English


12
Jan 12

Do less.

I am a master of the to do list.
I’ m quite good at getting stuff done.
Both in business and in private life.

I do even better with my long term goals:
Write them down, forget about them and
a couple of years later they are achieved.

I don’t mean this ironically.
It is a fact of my life and most people would envy
me for my ability to get stuff done.

A few of my friends are even better
at this game than me.
Entrepreneurs who are even more determined than me.
They achieve bigger goals, faster than me and
and then move on to the next one.

But recently I picked up on some strange signals that make me
want to get out of this game.I realised that while I felt
some contentment about achieving a lot,
my happiness did not increase with getting more accomplished.
One trigger was a simple statement,
picked up on twitter:

You are not your to do list.

    Later, over Christmas,
    I read a book with the rather blunt title “fuck it”.
    It’s  more refined message is, in my words:

    We attach so much meaning to so many things in life,
    that we become too attached. And we miss life on the way.

      Aterwards I discovered the fantastic blog
      of Leo Barbauta, http://zenhabits.net/.
      (My favourite  post)

      Leo writes about a lot of the  things that
      I’ve been doing for quite some time now.
      Getting fit, consume less.
      Our home is actually quite minimalist
      and I work a lot to keep my life simple.

      - Er, repeat that: I work a lot to keep my life simple.

      Phew. There I said it. There must be a better way to do this.
      I don’t want to work a lot to keep my life simple.

      Do less. Want less. Breathe.


      14
      Oct 10

      Ideas having Sex

      I have read this great book by Matt Ridley, but did not really know how to shorten it appropriately to derive the essence for a blog post.
      So much for the better that I discovered this Video on TED.
      I have rarely seen a more inspiring and fascinating view on human development, prosperity and how it all goes together. Enjoy.


      1
      Apr 10

      10 Principles of Successful Web Apps according to fred Wilson

      Over time I have turned into a fan of Fred Wilson from Union Square Ventures, relatively famous for investing in Twitter or Foursquare. I like VCs who know what they are talking about. Watch this video, it contains more wisdom on product design than many talks by product guys. Wilson’s 10 principles are:

      1. Speed

      2. Instant utility

      3. Personality

      4. Less is more

      5. Programmable

      6. Personal

      7. Restful (meaning anything should have a URL)

      8. Discoverable (i.e. SEO)

      9. Clean (one could see this as a duplication of 4)

      10. Playful

      It is also worth listing to the Q & A in the end: The product has to be the marketing vehicle for the product itself.

      The 10 Golden Principles of Successful Web Apps from Carsonified on Vimeo.