Anatomy of a To-Do

This is an older post from the smart folks over at 43 Folders that I find myself re-reading every few months or so in my effort to getting things done in the most efficient way possible.

The primary idea of a to-do is that it’s a task that can and should be done – a point that might seem obvious until you start uncovering how many of the items on your to-do list may not belong there (or, conversely, how many uncaptured items do).

The best and most useful to-dos share common qualities:

It’s a physical action.
It can be accomplished at a sitting.
It supports valuable progress toward a recognized goal.
It’s something for which you are the most appropriate person for the job.

Glancing at your own to-do list, do you see any potential troublemakers?

Notice any items that make you squeamish?

Any mystery meat tasks that seem "un-doable" as is?

Relax. 43 Folders will have you shaped up in no time.

I dig using John Blyberg's awesome Card Generator to create my list and then make it my monthly, impossible to ignore, laptop screen saver.


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HMK

Make It Louder...

Aw yeah... if you're in need for a little audio wallpaper to get you in the mood for the weekend...CLICK HEAR!

Just in time for the weekend...

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HMK

Why Ivy Ross Rules

Ambidextrous Magazine recently ran a cool interview with Ivy Ross, she’s the head of design and packaging for the girls division at Mattel.

Here are a few excerpts.

On the importance of meaning:

Let's face it. Everyone has everything. We are not about price anymore. Everything exists at every price level. It's about the connection you find with the object.

On the power of unleashing your personal design thinking process:

I had to think about my own creative process. What I did for myself was feed myself. I took on a question and ate absolutely everything I could. I allowed myself freedom to explore, without restrictions, and at a really organic pace. I was like a kid.

On the drivers of innovative behavior:

I also believe that creativity and innovation are built around trust and freedom. Companies don't get that. They think it is a process. It is really about creating trust between the people creating and the freedom to go to new places.

Get the 2 page PDF.

More good stuff from Ivy Ross.


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HMK

Thanks to the smart folks at Meta Cool.

Do It Anyway

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered.
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies.
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you.
Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight.
Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous.
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, will often be forgotten.
Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough.
Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God.
It was never between you and them anyway.

- Mother Teresa

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HMK

Think About It

"Brilliant execution without strategy is irrelevant, but brilliant strategy without brilliant execution is invisible."
Pat Fallon and Fred Senn

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HMK

Do It Anyway

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

- Mother Teresa

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HMK

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HMK

Click & Drag Google Maps

Double true!

Genius.

Get Going: Google Maps.

Have a great weekend!

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HMK

Handel: First Musical Recording 1888

On this day, June 29, 1888, the earliest known musical recording is made. The piece, Georg Friedrich Handel's Handel's Israel In Egypt, is recorded on a paraffin cylinder.

Israel in Egypt, assigned the catalog number HWV 54, is an oratorio, a form in which Handel excelled. Like his more famous Messiah, Israel in Egypt is composed using biblical passages, mainly from Exodus and the Psalms.

Unlike the Messiah, however, it didn't enjoy much of a reception when it premiered in 1739. As a result, Handel shortened the work and inserted a few Italian arias to lighten the mood a bit.

Nevertheless, it was selected by Col. George Gourand, Thomas Edison's foreign sales agent, for the first musical recording. Gourand made his recording in London's Crystal Palace, using Edison's yellow paraffin cylinder -- candle wax, essentially.

Click Hear: Handel's Israel In Egypt.

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HMK

(Source: Stanford University, National Park Service)

Understanding the Farm Bill

Check out this series of publications dissecting the Farm Bill by Matthew Foster, a graphic designer at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.

Ah, the power of design.

Considering the potentially dry nature of these reports, the graphics are so powerful that they actually make me feel less intimidated by the complex subject matter and encourage me to read them. I think the decision to go in the direction of bold WPA inspired graphics and typography is both smart and appropriate.

Nice job Matthew.

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HMK

Thanks to the smart folks at Back Space.

More Vintage Type

As part of their weekly Found Type Friday, the type freaks over at AceJet have a nice flickr set of images focusing on the vintage type from the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum.

Check out the slide show: here.

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HMK

The #1 Song On The Day You Were Born

Find Out Here!

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HMK

Things NOT to do with PowerPoint.

More like PowerPointLess...



Nice stand-up routine on the things not to do with your next PowerPoint presentation.

Are there really people that still use PowerPoint?

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HMK

Thanks to Brand Flakes For Breakfast.

A Visual History of Summer

Ah Summer...

While surfing for some vintage summer images I found a site called Square America. They've got some truly awesome amature photos from the first sixty summers of the 20th century featuring bathing beauties and brawny beefcake, sun, surf, and sand.

I just love the documentary feel and especially the unintentional crops and blurs of these images.

This above shot is from the 40's.

Grab yourself an ice cream or a popsicle, step back in time and check out the rest over at: Square America.

Have a great Summer!

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HMK

You Wish!

Admit it - you wish you had a job where you truly liked the people you work with... And as this proves, thank God, they really do exist.

I dare you to not feel happy as you watch this.

I hope they made sure to include this on their time sheets...

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HMK

Google: Hidden Persuader or Harvey Danger for more info...

So, How's Your Site?

Find out how your website ranks over here at: Website Grader

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HMK

Culla Belly

Check out this smart baby bed design, the Culla Belly, from Busetti Garuti.

I'm thinking this would also be kinda cool for folks that have bed-hogging dogs...

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HMK

Digital Newsstand

Check out this custom rig from Scott Walker, an assistant managing editor at the Birmingham News.

Scott scored an old newspaper box on ebay, and hacked it together with a Mac Mini, and a flat screen monitor to create a digital newsstand that grabs and delivers the latest headlines to his living room each morning.

And dig this, he's even been so kind as post the how to info so we can all make our own.

Pretty genius Scott, nice work.

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HMK

Thanks to News Designer, a cool blog focusing on newspaper design.

Hiring The Best People You've Ever Worked With

Southwest Airlines print ad from 1999.

Here's an insightful read from the smart folks over at PMARCA.

Marc Andreessen, the man behind Netscape and as many believe, the success of the Internet, shares his thoughts about hiring practices today.

I like the fact that it's relevant to both people in charge of hiring, but also potential candidates in preparation for an interview.

Here's an excerpt from Marc Andreessen's How To Hire The Best People You've Ever Worked With

First, Drive.

I define drive as self-motivation -- people who will walk right through brick walls, on their own power, without having to be asked, to achieve whatever goal is in front of them.

People with drive push and push and push and push and push until they succeed.

Winston Churchill after the evacuation of Dunkirk:

"We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender."

That's what you want.

Some people have it and some people don't.

Of the people who have it, with some of them it comes from guilt, often created by family pressure.

With others, it comes from a burning desire to make it big.

With others, it comes from being incredibly Type A.

Whatever... go with it.

Drive is independent of educational experience, grade point averages, and socioeconomic background.

(But Marc, isn't a 4.0 GPA a sure sign of drive? Well, it's a sign that the person is driven to succeed on predefined tests with clear criteria and a grader -- in an environment where the student's parents are often paying a lot of money for the privilege of having their child take the tests. That may or may not be the same thing as being driven to succeed in the real world.)

Drive is even independent of prior career success.

Driven people don't tend to stay long at places where they can't succeed, and just because they haven't succeeded in the wrong companies doesn't mean they won't succeed at your company -- if they're driven.

I think you can see drive in a candidate's eyes, and in a candidate's background.

For the background part, I like to see what someone has done.

Not been involved in, or been part of, or watched happen, or was hanging around when it happened.

I look for something you've done, either in a job or (often better yet) outside of a job.

The business you started and ran in high school.

The nonprofit you started and ran in college.

If you're a programmer: the open source project to which you've made major contributions.

Something.

If you can't find anything -- if a candidate has just followed the rules their whole lives, showed up for the right classes and the right tests and the right career opportunities without achieving something distinct and notable, relative to their starting point -- then they probably aren't driven.

And you're not going to change them.

Motivating people who are fundamentally unmotivated is not easy.

But motivating people who are self-motivated is wind at your back.

I like specifically looking for someone for which this job is their big chance to really succeed.

For this reason, I like hiring people who haven't done the specific job before, but are determined to ace it regardless.

I also like specifically looking for someone who comes from some kind of challenging background -- a difficult family situation, say, or someone who had to work his/her way through school -- who is nevertheless on par with his/her more fortunate peers in skills and knowledge.

Read it all: Over Here.

Thanks Marc, great post.

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HMK

Celebrating The Casbah

I'm honored to announce that I got 6 of my logos chosen for inclusion
in the new book, LogoLounge 4!

The coolest part is having my work acknowledged by an international panel of judges including Neville Brody of Research Studios, Louis Lygo of Wolff Olins, Jerry Kuyper of Jerry Kuyper Partners, Jason Schulte of Jason Schulte Design, Gaby de Abreu of Switch Branding & Design, Haley Johnson of Haley Johnson Design, Janet Martin of Communication Arts, Inc., and Chris Campbell of Interbrand.

The above logo was done for The Casbah, a killer Saturday Night radio show hosted by Sir Brian Parrish on KSYM 90.1 down here in beautiful San Antonio, Texas.

I've been doing a t-shirt a year every year since 1996 as a pledge drive incentive for Casbah maniacs - (Go DOWNLOAD an episode and you'll be hooked as well!) - This one was chosen for the book.

Congrats Brian! Dude, we're famous!

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HMK

Hand Job

I just ordered my copy of designer and fellow type freak Mike Perry's new book Hand Job - a catalog of type.

Check It out Here.

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HMK


PUBLISHED BY PRINCETON ARCHITECTURAL PRESS AVAILABLE AT AMAZON.

Automatic Draft Scam: Tom Parson's BESTFARES.COM!

BEWARE OF THIS LOGO!

Well, It's no wonder BESTFARES is not a member of the Better Business Bureau.

I canceled my BESTFARES account, by phone in August of 2004 due to my employment situation.

I recently checked my bank statements and found that they've continued to hit my account for 59.09 for the last 3 years!

And it seems that I'm not the only one.

I spoke with Rose, a condescending woman whose obviously well versed in her responses, and I was told that according to BESTFARES I only called to change my email.

LIES.

That's almost 180.00 taken directly out of my bank account!

Do yourself a favor - Stay Away from BESTFARES and if you've canceled by phone, do it in writing and double check your bank statements because this is obviously a BESTFARES strategy to rip you off.

I know I won't get my money back but I just had to give everyone a heads up.

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HMK

Towards A Sustainable Communications Practice

Here's an excerpt from a nice AdPulp read that's more of a sermon than it is a rant from David Burn's article Towards A Sustainable Communications Practice.

I’ve learned some things in my ten plus years working in advertising. Perhaps the most important thing I’ve learned is that I’m ill suited for this business. Simply put, I have the wrong temperament. I lack all patience for the daily compromises that must be made. That’s what this business is, like politics, one compromise after the next. I also have zero interest in serving “corporate America.” I loathe corporate America. Note, I did not say I loathe business. In fact, I love business. Business with a higher sense of purpose can do a lot of good for its workers, its customers and the community at large. Take Patagonia. Patagonia doesn’t just manufacture outdoor clothing and gear to make money. Patagonia is not part of corporate America, they’re part of corporate Utopia. The company is a change agent on many levels. When the founder and CEO writes a book called Let My People Go Surfing, you know it’s far from business as usual in Ventura.

Let My People Go Surfing is the antithesis of the book most captains of industry keep near and dear. Their book might be titled Let My People Eat Shit Sandwiches, because that’s the primary diet in corporate America. The ingredients that go into preparing this dish include: incompetence, greed, poor communication skills, need to know power trips, headgames, meritless advancement, fear for one’s job and a commitment to maintain the status quo at all costs. What’s lacking from the menu: innovation, honesty, trust, instinct, real teamwork and a moral compass to name just a few.

All the agency politics aside, it all really does boil down to the Truth. I've been lucky enough to have spent only 2 of my 15+ years in the advertising working for an agency. For an industry that thrives on communication there's an amazing lack of it.

As far as my two years of dining on bullshit sandwiches, compromising everything I know to be real, true and factual all while playing "The Game" as the buzzword dropping big wig drones I worked for refer to it, David Burn's comment about incompetence, greed, poor communication skills, need to know power trips, headgames, meritless advancement, fear for one’s job and a commitment to maintain the status quo at all costs rings especially true for me.

Don Sexton, a professor of business at Columbia University, said it best in a recent Ad Age article: "Sizzle alone won't do it, you have to have the steak as well. Great advertising makes a lousy product fail faster." More on that here.



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HMK

Hey Cuban!

A message for Mark Cuban from a 69 year old Super Spurs Fan: Hey Cuban!.

I grabbed this piece of audio off of the TV from yesterday's KSAT coverage of the Spurs celebration.

I'm not sure which makes me laugh harder - the way she calls out and refers to him a just Cuban or maybe it's the Wicked Witch of the West cackle at the end - either way, it's wicked funny!


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HMK

You Can Do It!

Teach Your Bird To Talk!

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HMK

Open All Night!

Lunarama is a public directory of all-night restaurants and joints.

Browse through the list of cities and if you don’t see your habitat or favorite all–night spot, add it!

Visit Lunarama.

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HMK