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Todd Grotenhuis

See "Links, About" page to. 1) Get cybersecurity help. 2) Ask me about Underground Seminary.

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    From “knowledge worker” to “wisdom worker”

    Last night I enjoyed chatting with folks at the Rose-Hulman sesquicentennial celebration.

    I met Jim Grey whose blogs I’ve read frequently.

    We were talking about value in engineering etc. leadership, good judgment, and good decision-making.

    The title of this post is a large part of my perspective. One of my goals is to always be moving myself and others:

    from knowledge worker to wisdom worker

    Being a wisdom worker can entail a lot of things. But for me, it’s considering things like:

    • how easy is this choice to adopt or adapt to?
    • does this scale?
    • can we maintain this easily?
    • what are the unintended or knock-on effects?
    • what are the likely failure modes?
    • how would we tell if this was effective/successful?

    Knowledge, information, data: they sometimes help. They can provide answers to questions.

    Wisdom, challenges, lessons: these are what help us come up with the most important questions to consider and detect bad answers.

    Especially in a world where people have more and more ways and places to quickly get (all-too-often low quality) answers, it becomes more important to be able to ask the right questions, and interrogate the results when they don’t pass the sniff test.

    How are you moving from knowledge worker to wisdom worker?

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    Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal - Jung Science



    Click here to go see the bonus panel!

    Hovertext:
    The best part of the book is his descriptions of Freud fainting because Jung didn’t believe sex was the cause of everything.


    Today’s News:

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    📚 Slow Productivity

    Read: Slow Productivity by Cal Newport

    Recommended

    I appreciate that he looked for a positive and hopeful framing, rather than an anti-.

    As the 4th Cal Newport book I’ve finished (and 5th I’ve started), it’s largely what I’d expect. That said, there are useful notes and references therein (captured below).

    In knowledge work, and particularly software development, many of the recommended approaches are already encoded (in different terminology) in various agile methodologies.

    Newport acknowledges how the techniques and strategies will not apply outside certain narrow situations, but hopes to spark a “revolution”.

    See also:

    My Reading Highlights and Notes

    Read More →

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    📚 Supercommunicators

    Read: Supercommunicators by Charles Duhigg

    Recommended, with a caveat:

    It’s not exactly what the title implies it will be, nor is it the same book at the end as it is at the start. In fact, the supposed mission of the book is truly only covered in an almost-footnote in the afterword (my final highlight captured at the bottom of this post). Nevertheless, it was full of useful information presented in useful ways.

    My Reading Highlights and Notes

    Read More →

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    Furnace Fest 2024 End of an Era - Sunday #FF24

    This was it, the final day of the event. The final show of…ever?

    • Incendiary - solid, though a little simple and went too hard into southern rock for my taste. Liked that the singer was positive and cool about helping each other out in the pit.
    • The Showdown - the singer did the thing where they were very demanding (almost upset?) about what the crowd does. I really dislike this from bands. If you feel like you have to be really pushy with your fans to get more energetic (or whatever) maybe the problem is your music or performance, not them. Do better.
    • Eighteen Visions - not really my thing, but a good show.
    • Boys Night Out - ok. Said this was their first show in 15 years, and singer had good stage chatter. Unfortunately, they cut into Extol’s time.
    • Extol feat. Bruce Fitzhugh - once-in-a-lifetime thing. Bruce talked about how both bands (Extol and Living Sacrifice) had influenced each other. David Husvik (drums) talked about their 98 release of Burial and Cornerstone festival. Mentioned many of those bands were playing tonight (Norma Jean, Blindside, Underoath). This might be a little anachronistic, as even though that was the right era, I’m not sure all of them played that year (and Norma Jean was still Luti-Kriss). Ole Børud’s American English accent is probably better than mine, and I’m native. Bruce had to use notes, but can you blame him? He just subbed in to sing and did a great job with it, all things considered. (more, more, more)
    • Norma Jean - they still got it! Josh Scogin joined for the last song and the place erupted. I’ll add links to my other posts about this.
    • Blindside - did a great job for not being a “tour band”
    • Underoath - great show, mostly tracks from 20th anniversary, but played a few others at the end. Spencer “leaked” that another album is ready and coming out soon. (more)

    For later:

    I’ll post show recording links here as I run across them. Feel free to send them my way.

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    Disembodied Driving

    Disclaimers: I admit I don’t have the right words for this. Probably Matthew B. Crawford does. This is not supposed to be a “get off my lawn” post, but more about the nature of things.

    I drove a rental vehicle last night.

    It was an alienating experience.

    The wheel turned at the slightest touch.

    There were multiple lit screens and multiple audible alerts, constantly asking for attention. Following distance update. Lane update. Turn update. Engine update. The volume and timing of beeps was like being in a hospital emergency area. The screen reflections on other windows made it look like something was on the periphery, as well.

    Alerts were also opinionated in unnecessary ways that don’t always hold true. Turning on a turn signal to signal intent resulted in hyper-flashing if somebody was in the lane. Crossing the center line on a what-could-otherwise-be-a-fun-and-efficient-curve-of-the-road when nobody is around resulted in warnings.

    My overall sense of the drive was that I was missing the actual signals of driving because the design favored secondary signals over the more-direct ones. I can’t see how this doesn’t add to the problem of distracted driving instead of ameliorating it.

    Granted, we usually keep our cars 10+ years, but it was shocking to me how poorly these systems are designed for actual humans. The only good thing I could say is some of the buttons were still at least tactile instead of touch screens.

    Are most new cars like this?

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    Furnace Fest 2024 End of an Era - Saturday #FF24

    Shorter day for me, because I was dealing with a lot of stuff and there was only one “must see” band for me.

    Some of these notes are…not positive. But I’m writing them for my memory and not trying to yuck anyone’s yum.

    • Skycamefalling - yes. Great show and great energy.
    • Misery Signals - very interesting. Huge turnout and most intense crowd and divers. Swapped singers a couple times and both of them closed out the last song. Sounds like this was their planned final show in the USA.
    • Hail the Sun - I noped right out of there. Sounded like whineycore.
    • Shai Hulud - instense, good energy, good show
    • L.S. Dunes - Singer didn’t seem to know where the notes were and sounded like a worse Spencer Chamberlain
    • Snapcase - rad show and the singer was really talking about how we’re all older now and just do what we can dancing or singing-wise. He dedicated a song to parents. :)
    • No Innocent Victim - wow, they still did it. For the final song, he called folks to pile up with him for My Beliefs and there was a mound multiple-people-deep all shouting into the microphone. Epic. “I would die tonight for my beliefs!” (more)

    For later:

    I’ll post show recording links here as I run across them. Feel free to send them my way.

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    A funny thing happened on the way....

    …back to my hotel form Furnace Fest day two.

    I was e-biking back and was wearing my With Blood Comes Cleansing T-Shirt and a helmet. (As you do!)

    A jeep pulled up beside me jam-packed with folks who were having a good time.

    They were rocking out to August Burns Red’s “White Washed” and looking over at me…kinda giving me that look to see if I was one of them.

    So as this part of the song hit I started shouting it out and headbanged. They shouted for joy and joined me.

    Great times!

    ∞

    Furnace Fest 2024 End of an Era - Friday #FF24

    Super quick share of my notes:

    • From A Second Story Window - did not know them, worth checking out
    • Bury Your Dead - same
    • Dying Wish - yes, still a great show #femalefrontedmetal
    • Oh, Sleeper - never had an album click for me, but the show was excellent (I usually feel the same way about Norma Jean)
    • Full of Hell - wins award for most-hilarious commentary and most intense set
    • Silent Planet - always a pleasure, always down for angry music about peace & justice & love (more, more, more)
    • Haste the Day - not as fun without Jimmy, but still great times (more)
    • The Devil Wears Prada - also more enjoyable in person than on-album, but felt like they were trying too hard
    • Bane - tried it, but I think I’m not the target market (I usually like my hardcore with a little something more going on)
    • August Burns Red - epic “angry music for happy people”. I got up close side stage for this and it was excellent. (more)

    For later:

    I’ll post show recording links here as I run across them. Feel free to send them my way.

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    In Your Future

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    In the Ocean

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    Water, forestland easement funding open for landowners

    State conservationist Damarys Mortenson announced that Indiana’s USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is accepting applications to improve water quality in the Kankakee River watershed and helping landowners protect and restore forestland across southern Indiana through easement funding.

    Both projects make funds available to farmers, landowners and entities seeking to protect and preserve key environmental areas that are targeted by encroachment, erosion and overall decline. 

    For the Kankakee Watershed program, dollars are available through the Kankakee Watershed Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP).  

    “This project is a great example of public, private and non-profit organizations working together to solve local problems,” Mortenson said. “The group is addressing critical water quality and quantity issues in the watershed. By targeting RCPP dollars and leveraging partner resources, we can make a greater impact on the health of waterbodies in the Kankakee watershed and downstream.” 

    text of conservation easement
    Close-up of Conservation easement with pen

    One of the goals of the project is to address excess water by establishing wetland easements on land throughout the watershed. These will help facilitate water storage and improve water quality. NCRS pays all costs associated with recording the easement. 

    The funding for the southern Indiana project is through the Southern Indiana Sentinel Landscape RCPP. The landscape begins about 20 miles south of Indianapolis and contains Department of Defense installations and ranges, six state parks, seven state forests, nine state fish and wildlife areas, 39 state-dedicated nature preserves, one National Forest and three National Wildlife Refuges. 

    Under the program, forestland owners work with NCRS to place permanent easements on their property. These would ensure that the land remains protected from development and would conserve the delicate habitats and species vital to the local ecosystem.  

    “I cannot overemphasize the benefits of restoring, enhancing and protecting our forestland within this project area,” Mortenson said. “This project provides a much greater impact where Indiana’s significant natural resources, species habitat and military training needs intersect.” 

    All applications for the watershed and southern Indiana projects must have applications submitted by Oct. 4. Visit your local USDA Service Center to see if you are eligible for these opportunities. To find your local office and representative, visit farmers.gov/service-locator. 

    Car Free Day encourages Hoosiers to eliminate emissions Sept. 19  – Indianapolis Recorder

    Contact Health & Environmental Reporter Hanna Rauworth at 317-762-7854 or follow her on Instagram at @hanna.rauworth.

    The post Water, forestland easement funding open for landowners appeared first on Indianapolis Recorder.

    ∞

    📚 The Coddling of the American Mind

    Read: The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt

    Recommended

    My Reading Highlights and Notes

    INTRODUCTION The Search for Wisdom

    Read More →

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    Review: Boox Palma

    I hedged and waited for months, but finally got the Boox Palma.

    I’ve had it for a few days and it’s doing exactly what it’s supposed to:

    keep my phone out of my hand

    I’ve left my phone in other rooms many times at home. I’ve taken walks without it. I even left my phone in the car at a concert (and took an OCR of the schedule to refer to in the Palma). Between a watch with cellular ability to catch me in an emergency, and this Palma, the desire to have a device to “do stuff” or “just in case” fades away.

    The OS is based on Android and it’s a little sketchy, but I’m only going to use this for reading, and am locking it down otherwise.

    Oh, and of course I’m reading much more, too.

    To that end, I’ve installed:

    Most of these work great! There have been a couple hiccups:

    1. Kindle and Readwise don’t play well together with highlights on the e-ink. Readwise adds a tag for any highlight color that’s not the default neon yellow1, and neon yellow doesn’t show up well on the default layout in Kindle. I worked around this by switching to the “dark mode” theme in Kindle and sticking with the default highlights.
    2. Micro.blog/Epilogue doesn’t support passwords2, so you have to hand copy in an app token or risk turning the Palma into pocket computer with email and web browser, defeating the purpose of the device!

    Reader has been the standout winner. It has access to all my saved articles, important newsfeeds, and my DRM free ebooks (including a great collection from Standard Ebooks). In addition, it has a lot of smart extra features, like “volume buttons for page turn” and other quality-of-life improvements over other article, feed, or book readers.

    I’m very glad I got this, and kicking myself a little for waiting so long.

    the Boox Palma, an eink device based, based on Android, that fits in your palm.

    1. This is normally a useful feature, especially with the ability to auto-rename/auto-adjust tags…but not helpful here ↩︎

    2. It uses email auth links, apple ID, and/or app tokens ↩︎

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    📚 Amusing Ourselves to Death

    📚Finished Reading: Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman

    Highly Recommended. I read Technopoly previously and still found a lot of value in this.

    Amusing Ourselves to Death book cover

    My Reading Highlights and Notes

    Read More →

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    Bird Talk

    Bird Talk

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    The PARA Method

    📚 Finished Reading: The PARA Method by Tiago Forte

    Recommended

    00 Inbox

    01 Projects

    02 Areas

    03 Resources

    04 Archives

    I’ve been using this organization and planning method for a few months and have found it both useful and flexible. It has just about the right blend of “friction” and “flow”, meaning that it is not so easy to use that it leads to overcommitment and overwhelm, nor so hard to use that I avoid it or feel overly slowed down.

    The ability to easily restart (without losing anything) is a huge plus for those of us who feel the frequent temptation of starting over or trying new systems. The aforementioned sweet spot also helps prevent system switch.

    The one thing I don’t feel like it satisfactorily addresses is “in which of my places is that Inbox, Project, Area, Resource, or Archive?”. I’m tempted to make one storage location my “main” with some sort of index, but don’t want to overwhelm the system. How have you addressed this?

    My Reading Highlights and Notes

    INTRODUCTION How to Read This Book

    PROMISE #1: You will stop wasting time looking for information: You will know exactly where your most important notes and documents live, and how to find them in seconds.

    PROMISE #2: You will gain greater focus on what matters most: You will have greater clarity about what’s important so you can intentionally move your life into alignment with your interests and goals.

    PROMISE #3: You will make things happen: You will consistently finish what you start, beating procrastination and tapping into your past learning to make progress fast.

    PROMISE #4: Your creativity and productivity will soar: You will have access to a playground of your own ideas to finally do the creative work that’s been locked up inside you.

    PROMISE #5: You will beat information overload and FOMO: The fear of missing out on a key piece of information will disappear and be replaced with the confidence that you have everything you need to get started.

    PART 1 THE FUNDAMENTALS OF PARA

    1 Introducing PARA

    Such a system would need to be incredibly easy to set up, and even easier to maintain. After all, only the simplest, most frictionless habits endure long term. Note: yet there is value in friction re: recall and evaluation. How to manage this tension?

    use it in every one of the many places where you store information. Note: OK, but how do I know which one it lives in? (this does not get answered satisfactorily.)

    Whether you want to save excerpts from a book you’re reading, Note: Seems like overkill if you make a lot of highlights…but then again, maybe they should go in 04 Archive if they are not useful.

    You have projects you’re actively working on—short-term efforts (whether in your work or personal life) that you take on with a certain goal in mind. Tags: definition

    You have areas of responsibility—important parts of your work and life that require ongoing attention more broadly. Tags: definition

    Then you have resources on a range of topics you’re interested in and learning about, Tags: definition

    Finally, you have archives, which include anything from the previous three categories that is no longer active but you might want to save for future reference: Tags: definition

    The system you use to organize information has to be so simple that it frees up your attention, instead of taking more of it. Your system must give you time, not take time.

    2 The Power of Organizing by Project

    there are two critical things you cannot do until you break down your areas of responsibility into specific, concrete projects.

    OBSTACLE #1: You Can’t Truly Know the Extent of Your Commitments

    OBSTACLE #2: You Can’t Connect Your Current Efforts to Your Long-Term Goals

    What does our motivation depend on? Mostly, on making consistent progress. We can endure quite a bit of stress and frustration in the short term if we know it’s leading somewhere.

    without a list of individual projects, you can’t connect your current efforts to your long-term goals.

    When you break down your responsibilities into bite-size projects, you ensure that your project list is constantly turning over. This turnover creates a cadence of regular victories that you get to celebrate every time you successfully complete a project.

    Using PARA is not just about creating a bunch of folders to put things in. It is about identifying the structure of your work and life—what you are committed to, what you want to change, and where you want to go. It is about organizing information in such a way that it supports and calls into being the future life you want to lead.

    3 The Sixty-Second PARA Setup Guide

    Step 1: Archive existing files Step 2: Create project folders Step 3: Create additional folders as needed

    STEP 1: Archive Existing Files

    The problem with keeping everything is that it quickly starts to consume a resource even more scarce than physical space: your attention. Tags: favorite

    select all the existing files, documents, folders, notes, etc. in your Documents folder (which may number in the hundreds or even thousands or more) and move them all at once into a new folder called “Archive [Today’s date].”

    Then, place this new dated archive folder inside another, larger folder titled simply “Archives,” which will be the official home of all your archives going forward.

    STEP 2: Create Project Folders

    For the second step, start by creating a new folder called “Projects.” This will be the official home of all your information related to projects (short-term efforts with a clear end goal) going forward. Inside that new folder, create a subfolder for each one of your active projects and title them with the name of each project.

    STEP 3: Create Additional Folders as Needed

    never create an empty folder (or tag, or directory, or other container) before you have something to put in it.

    follow the same three steps above with your cloud storage drive, notetaking app, and anywhere else you store information, Note: email, paper, photos, screenshots?

    Think carefully about what you want to save in all four categories of PARA. What is truly unique or useful? What do you need in front of you when you sit down to focus on a project or area? Which resources are truly valuable, and which could you easily find again with a Google search? Tags: reflection

    4 Five Key Tips for Making Organizing Easy

    TIP #1: Create an Inbox

    you need a separate time and place to “process” new items. I recommend creating an additional, fifth folder alongside the four we’ve already covered, on each major platform you use (such as your Documents folder, cloud storage drive, and notetaking app) with the title “Inbox.”

    TIP #2: Number the Folders

    I suggest adding the numbers 0–4 at the beginning of the titles for each of the five folders you now have. Using “0” for the inbox reminds you that its contents have not yet been processed. This keeps them in the right order from most to least actionable when they are sorted alphabetically.

    TIP #3: Use a Naming Convention

    It’s helpful if you can see a folder—on any platform, on any device—and instantly know which of the four main PARA categories it is in. I like to use an informal naming convention to make this possible, such as:

    • Emojis at the beginning of titles for project folders
    • Capitalized titles for area folders
    • Uncapitalized titles for resource folders

    TIP #4: Activate Offline Mode

    activate offline mode for just the Projects folder (and its subfolders) on each device you use while traveling, in transit, or when you just want to shut off the Wi-Fi and focus.

    TIP #5: Make Backups

    5 How to Maintain Your PARA System

    do all the upkeep of your PARA system in just five minutes per week. All you need to do is follow these three easy steps:

    • Retitle new items in your inbox
    • Sort new items into PARA folders
    • Update your active projects

    STEP #1: Retitle New Items in Your Inbox

    giving each item the shortest, simplest, easiest-to-understand title I can think of within a few seconds.

    Note that you likely have several inboxes you’ll need to do this for, such as:

    • An inbox you’ve created in your Documents folder (recommended in chapter 4)

    • An inbox for your cloud storage drive

    • An inbox in your digital notetaking app

      Note: email, paper, photos, screenshots?

    STEP #2: Sort New Items into PARA Folders

    I also find that briefly revisiting new information I’ve captured over the last week serves as a helpful reminder of any follow-up actions I need to take.

    STEP #3: Update Your Active Projects

    take a look at your project folders and make changes to reflect what’s happened over the past week. This could include actions such as:

    • Changing the name of a project to reflect a new scope or direction
    • Splitting a large project into smaller ones to make it more achievable
    • Archiving a project that has been completed, put on hold, canceled, or handed over to someone else
    • Unarchiving a dormant project that has since become active again and moving it back to the Projects folder

    Before archiving a project, scan it briefly for any material (such as brainstorms, background research, slides, interview notes, etc.) that might be relevant to other pursuits and move these items to the appropriate place within PARA.

    The Archive should be your starting point any time you launch a new project, do a personal year-end review, or update your résumé for a new job. It contains the supporting evidence you’ll need to successfully advocate for a raise or promotion, pitch a new client, or propose a bold new venture.

    PART 2 THE PARA PLAYBOOK

    6 How to Distinguish between Projects and Areas

    My definition of a project is any endeavor that has:

    • A goal that will enable you to mark it “complete”

    • A deadline or timeframe by which you’d like it done

      Tags: definition

    An area of responsibility has:

    • A standard to be maintained

    • An indefinite end date

      Tags: definition

    You also have areas of responsibility in your personal life, like your health, finances, personal development, and relationships,

    To put it simply: projects end, while areas continue indefinitely. Note: it seems the project goal/date and area standards should be uniformly included somewhere in the system. 0 file? Title?

    Every project typically falls under an area of responsibility.

    I’ve noticed most people tend to favor either projects or areas in the way they lead their lives. … Once you view your life through the lens of projects and areas, it becomes very clear that you need both: sprints to ramp up something new, and marathons to sustain it.

    7 How to Distinguish between Areas and Resources

    there is a big difference between things you are directly responsible for and things you are merely interested in. I use uppercase titles for areas and lowercase titles for resources to constantly remind myself that one is more important than the other.

    Areas are parts of our lives that require ongoing attention to uphold a certain level of quality or performance. It’s helpful to think of them as the “roles you play” or the “hats you wear” at work and in life. Tags: definition

    Resources encompass the vast number of things you might be interested in, curious about, or passionate about at any given time. Tags: definition

    Instead of asking, “Is this interesting?” which always results in overcollecting, I ask myself, “Is this useful?” That’s a much higher bar and forces me to consider what this piece of information will allow me to do that I couldn’t do otherwise, which problem it could help me solve, or which obstacle it might help me overcome. Tags: favorite

    Areas Are Private Whereas Resources Are Shareable

    Therefore, I recommend you think of your resource folders as “shareable by default.” That way you can share individual documents (or even entire folders) with others on the fly, without first having to comb through them for any personal details. Note: these should go in a different place, then, where they cannot be accidentally shared (via backlinks, etc.)

    We’ve all done it—some area of our lives feels too complex, uncertain, or confronting, so we throw ourselves at something else to take our mind off it. It feels great at first, distracting ourselves from pressing problems in favor of an exciting new hobby or research interest.

    8 Extending PARA across Multiple Platforms

    Technology is advancing too quickly on too many fronts for any one app to fulfill every need. Instead of fighting the tide and looking for “one app to rule them all,” use as many apps as you like, while replicating the same structure across every single one. I recommend doing so down to the exact same spelling, punctuation, and capitalization so that you can mentally transition between platforms as seamlessly as possible.

    I use the following rules of thumb to tell me which digital storage medium is best for any given piece of information:

    • If it’s an appointment or meeting happening at a specific time, it goes on my calendar
    • If it’s a task that I can complete anytime, it goes in my to-do list app
    • If it’s text, it goes in my notetaking app (since that offers the best search function by which to find it again)
    • If it’s content that I’ll be collaborating on with others, it goes in my cloud storage drive
    • If it can’t go in any of the above locations (because it’s too large or a specialized file type, for example), then it goes in my computer’s file system (the Documents folder)

    you should create a folder on any platform only when you have something to put in it.

    The landscape of productivity software is always changing, but that doesn’t mean your organizing methods have to be. If a feature you depend on stops working, or the policies or pricing of a platform unexpectedly change, that affects only one platform. With PARA, any risk or vulnerability is limited to just one part of your digital life and doesn’t automatically knock out all the others.

    9 Keep Information Flowing

    One final note: though my preferred method is to move notes and files wholesale from one place to another, you actually have four options for how to associate an existing piece of information with a new category:

    • Moving a single item (if only one item is relevant to a new project, for example)
    • Moving a folder full of items (if a whole group of items is relevant)
    • Linking two items together (if you want to keep the original item where it is)
    • Tagging items with the same tag (if you want to associate many items with each other without moving them)

    The only action I recommend avoiding at all costs is duplication: you never want to have two versions of a file or document, because then you never know which one is the most current.

    10 Using PARA with a Team

    It takes a lot of time and effort to articulate one’s knowledge in a form that can be understood by others. Since most staff aren’t compensated or evaluated for that effort, it always tends to fall by the wayside.

    RECOMMENDATION #1: Get clear on your organization’s flavor of PARA

    I suggest creating a “PARA Playbook” for your team that includes decisions such as:

    • What is our definition of a “project,” “area of responsibility,” “resource,” and “archive”?
    • What needs to happen when we kick off a new project for it to be considered “active”?
    • What needs to happen when a project gets completed, put on hold, or canceled (to be considered “inactive”)?
    • What are the officially supported platforms on which PARA will be used?
    • What are the rules, guidelines, and norms that govern how people will use PARA?
    • Who will be the “PARA Champion” who oversees its implementation and makes sure the guidelines are being followed?

    RECOMMENDATION #2: Train people in how to use PARA

    you will need to teach your people not only how PARA works, but how it works for your team.

    RECOMMENDATION #3: Keep only shared projects on shared platforms

    it takes a tremendous amount of cognitive effort to effectively communicate a piece of knowledge.

    I recommend advising your team to keep all their personal notes, files, and documents in their personal PARA system by default. Only when a project, area, or resource becomes collaborative, with multiple people involved, should it be moved to the shared folders in a company-wide PARA system.

    RECOMMENDATION #4: Encourage a culture of writing

    A high-quality piece of communication meets the following criteria:

    • Is it interesting and attention-grabbing? (Does it make people want to read it?)

    • Is it precise and clear? (Can people easily understand what it’s trying to say?)

    • Is it empathetic? (Is it written to be understood from the reader’s point of view?)

    • Does it help people solve a problem? (Is it clearly useful and effective?)

    • Does it inspire people to take action? (Does it make it easy for others to apply it?)

      Tags: favorite

    Set an example: Senior leadership and managers can set an example by regularly sharing their most important ideas and decisions in writing

    Offer incentives: Staff at all levels can be rewarded and praised when they take the time to express their thinking in writing

    Provide feedback: Direct reports can be offered private feedback on their writing drafts before sharing them more widely

    Set aside time for reading: Meetings can begin with “reading time” to emphasize that the context for discussions is best absorbed in written form

    Standardize: Adopt a standard term for an internal piece of writing (such as a memo, proposal, one-pager, or article) and create a standard template (such as a Google Doc or Notion page) for doing so

    PART 3 DEEP DIVES

    11 Creating a Project List

    Your Project List is a list of the outcomes you are currently committed to achieving, all in one place. It is an inventory of all the things you’re trying to produce, create, accomplish, or resolve. It’s like a to-do list, but on a bigger scale and longer time horizon so you can tell where you’re headed. It’s like a list of goals, but more practical and rooted in the here and now. Tags: definition

    STEP #1: List Your Current Projects

    Set a timer for five minutes (which is enough for a “first pass”) and write down anything that comes to mind when you read the following questions, whether they are work-related or personal:

    What’s currently worrying you? What problem is taking more mental bandwidth than it deserves? What needs to happen that you’re not making consistent progress on? What actions are you already taking that are part of a bigger project you’ve not yet identified? What would you like to learn, develop, build, express, pursue, start, explore, or play with? Which skills would you like to learn and which hobbies would you like to start? What kind of project could advance your career or make your life more fun or interesting? Tags: reflection

    STEP #2: Add a Goal for Each Project

    Take a minute and add a goal for each project on your list in parentheses.

    STEP #3: Add Deadlines or Timeframes

    Next, go through the list one more time and add completion dates. Don’t get hung up on whether this is a strict “deadline” or simply the date by which you prefer to have it done. You can add dates to each item on your list by adding “by…” at the end.

    STEP #4: Prioritize Your List

    The key here is to prioritize only for the upcoming week.

    For just next week, which projects should be taking up most of your mental bandwidth? Put those at the top. Which ones should be taking up little or none of your bandwidth next week? Put those at the bottom. Tags: reflection

    Your only goal in a given week is to make progress on a handful of projects near the top of that list.

    STEP #5: Reevaluate Your Project List

    Now that you have a full inventory of everything you’re committed to this week, you have the chance to ask some difficult but incredibly illuminating questions of yourself:

    Which goals or priorities you say are important to you don’t have any projects associated with them? (These are called “dreams,” since they aren’t likely to happen in the near term.) Which projects you’re spending a lot of time on don’t have any goals associated with them? (These are called “hobbies,” because without a goal in mind, they are likely “just for fun.”) Which projects can you cancel, postpone, reduce in scope, delegate, outsource, or clarify? Tags: reflection

    The five steps I’ve just taken you through can become part of a “weekly review.” You can walk through them once a week, or anytime you feel overwhelmed or stretched too thin, and I guarantee you’ll emerge in minutes with a newfound sense of clarity and purpose.

    12 The Three Core Habits of Organization

    We know our memories are weak, so we outsource remembering to technology as insurance against that fact.

    The only thing that will remain is the habits you adopt or change

    HABIT #1: Organize According to Outcomes

    always begin with the end in mind and work backward to decide only which information you’ll need to get there, and push everything else aside.

    HABIT #2: Organize Just in Time

    organizing by itself doesn’t add value. It has no inherent worth unless it puts you in a state of mind for taking effective action.

    HABIT #3: Keep Things Informal

    PARA requires precision in only one place: the definition of projects. Everything else is not only allowed to remain somewhat messy;

    Allowing some messiness and randomness into the system creates opportunities for very different ideas to be connected and intermixed.

    Organizing ideas according to outcomes ensures you’re actively testing them in the real world. Organizing just in time preserves your time and energy so you can pursue unexpected opportunities. And keeping things informal by default allows novel connections and patterns to form.

    13 Using PARA to Enhance Focus, Creativity, and Perspective

    Collecting information is easy, and we’ve seen that filing it away isn’t that hard either. But if you stop there, all this effort amounts to hoarding. Value doesn’t come from the inputs; it comes from your outputs, bearing your signature and style.

    It’s helpful to think of each main category of PARA as a “horizon.” Your projects exist on a short-term horizon that will play out in the coming hours or days. Your areas of responsibility and resources play out on a medium-term horizon over weeks and months. Your archives are more likely to be useful on a long-term horizon of months or years.

    These are the kinds of questions that are relevant on this short-term horizon: Which projects are most active right now? Which tasks are most time-sensitive? What are the next steps you need to take to move them forward? What information do you need access to in order to do so? Tags: reflection

    At these times of deeper reflection, ask yourself these questions: What is the standard (of quality or performance) I’m committed to in each of my areas of responsibility? Am I currently meeting that standard? If not, are there any new projects, habits, routines, or other practices I can start, stop, or change? Are there any resources that would enable me to do so? Tags: reflection

    When evaluating your resources, ask yourself questions like: Are there any new interests or passions I’d like to pursue more seriously? Are there any curiosities or questions I’d like to start exploring? Are there any hobbies or pursuits I’ve allowed to stagnate that I’d like to reboot? Tags: reflection

    14 When in Doubt, Start Over

    If you ever get stuck or feel overwhelmed, simply archive everything and start over following the instructions I provided in chapter 3.

    the act of declaring “digital bankruptcy” is an escape hatch that you can use anytime your digital world starts to become too chaotic and suffocating. I’ve done it countless times, and every time it fills me with a sense of relief and enthusiasm for what’s next.

    When it comes to your finances, there are serious consequences to declaring bankruptcy. But not in the digital world. There is no downside to archiving everything because it will all remain available in the future.

    15 Organizing as Personal Growth

    By surrounding yourself with information that provokes a feeling of fascination, you’ll begin to harness the incredible enthusiasm for learning and growth you have trapped inside.

    Power comes from systems that don’t depend on your energy levels, attention span, or self-discipline. That’s why PARA asks you to make one decision for each piece of information, and one decision only: When will this be relevant next?

    Don’t create a bunch of aspirational projects and goals that are merely wishful thinking.

    Wisdom Worker.

    ∞

    One Hundred Thousand Songs

    100,000 scrobbles!

    That means I’ve listened to at least that many songs since I started recording my listening history in 20081.

    Let’s have a look at my top Artists, Albums, and Tracks. 2 3

    Artists

    1. Klayton (Celldweller, Circle of Dust, Argyle Park, Criss Angel, Ap2, Brainchild and more) (3500+ plays): a talented multi-instrumentalist with a variety of excellent industrial-adjacent projects.
    2. Rhys Fulber (Front Line Assembly, Delerium, Fear Factory, Noise Unit, Rhys Fulber and more) (2700): multi-genre electronic musician, producer, and remixer.
    3. August Burns Red (1500): technical metalcore from Manheim, PA
    4. In the Midst of Lions (1300): most-likely my introduction to deathcore, and still one of my faves
    5. For Today (1200): unrelenting metalcore with a message
    6. Nine Inch Nails (1100): what could I say that you don’t already know?
    7. KMFDM (1100): the industrial rock giants
    8. Haste The Day (1000): local metalcore with some boppy anthems
    9. Opeth (1000): progressive death metal and prog rock
    10. Juno Reactor (900): genre-bending psytrance that you may know from Matrix soundtracks

    Together, these top artists still only account for roughly 15% of my listening. Check “artists” on my profile if you want to see more of the others.

    Albums

    1. In the Midst of Lions - The Heart of Man: I listened to this over and over when I commuted downtown 1 or 2 times a week. You can still catch me or my spouse belting out an epic growl of “Brood of Vipers!” from The Pharisaic Heart.
    2. For Today - Breaker: Energetic & hard-hitting without a dud on the entire album.
    3. The Crimson Armada - Conviction: Technical deathcore with choruses that beg you to sing along.
    4. August Burns Red - Constellations: This was the album that got me hooked on ABR.
    5. Broken Note - Terminal Static: Grimy industrial dubs. One of many groundbreaking breakcore-ish albums from the Ad Noiseam label.
    6. Zao - Where Blood and Fire Bring Rest: Not only one of my top-listened albums, but surely one of the best, as well. Incredible genre-defining metalcore. I even have the album cover as art.
    7. Katatonia - Dethroned & Uncrowned: The clever title for this soft4 version of their Dead End Kings album alone makes it worth a listen, but I find myself melancholically singing along to almost every track.
    8. DJ Hidden - The Later After: Threatening atmospheric drum & bass, darkstep. Another of the groundbreaking breakcore-ish albums from the Ad Noiseam label.
    9. Celldweller - Wish Upon A Blackstar: This is the moment Klayton hit his stride in creating albums as complete concepts.
    10. Flesh Field - Strain: To me, this is the most iconic sound of the “core” of industrial music. I really appreciate the drums, programming, and contrasting voices in this album.

    Edit: I made a glaring omission! The next album would have come in #3 if I had included the different editions as one.

    Argyle Park - Misguided: this was a super-controversial, way-ahead-of-its time album. It included people from Klayton’s musical circles, including his common collaborators (lvl, buka, Klank); Mark Salomon (of Stavesacre, the Crucified, Chatterbox, etc.); and others in the scene like Jyro (Mortal), J.G. Thirlwell (Foetus), Tommy Victor (Prong), and Lauren Boquette (Drown, Six). It’s a one-of-a-kind album.

    Tracks

    1. In the Midst of Lions - The Machine: I dare you to listen to this an never let out your own “stop…the machine!”
    2. For Today - Devastator: Same as above, but with “tear it to the ground!”
    3. Igorrr - Double Monk: This was one of those songs that threatened my understanding of a what a “song” could be (Igorrr has a way of doing that). This is one of those few songs that I’ve put on a single-song loop. Also, from another of the groundbreaking breakcore-ish albums from the Ad Noiseam label.
    4. The Crimson Armada - Juggernaut: I love all the contrasting vocal and instrumental elements that make the story of this song work so well. “You can rip out my tongue / And I’ll speak of His love. / You can pry out my eyes / And I’ll show off His love / You can tear off my flesh / I’ll share the warmth of his love”.
    5. August Burns Red - White Washed: I just love the sound of this one, honestly. (I think it may be about an argument between them and a straightedge band.)
    6. Broken Note - Mask of Gas: this track feels like a industrial warehouse dance-off with electronic and hip-hop groups.
    7. Living Sacrifice - Bloodwork: this is from my favorite era of LS. Two percussionists. The guitars were percussion. The vocals were percussion. Everything was percussion! What a fun track and album.
    8. Drumcorps - Down: Like Igorrr’s track above, this was one of those songs that threatened my understanding of a what a “song” could be (and is yet another from a groundbreaking breakcore-ish album from the Ad Noiseam label).
    9. Haste The Day - When Everything Falls: remember when I said that this metalcore band had some boppy anthems? (also, it’s a great way to end a show/concert/festival. e.g.)
    10. Flobots - Stand Up: This was one of the tracks that introduced me to the social, lyrical, and musical depth of Flobots.

    Your Turn

    Tell me about your faves? What should I be loading up in my Plex to play next?

    –

    1. There was a gap in recording centered around 2018 when I was having trouble scrobbling from Google Play Music. This was before Google killed that incredible service in favor of the far-inferior-but-cheaper-payouts-to-artists service YouTube Music. ↩︎

    2. “top” doesn’t necessarily mean “best” because, for example, it will favor prolific artists and music that’s been around longer. But it does mean they are things that I have repeatedly listened to and enjoy. ↩︎

    3. I’ll take a couple liberties that Last.fm doesn’t, like merging together musical acts related to the same musician or group, as well as only showing you the top album or track per artist (without repeats). ↩︎

    4. It’s like an acoustic version, but it’s not exactly “acoustic” either. ↩︎

    ∞

    Stop Looking Under the Streetlight

    This is a post is in the Useful Ideas series.

    You’ve likely heard some version of this joke/story:

    A policeman sees a drunk man searching for something under a streetlight and asks what the drunk has lost. He says he lost his keys and they both look under the streetlight together. After a few minutes the policeman asks if he is sure he lost them here, and the drunk replies, no, and that he lost them in the park. The policeman asks why he is searching here, and the drunk replies, “this is where the light is.”

    This metaphor has intriguing applications in various domains, but I’ve repeatedly encountered this phenomenon in technology and cybersecurity. A common pattern I observe goes like this:

    A: “I’m deeply concerned about X”

    B: “X is indeed a problem, but is it our most significant problem?”

    A: “Yes, we encounter it all the time.”

    B: “Y is a similar problem to X, but we lack sufficient visibility into it.”

    A: “But we often see X.”

    B: “…”

    I’m not suggesting you shouldn’t go after quick wins. (Creating momentum is often important.)

    I’m also not suggesting you wait until you have complete knowledge before you take action. (That can lead to analysis paralysis.)

    But I am saying to check whether your perspective is being skewed by your current visibility.

    ∞

    Good Criticism

    This is a post is in the Useful Ideas series.

    People sometimes say “it’s easy to criticize” but how easy is it to criticize well?

    Many of us often find ourselves in situations where we are called on to be critical. As a cybersecurity and product security leader, this is one of my core job duties! So, I thought I’d share some of the lessons I’ve learned (often, the hard way!) about criticism.

    Criticism is not the same thing as feedback

    While it’s tempting to think all the same rules apply, there are some different aspects to consider. I’ll write about giving useful feedback in a different post. If you’re in a mindset of giving constructive feedback, consider reading that commentary instead.

    Criticism is not about blaming

    Finger-pointing is rarely helpful. Good criticism seeks to get to the heart of the matter, so it often involves considering the context of the situation, the processes/structures/systems that produced the outcome, and the variety of factors that contributed. If you find yourself wanting to blame someone, check your motivations.

    Criticism is not for it’s own sake

    If the criticism isn’t leading to learning or change, then it is not valuable. If you are not prepared to help with that learning or change (whether through recommendations, support, or addressing a problem), it is not valuable. If it is not delivered to the people that are best positioned do something about it, then it is not valuable. If it is not delivered in a context and setting where the audience is receptive, then it is not valuable. If you are not trying to drive a good outcome, check your motivations.

    Good criticism is difficult, and a lot more could be written here, but I hope these warnings will help you learn from some of my own experience giving it.

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