being productive in it
DESCRIPTION
This paper was presented by Tim Daniell, Systems Architect, Fresh Computer Systems at the Brisbane conference. We liked it so much we have obtained Tim's permission to present it at AUSOUG Perth 2013. Does anyone have too much time and not enough to do in it? I thought not. We all try to cram as much as possible into each day and then struggle to achieve it. In this session, we will look at ways to achieve more but also manage our own expectations of what is achievable. To do this, we want to understand how our brain works to make better use of it. We need to understand our tools and how they can help us. We'll look at ways to better manage what time we have and focus on the things that actually matter. We'll also explore many other ways to be more productive and achieve more inside the 8-hour-burn we call "work".TRANSCRIPT
Being Productive in I.T.
By Tim Daniell
Presented by
Penny Cookson & Scott Wesley
Being Productive in I.T.
1. Understand your brain
2. Understand your tools
3. Controlling your day
Being Productive in I.T.
1. Understand your brain
2. Understand your tools
3. Controlling your day
Your (Dual Core) Brain LEFT Right
verbal linear logical analytical
mathematical geometric
statistical symbolic
problem
solving
rational detail
Holistic makes connections
emotional
intuition images non-verbal
creative ponders...
Core 1 Core 2
Your Memory Short Term Memory
Long Term Memory
Your Memory
• Maintains a LRU list every read is a write
• Things get purged and can get modified, even corrupted. write stuff down
Core 1 (Left/Linear)
• OLTP Application
• Heavily Indexed
• Highly Responsive
Use this side when tackling detail
Core 2 (Right)
• NOSQL database of images
• “Big Data” analysis
• Result is an image/connection
• Searches take a long time
• Works Asynchronously
Use this side when you need the big picture
The Shared Bus
Core 1 (Left Brain)
Core 2 (Right Brain)
Memory
Shared Bus
for i in 1..1,000,000 loop for j in 1..1,000,000 loop x := mod(i + j,2); end loop; end loop;
Using your Right Brain
• Listen
• Keep a Notepad/Smartphone handy
• Morning thoughts
• Think and Forget
• Pair Programming
• Mind Maps
Using your Right Brain
• Intelligence increases when we think less
• Wisdom increases with less information
• Allow yourself to be bored
Use Both Cores Effectively
• Stop and Think step away from the keyboard to solve complex problems
• Rubber Ducking explain the problem out loud
Use Both Cores Effectively
• Unleash your creative side and review with your logical side. write drunk, revise sober
• Do first, theory later build to learn, not learn to build
The Dreyfus Model of Knowledge Acquisition
• Novice
• Advanced Beginner
• Competent
• Proficient
• Expert
Learning with Both Cores
Learn Deliberately
SQ3R
• Survey
• Question
• Read
• Review
• Recite
Learn Deliberately
We all learn differently
Visual Need to see the material (and the instructor). Pictures and graphs work well.
Auditory Need to hear the material. Tone of voice etc matter.
Kinaesthetic Need to do and touch. Especially appropriate for sports, arts and crafts.
Find what works for you. Experiment with other learning techniques.
Use more of your sensors, expand on your current method.
Debugging your brain
• Cognitive Biases
• Hardware Bugs
• Personalities
• Generational Archetypes
Anything that was in the world when you were born and up until you were 15 is just a natural part of the world.
Anything that was invented between when you
were 15 and 35 is new and exciting and you can probably get a career in it.
Anything that was invented after you after 35 is
against the natural order of things.
- Douglas Adams
Being Productive in I.T.
1. Understand your brain
2. Understand your tools
3. Controlling your day
Understand Your Tools
Understand Your Tools
Work Smarter, not Harder
• Think
– Be Innovative
– Question Habits
• Automate
– Repetitive tasks
• Review
– Throughout lifecycle
Productive Team
• Companies are Team Sports
• Be Helpful
• Share Knowledge
Learning options
• RSS
• Books
• Magazines
• Podcasts
• Webinars
• Reviews
• Blogging
• Course notes
• Tool play
By three methods we may learn wisdom
• Training
• OBE
• User groups
second, by imitation, which is easiest;
and third, by experience, which is the most bitter
(Confucius, circa 500BCE)
first, by reflection, which is noblest;
Don’t take shortcuts
• Quick fix
– Assertion to ensure never again
• Code for the future
– What if you end up maintaining it?
Being Productive in I.T.
1. Understand your brain
2. Understand your tools
3. Controlling your day
Make your day productive
• Work from a Long Term plan
“The plan is worthless, the planning is invaluable”
Make your day productive
• Prepare for Tomorrow’s Automated Testing Meeting
• Finish Enhancement to Orders Screen and assign to QA team
• Investigate bug in Stock receipt - need time from Jadon
• Prep for planning session
• Create Change Request for Jack
To-Do List Scheduled day
This space is intentionally left blank
Make your day productive
• Other Techniques
– Just do Emails/Tasks that take 5 minutes or less
– Scheduled it / Delete it / Delegate it
– Add it to a Monthly Review List
– Learn to say “No”
– Slow down email fetches
– Avoid Interruptions
Best time of the day for...
Before work – right brain thinking / exercise
First thing at work – start complex task quickly
Late morning – continue complex tasks
Early afternoon – meetings / less complex tasks
Late afternoon – plan for tomorrow
Evenings – avoid grey times
Stay Focused in the Now
Make your day productive
Rocking chair test
Make your life productive
Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life
Dream like you’ll live forever, live like you’ll die today
Make your life productive
Life is wonderful – don’t just use your brain/tools/ time for work use them for life
In Summary
• Understand how to use your brain
• Learn deliberately
• Learn your tools
• Productive teams
• Schedule your day
• Listen to your body clock
• Focus in the now
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