Muse

Waiting for the must to come...



Actually, building an e-commerce site for a client.

Blogworthy?

The thing is, I blog in streaks. It's generally accepted that to have a really great blog, you've got to post regularly. But I don't post regularly.

I blog about what I'm really jazzed about. If this is something blogworthy, then I blog about it. If it's not blogworthy, I don't. It could be that I'm working on a project that's under non-disclosure, or maybe I'm heads down on a book, or in prospecting mode for more writing work.

This isn't an apology; it's just a statement of fact.

If there's a lesson here, it might be "make the blog fit you, not you fit the blog."

So in the meantime, I offer you more cartoons.

Idea

Group Think

The Secret of Working at Home

Want to know a working at home tip so secret that I haven't even told my wife? Chores.

I've learned that chores are the secret to being productive in the home office.

Do you ever get stuck in a rut reading E-mail and surfing the Web? Do you ever draw a blank when you're trying to make progress on a creative project?

I realized that I needed a break in my day to get out of the Web surfing cycle. It had to be something I could do quickly that would take me away from the computer and hopeful give me a sense of accomplishment so that I could break out of the unproductive day doldrums. It turns out that small household chores are just the thing.

So when I get bogged down in the home office, I get up from my computer and empty the dishwasher, hang a picture, fix the broken doorknob, mow the lawn, vacuum the carpet, install a light fixture, fix the gate, take my daughter for a walk, or make a nice lunch.

If you work in an office, you can still benefit form this system. Try taking a walk around the building. Wash out those cups that pile up in the breakroom sink. Clean out your bottom drawer.

Taking breaks renews the creating juices. Chances are that when you come back to work you'll have a fresh perspective and end up getting more done than if you never got up from your chair.

Office is the new Sexy

How NOT to create passionate users #24: tell them they YOU'RE the one with the passion, while THEY have... potential.

Kathy Sierra accusses Microsoft of taking passion away from the users.

So true, and yet not so true. The reason that Microsoft isn't talking about "your" passion is that Microsoft isn't selling its product to you. Microsoft is selling it to your boss or, more likely, your bosses boss, and it's not his potential they're selling, it's his employees' potential. The message isn't about passion at all, it's about good old fashioned productivity.

But I also think this trend is starting to shift. Scoble is a huge signpost on how it's changing and why. He has the capacity to be passionate about Microsoft (but they have to deserve it, aye, there's the rub).

Another place to find the passion at Microsoft: look at Office Zealot. At Microsoft, Office is the new sexy, which is, IMHO, as big a headstand as Microsoft's famous (late) discovery of the Internet.