For the last month or so I’ve been subscribed to Lifehacker’s Productivity Feed. This is because I like to save time when I’m on my computer, which is what the tag line for this feed offers me. After reading it for a month I’m in an advanced state of rebellion about organization and this idea of “Lifehacking”.
Here’s some examples of my most recent dialogs with my computer screen when I start reading their feeds:
- Ban Time-Wasting Web Sites
- Mentioned in the Lifehacker article: 43things
ME: Now this is a timewaster. No question about it. I don’t know what I want to do with my life and I certainly don’t know 43 things I want to do with my life. I know what I want to do with my life TODAY and maybe even for the next week or month, but I don’t want to be writing my obituary by making a list of 43 things that will likely be 43 undone things as soon as I make the list and forever after.
- And then we have this one — EGAD, Denise’s list of 101 things to do in 1001 days. The countdown counter on her sidebar is just..well…scary as hell to me! (Here’s one for you listkeepers: Be sure to change the link to her site — she just moved over to TypePad.)
- Back to Lifehacker, the next gem: Cancel something
ME: Well, hecky darn! I’d have to ban myself if that were the case. Should I ban a quick peek at Robert Scoble’s Flickr feed from CES because I spend time looking at his photos? Or maybe I should decide not to read Maryam’s 10 Reasons to Date a Geek because it must be a waste of time because I’m married and I’m the family geek? Who defines what a timewasting site is? Maybe it’s not a timewaster. Maybe it’s really the best thing you’ve done all day for you and everyone you come into contact with.
The geek sites inspire me, the design sites educate me, and the friends’ sites do all of that and give me a sense of connection that a self-employed single-person office type definitely misses, even when she has online colleagues. Nope, they’re definitely not timewasters, so what is?
Okay, I admit it. I hate lists. I hate shopping lists, to-do lists, blacklists, whitelists, top 10 lists and just about everything else that has lists in the title. It implies COMMITMENT. I don’t want COMMITMENT. Commitment makes me feel hemmed in, like I’m not supposed to be thinking about anything creative because I’ve got the frickin’ list in front of me screaming to be dealt with. If I have a shopping list, I’ll feel like I can’t put chocolate syrup in the basket because it’s not on the list. If I have a to-do list and someone calls me and needs something done right away, I’ll feel guilt for ignoring my list. Lists take away my ability to choose because I’m COMMITTED.
Okay this is just silly. I subscribe to magazines that interest, educate and inspire me. I read my newspaper because it at least has good local news reports. I LIKE my subscriptions. I like my RSS feed subscriptions, too.
Except for Lifehacker. That one may be the cancellation. Except then I’d be taking their advice.
Technorati Tags: lifehacker, 101things, 43things, lists, timemanagement
