Visual or textual methods of education?

Recently I was involved in a discussion regarding the use of visual and textual content in education.  This arose out of a presentation I did on some of my tools (Focuspad and Trackpad)  both of which present material in a textual manner.  The discussion centered around which methods were most effective but in reflecting on this discussion I have had some valuable insights.

Method in Madness in Method

Can you see the spark?

Your Workflow is Art

Everyone is unique in the way they go about achieving things.  Everything you do is unique and special in it’s own way.  This can be in a little way,  or this can be in a big way.  It all depends on what you are doing and how much you want to take control of what it is that you are doing.  However you approach it,  the workflow you end up with is art.

Experience is Everything, Forget Features

When looking at technology it’s very easy to get caught up in the features that are on offer.  We should however be considering another aspect of the piece of technology which is the experience.  Instead of asking the questions”

“What features has it got?”

“What can it do?”

We should be asking the questions:

The Dock Vs the Start Menu

There are a lot of articles comparing the OSX Dock to the Windows Taskbar.  A better comparison I think would be to compare the Dock to the Start Menu, whose job it more accurately performs.  A lot of this depends however on how you manage your desktop overall.  Taking this into account this will be a comparison of not only these two tools but the workflows that each encourages.

Steve Jobs on Problem Analysis

“When you start looking at a problem and it seems really simple,  you don’t really understand the complexity of the problem.  Then you get into the problem,  and you see that it’s really complicated,  and you come up with all these convoluted solutions.  That’s sort of the middle,  and that’s where most people stop…

But the really great person will keep on going and find the key, the underlying principle of the problem — and come up with an elegant,  really beautiful solution that works.”

Steve Jobs.

Improve Productivity to Tailoring your Desktop 3/3

For a large number of people the majority of their work is done in front of a computer.  Yet it surprises me how many people have a default desktop layout and have put very little thought into tailoring it to suit their needs.  I think you are missing out on a lot of potential gains by not doing this.  Now the desktop for me goes beyond just what you see on your screen.  The directory structure you use for storing files and also your physical work area layout play a part in how you will use your computer and are all important.  Over the next 3 posts I will focus on each of these and how you can make your life more pleasant and productive. 

Improve productivity by Tailoring your Desktop 2/3

For a large number of people the majority of their work is done in front of a computer.  Yet it surprises me how many people have a default desktop layout and have put very little thought into tailoring it to suit their needs.  I think you are missing out on a lot of potential gains by not doing this.  Now the desktop for me goes beyond just what you see on your screen.  The directory structure you use for storing files and also your physical work area layout play a part in how you will use your computer and are all important.  Over the next 3 posts I will focus on each of these and how you can make your life more pleasant and productive.  In this post I will look at your physical work area.

Improve productivity by Tailoring your Desktop 1/3

For a large number of people the majority of their work is done in front of a computer.  Yet it surprises me how many people have a default desktop layout and have put very little thought into tailoring it to suit their needs.  I think you are missing out on a lot of potential gains by not doing this.  Now the desktop for me goes beyond just what you see on your screen.  The directory structure you use for storing files and also your physical desk layout play a part in how you will use your computer and are all important.  Over the next 3 posts I will focus on each of these and how you can make your life more pleasant and productive.

An easier lifestyle

Our lifestyles are increasingly getting faster paced.  The number of things we have to keep track of is increasing.  Complexity is growing.  Yet wasn’t technology supposed to make everything easier?  Why do we find ouselves having less and less time despite having technology that can do more and more for us?

I think a large part of it has to do with the process.  Let’s say a piece of technology, X, is created and it allow you to do a certain task, A, in 1/2 the time it used to take.  So the company you work for buys X and gives it to you who is doing task A and says something along the lines of “How funky is this” .  Typically the end result would be that you are now expected to do task A at roughly twice the rate.  Stress increases and job satisfaction reduces.  Why?