handle” where “your_titter_handle” is just that, it will bring your users to twitter.com and create a reply tweet. Cool.

While you’re here, try it!

David Seah’s Emergent Task Planner has been a life saver since I became solely responsible for how I spend my time.

I fill it out at the top of each day. It helps me estimate how much time I might spend on a given project vs. how much time it actually takes, prioritize, monitor the “incidentals” that arrive in my inbox and keep things from getting out of hand.

It’s great to see the 3, 4 or 5 major tasks I intend to accomplish in black and white instead of floating in my head with all the incoming distractions.

Thanks, Dave! Your forms are wicked cool, as we say in New England.

I apologize for the lousy iPhone photo.

A great interview with Erin Doland, editor at unclutterer.com.

“I have very few regrets in my life, and I owe a great deal of that to my parents’ insistence that I Seize Life. I have always taken chances, been a bit brazen, and risked a little to gain a lot. Anyone can live this way, and the benefits are truly spectacular.”

Read the whole thing.

I tried Lifetick this week after Unclutter‘s Erin Doland mentioned it on Twitter. It’s pretty nice — define your goals and values plus steps to acheive them. View your progress with quite nice-looking charts.

This week, they announced an iPhone-optimized version as well as iCal integration. Check it out.

The second Microsoft ad featuring Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates has appeared, and Cameron Hunt makes this observation:

“Excluding their visually rich iPod ads, Apple’s commercials focus strongly on product; their Get A Mac campaign humorously illustrates the differences between Windows PCs and Macs, while the iPhone is advertised by simply showing the device’s innovative interface … The ‘Jerry and Bill’ advertisements, so far, only mention product in vague terms, usually resulting in a very stale routine of Seinfeld asking Gates about a “goldfish with a website” or edible computers.”

The interesting thing is that, for years, the opposite was true. Microsoft’s ads touted features while Apple’s were abstract. The “Window” iMac ad is a perfect example:

Today, Apple has abandoned the abstract for concrete information, and Microsoft has eliminated any mention of their products.

So what are those ads about? Well, they aren’t about Windows, and that’s the point. Vista is troublesome. XP is old. “PC,” as played by John Hodgman, is a self-conscious, out-of-touch dweeb in a drab, beige suit. Everyone (and I mean everyone) knows what Windows is. Everyone uses Microsoft products. They needn’t be told about either yet again.

The new ads are about associations. Jerry is funny, and by pairing him with Bill Gates (who, dare I say, actually seems kind of cool in these ads), Microsoft hopes that some of his snarky humor will become associated with their products in the consumers’ minds.

I like them a lot. They’re quirky, they make Bill Gates (arguably the quintessential geek), seem cool and they make me laugh. Apple fanboys will dismiss them as nonsensical, but they’re wrong. These ads are great.

No, they aren’t about Windows, Office, etc. That’s the point.

More

Michael Mistretta offers a counterpoint, while Daniel Jalkut and and Adam Lisagor agree.

Daniel Jalkut:

“…these ads are not meant to influence the immediate buying patterns of viewers, but instead to alter the long-term impression of the company that develops and markets the world’s leading desktop computer operating system.”

Exactly right.

I’m still reading The 4-Hour Work Week. Today I was stuck by Tim’s abhorrence of multi-tasking.

He’s right on this one. There’s a mindset in our culture that venorates the busy. The more you can do at once, the better.

I call bullshit.

Imagine the busy executive. Arms flailing, a phone tucked under his chin, a Blackberry clacking in one hand and a mouse in the other, he’s doing four things at once. What a machine! He is the envy of the working world.

I see a guy who’s doing four jobs poorly. Specifically, he’s giving each project 1/4 the attention it deserves. Now, I know that it’s impossible to remain laser-focued on one task all day long (for instance, I’m eating as I type this), but you can do it 90% of the time.

The middle of the book has become a business/economics class, which isn’t what I was expecting, but I’m going to stick with it.

Look, I love GTD as much as the next guy, but David Allen’s cheese has slipped off of his cracker.

While browsing the site tonight, I found the store. Check out the above package. It’s pretty nice — plastic In/Out trays, folders with a stand, some notebooks, a pen and desk tray.  How much do you think this costs?

Ready?

$735.

With shipping, you’ll be pushing a thousand bucks for a freaking desk set. My goodness. For that much money, this thing better have sex with me then make a steak and lobster dinner.

Besides, desk sets are only good for one thing.