As Cameron Moll noted – as nimble and flexible as small teams (or one-man-shows) are, there are things they lack in comparison to larger teams. While teams may have plenty of red-tape to cut through, they are afforded the resources to make up significant progress that might be lost because of.
Teams cannot produce more time but they can create more opportunity for time by dividing and conquering or being able to throw more resources at a project. Individuals and small teams will more than likely come to a conclusion at some point that things do — and will — take time and that time is often the valuable piece needed to make the product better.
Five years in, I am slightly better about managing my time and schedule but there is room for improvement. My estimating time for projects could definitely use some help. I often run my estimates short of where they should be when developing for clients and it’s usually because of one of two factors: either I firmly believe that I can do something in that amount of time, or I feel like I need to underestimate a project just to land the client. Neither of which are acceptable solutions. (more…)
While I’ve never put pen to paper with it, I do have a mental list of rules I go through when deciding what to purchase or wear. I have to remind myself regularly that the things that grace AFT are all personal style choices and each of you has your own take. With that said, I thought it might be useful to try and pen a few of my rules in case it helps anyone else in their endeavor to put their best foot forward.
I’ve mentioned one or two before – like matching your leathers – but there are plenty more that are worth sharing in this space. I’m hoping I’m not the only one that has rules to my wear, I’d love to hear yours as well.
The tip of your tie should touch the top of your belt buckle. Wearing a tie down past your belt has a tendency to make you look shorter. Inversely, wearing a tie that’s too short has a tendency to make you look like a clown.
Speaking of belt level, your dress pants should be worn on your waist. It’s taken me a while to learn this one. Your waist isn’t around your hips, nor is it at your belly-button. It’s somewhere in between. Find it.
Wear an undershirt. And I don’t consider a “wife-beater” an undershirt. I’m extreme on this one, but it’s one I wholeheartedly believe in. I wear one with everything from t-shirts to formal dress. Also, no bacon neck allowed.
Learn how to tie a decent knot. I’m a Half-Windsor guy, but you should find one that works for your body type. And for the sake of all humanity, don’t do the Merril Hodge. Ridiculous.
I don’t do short-sleeve button down shirts. I’ve tried. There’s a fine line between computer nerd and Hawaiian shirt guy on this one and I don’t want to come off as either. If you are one of the few who can pull this on off, do yourself a favor and never incorporate a tie with it. You’ll thank me later.
Five should be enough to get us started, I’ll probably add more down the road. Hit me up with your personal rules either below or on Twitter, it might be something I’m missing out on.
Fellow web-creator, Chris Bowler, has put himself to the task over the next couple of weeks to see if he can change his sleeping habits down to 5 hours an in the process gain valuable extra time in the process.
The experiment: I’m going to take two weeks and see how I operate on 5 hours of sleep per night.
That probably sounds a little crazy, but there are a few caveats. 1) This will only be for nights before a weekday, Sunday to Thursday. Friday and Saturday I will sleep as long as possible. 2) I already happily exist on 6.5 hours per night (again, weekday nights) so it’s not a huge change for me.
While Chris has me doubled in young kids under one roof, I can relate to the fact that there never seems to be enough day available. I too exist on about 6-6.5 hours on a regular basis but I’m not sure I can say that because of, I operate at an optimal level.
Most of us grew up hearing that 8 hours was the perfect amount of sleep an adult needed but as I researched a bit more yesterday, it seems like anywhere between 7 & 9 is best. Most of the things that I found mentioned that under 7 is manageable but your health becomes more at risk the less (and more) you get. The potential of heart disease, diabetes, obesity and depression are all shown to rise as well as a shortened estimated life span.
I’d love to add an extra hour or two to my day but at this point think I’m better off refining other areas or becoming a little better at delegation of tasks in order to achieve.
Chris, wishing you the best of luck with the experiment, be careful to monitor the other aspects of your life as you go through the process to make sure they’re not affected too greatly.
