Unexpected Perspective

Multitasking: Fact or Falsehood?

2008-09-04T09:32:00.000-06:00

There's been a whole ton of arguing about whether multitasking is really useful or not. Some people may refer to it by different names, or write a book about it, let you figure it out for yourself, write scientific papers on it, the list goes on and on. It seems to me, though that more people view it as a virus than a godsend.

I'd like to provide a different perspective.

I think multitasking has both pros and cons. Obviously, for some combinations of tasks (like, say, talking on the phone and driving) it can be dangerous or doesn't work too well. However, multitasking can be the solution. One just needs to identify the time for multitasking and the time for focusing on one activity. You could be talking on the phone and cleaning the kitchen at the same time - I've found it kills two birds with one stone. How about listening to the news and editing pictures? Or even something as mundane as eating and talking (though not exactly at the same time, I'd hope)?
You just need to ask yourself if it's safe (see above example on phones), if it's important, and if it takes a whole lot of brain power. I can't do taxes and talk on the phone at the same time, or surf the Internet and watch TV simultaneously.

So, next time you read another one of those endless multitasking articles, maybe take it with a grain of salt. Use your head and make the most of it!

Some more sites...

2008-09-01T17:12:00.003-06:00

Since today is Labor Day (or Labour Day if you're reading this in Canada), I thought I'd give you a little bit of work-related tips. Here are some new sites I've found and some associated articles that I've found useful. We'll be back to our completely original, normal programming on Thursday, I have some great stuff coming up.

Pick the Brain (a very cool article about procrastination)
Dumb Little Man (my favorite here)
43 Folders (and the famous Inbox Zero)

Hopefully that will give you a little bit of reading for the week. Enjoy!

Wow - I've been busy!

2008-08-28T20:26:00.003-06:00

Hello readers, sorry about this apparent "break" I've been taking. I just got bombarded with work. Maybe an upcoming article about prioritizing with this as a reference...

Anyway, I have a new site for you. It's a productivity blog that I've really been enjoying recently - Zen Habits. The stuff written here is exactly what the Unexpected Perspective model is about - working, playing, and traveling hard. I've sifted through the last couple months of posts and picked out my favorites.

Hopefully I'll be back on schedule on Monday. Until then, have a great weekend!

ChangingMinds.org

2008-08-21T13:32:00.002-06:00

Just found out about this great website, ChangingMinds.org. ChangingMinds.org is the world's largest free, full-content site on all aspects on how we change what others think, believe, feel, and do.

If you've ever had trouble getting your point across or getting people to listen to you, this is an invaluable resource. ChangingMinds.org shows you how to change the way you are perceived and therefore get further and do more. Will all the "techniques" on this site work for you? Probably not. But I've found them to be very helpful in changing the way I talk to people and get things done.

Here's a little preview of ChangingMinds.org:

Want to Work for Unexpected Perspective?

2008-08-18T08:05:00.002-06:00

We're looking for a motivated writer who loves to maximize their performance in life, travel, and work. Knowledge and/or experience with Google AdSense is a plus.

Contact unexpectedperspective@gmail.com for more details and a sample article of 200-400 words.

Thanks to our loyal readers!

Music or Not?

2008-08-14T16:56:00.000-06:00

I'm one of those people who absolutely completely cannot tolerate any sound whatsoever while working or reading. However, when I'm cleaning, drawing or photographing, it's nice to have something to listen to. Hmmm, is there something wrong with my brain? :)

Music may inspire you, or it may distract you from your work. For some people, it depends what type of music - classical might be OK, while rap is off-limits.

Do you listen to music while you work? If so, what kind? Sound off in the comments.

Want to learn more? Read this related article from Lifehack.

Productivity Enhancing

2008-08-11T14:21:00.001-06:00

No, no, this won't involve any questionable drugs or injections. Follow these steps to jump-start your productivity.

Whack yourself! Roger von Oech's book A Whack on the Side of the Head and similar self-help books (isn't it horrible when they have to be filed under that?) can help you work your way through problems and get you out of your normal routine.
Find your time. Are you a morning person or a night owl? For instance, I get no work done at about 8-10 am. I work best before 6 in the morning and between 2-5 pm. Find out when works for you and put your tasks inside of that time frame.
Force yourself. To be creative, to get the job done, to do something!

Happy Monday, everybody!

Travel light!

2008-08-07T19:23:00.000-06:00

I'm out of town right now and have never felt better. My trip will last 11 days in all, and I've packed only a small carry on. How? Follow the Magical and Wonderful Rules of Packing Light:

Buy what you need, when you need it. The magical rule of Tim Ferriss - you probably don't need to pack everything for "just in case". Get an emergency fund of, say, $200, and use it when you need an umbrella, raincoat, swimsuit, etc.
Switch it up! Be low maintenance. Do you really need a totally new outfit each and every day? Unless you're going to Milan, the answer is probably "no". Be creative, and mix and match. BONUS: Less clothes washing, less room, less dirty clothes to keep track of, less fuss!
Limit yourself. By suitcase size, that is. You probably don't need one of those huge Big Mamma suitcases, so find something decently sized and pack to fit.
Go with the flow. Relax! Chances are you'll be fine. Stick to a packing list and have your emergency fund. What could possibly go wrong?

Wait, those were famous last words, weren't they?

Think. Streamline. Repeat.

2008-08-04T15:47:00.005-06:00

Wait! Before you start reading the rest of this post! This point will be better illustrated if you follow these directions before you start reading the "real" article".

Take out a blank sheet of paper and write out an hour-by-hour list of what you do on a typical day during your work hours (most people's lists are usually between 9 am to 5 pm). Draw a circle around the three most important tasks each day (maybe checking in with the boss, having a lunch break, and returning urgent emails). Draw a line through the three least important or productive activities (like checking personal email, pursuing an impossible client, and running errands). )
If you can't/won't make a list like this, try a program like the previously-mentioned RescueTime to plot out your computer-related time, at least. That might take a little bit of the load off this list-making stress.)
Which part was easier to do - find the most important tasks or the least important tasks? Ask yourself, in your opinion, how this reflects on your job and productivity. OK, recycle your sheet of paper and get back over here to read the rest of the article.

For most people, it's easier to think of the least productive things in their workday. So, put these ideas to good use. Find a way to de-clutter and streamline your day to get more work done - and most importantly, have more free time. How might one do this? I'll show you my least important tasks and explain how I've cut down.

Blog reading. I used to use Google Reader to read more than 20 different feeds. When I looked at my Trends with Google Trends, I discovered that I read nearly 140 posts a day. I've cut that in half by stripping down to 14.
Talking on the phone. I've discovered that I spend way too much time on the phone, and that email is a faster and more efficient medium. And since I have a smartphone, I can write email just as easily as talking - and I have records so when I never forget about ideas or tasks!
Doing mindless research. Because chances are, somebody has had a similar question before. You don't need to go from website to website to library to bookstore just to find an answer! Let others do the work for you! Websites like Wikipedia, Kayak, Wikitravel and ChaCha make the knowledge of the world (or at least the computer-literate) public.

The Four Hour Work Week Book Review

2008-07-31T10:58:00.001-06:00

Quite possibly the best non-fiction book. Period.

Timothy Ferriss details how you (yes, you) can turn your life around from being a slave to The Man to being your own independent entrepreneur making $480,000 a year. Sounds impossible? I thought so too.

"This step-by-step guide to luxury lifestyle design teaches:

How Tim went from $40,000 per year and 80 hours per week to $40,00 per MONTH and 4 hours per week

How you outsource your life to overseas virtual assistants for $5 per hour and do whatever you want

How blue-chip escape artists travel the world without quitting their jobs

How to eliminate 50% of your work in 48 hours using the principles of a forgotten Italian economist (Adam's note: this section is worth its weight in gold!)

How to trade a long-haul career for short work bursts and frequent 'mini-retirements'"

I would write more, but it would be a waste of your time - you should be reading Ferriss instead. Please, please, please read this book. It will change the way you think about your job and your future.

Have a great weekend, folks.

The Secret to Getting Work Done

2008-07-28T11:02:00.000-06:00

Disclaimer: My nonexistent lawyer makes me write this. These tips may or may not work for you – heck, they could even make you less productive, ruin your marriage, or cause your houseplants to shrivel up and die. It’s not my fault. The Secret (with a capital S, of course) works for me, and it does for most people, but it may not work for you.

Everyone always looks for some magical tip or secret that will completely change their life forever. This tip won’t do that. But it will just make working easier.

The secret to getting work done is to not do anything at all. This sounds quite counter intuitive, and it is. The best way to get work done is to find new insight in your work, having a fresh view on whatever you have to do, by breaking up your tasks into shorter chunks separated by breaks. This can be as simple as taking 15-minute breaks when working on a project, like mowing the lawn or filling out tax forms, but these 15 minutes will help you stay engaged (even if you find whatever work you’re doing boring). You could take this idea even further by extending it into a vacation, like the week long one I’m taking right now to a North Carolinian beach. And if you’re feeling like you could really use some time off, try one of Timothy Ferriss’ mini-retirements from his highly acclaimed book (review coming soon!) The Four Hour Workweek. Ferriss’ mini-retirements are more suitable for people who have a little more money and time. In fact, his entire book teaches you how to reduce your workload (including the revolutionary and highly controversial outsourcing) to just four hours per week.

I’m going to have to admit that there’s a second half of the Secret. You can’t really relax, unwind, regroup, and reevaluate when you have a to-do list stretching to Katmandu, or newborns (as wonderful as they are) screaming in the bedroom. Make sure to eliminate distractions and interruptions when you’re going through your break or you’ll be just as stressed when you return as when you left. Turn off your phone and whatever you do, don’t check your email. Take a walk, get something to eat, or watch the clouds go by. Forget about whatever you had to do in the first place. Well, maybe not completely.

When you return to complete your tasks, you’ll feel more relaxed, happier, and more motivated to face whatever challenges appear. Work hard, play hard, but make sure to relax hard, too.

This Week's Musings

2008-07-24T12:24:00.001-06:00

Happy Thursday! Here are a couple of links to hold you over the weekend:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0811862151/
Words of wisdom from the ultimate in efficiency - Japan!
Lisa Katayama's book "Urawaza" brings the ultimate East-meets-West approach to living. Katayama shows you everything from how to prevent your bathroom mirror from fogging to curing insomnia.

http://www.menshealth.com/eatthis/index.php
Trying to stay healthy? Eat this, not that!

http://www.eaglecreek.com/
The best designed and built luggage I’ve ever seen - Eagle Creek. If you're traveling for long periods of time and need to keep organized, Eagle Creek's Pack-It® cubes, folders, sacs, and toiletry kits keep you running smoothly.

http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1626519,00.html
Take a look at what the world eats from Time Magazine.

See you Monday when I publish my next post, which I’m incredibly excited about - “The Secret of Getting Work Done”. Have a great weekend!

How to Zip Through an Airport II

2008-07-21T16:31:00.000-06:00

You’ve gotten through security. Here’s part II.
(If you missed part I, click here to read it.)

Slip your shoes back on, grab your items out of the bin, and stuff them back into your bag. You can try to organize them later - now it’s time to just get out of there. Check your phone now for any alerts, or check the screens all over the airport to make sure your flight is on time. Proceed to the gate.

Once they’ve started boarding, please, please, please, wait until they call your row. Then stand up, get in line, and board the plane. Congrats! You did it! And it was much less painless than before, right?

Hopefully these tips and new workflow will improve the way you fly. Just to review, here are the tips we went through. Good luck!

-Carry-ons only!
-Remember 3-1-1 for liquids, and pack them into a bag at home!
-Wear comfy shoes that are easy to slip on and off!
-If you bring a laptop, keep it out of its case!
-Sign up for flight alerts on your phone or pager!
-Check in online!
-Don't get distracted while driving (or even better, have someone else drive you)!
-Remember the order for security: laptop, coat/valuables/liquids, shoes!
-Don't try to board before they call your row!

How to Zip Through an Airport

2008-07-17T11:26:00.000-06:00

Unfortunately, since 9/11, airports have increasingly been a pain rather than a pleasure. Stressed TSA agents, strange scanners, and invasion of personal privacy might cause any other life form to implode. Thankfully, there are some quick tips you can follow to make your flying journey pain-free. I’ll go through all the basics for the beginners, but make sure to read carefully! There may be some bad habits that you need to break!

In order to start on a good note, you have to, well, start on a good note. When you’re at home packing for the trip ahead, remember what you can and can’t bring on the plane. I honestly recommend carrying everything on, and not to check anything, unless you need to bring some large knife, or maybe a beanbag across the country (not very likely). Why? Firstly, there’s a much lesser chance of losing your luggage or having it damaged. Secondly, you don’t have to mess around with baggage claim when all you want is to get to the hotel (or home). Because I often travel with expensive photographic equipment, it’s a no-brainer to always carry on as much as I can. Of course, there are some disadvantages. You can only bring a certain amount of liquids within the US - 3 ounces (100 ml) or less in a 1 quart (.5 liter) plastic bag. You’ll have to lug everything around the airport (another excuse to pack light!). You might not be able to find enough space to place all of your bags on the airplane (never has happened to me, but you always have the option of a gate check, when they’ll put it in the belly for you and give it back after your flight). But overall, I think the advantages greatly outweigh the disadvantages. Make sure you’re wearing comfortable shoes that are easily slipped on and off, so you don’t have to hold up the entire security line trying to tie them after you retrieve your bags from the x-ray machine. If you have a laptop, keep it outside of its case in whatever bag you keep it in, otherwise it will be a pain to take it out and put it back for security.

Once you’ve left your house, make sure that you have everything together - passport (if needed), boarding passes, photo ID, bags, wallet, etc. Set up email alerts if you want, to keep tabs on your flight. Know where you’re going to park, where you need to check in, and try not to get distracted or you’ll end up driving in circles.

OK, you’ve arrived at the airport, parked your car, checked in... Aha! I’ve caught you! You checked in online, the night before, right? Because you used carry on baggage only like I said, you don’t even have to wait in line to check in or check your bags, so there’s one less thing to do.

Proceed to security. While you are waiting in line (not during the screening process itself!), remove your liquids that you packed into the quart-sized bag (you did that the night before too, right? Of course you did!), and hold on to them until you’re in the screening line. Put them in a large side pocket or something, I guess it doesn't matter to me - you’ll be making yourself late if you take too long. Make sure your ID, boarding pass, passport, etc. are in your hand and ready for the TSA agent to check.
POP QUIZ! What should you be holding right now? One hand: ID, boarding pass. Other: Bags, toiletries. Got it?

Everything has been reviewed by the agent, and you’re in line for the actual screening process. This is where the real technique comes in! Half-way slip off your shoes (just enough so you can walk) and put your cell phone, wallet, ID, boarding pass, keys, watch, and any other valuable loose items in a coat pocket. Put your laptop (if you have one) in the first bin, the coat (with valuables inside!) and liquids in the second, and shoes in the third. Why the strange order? Simple. You want to make sure that your most valuable items go in first so they can pass over to the “sterile” side first. Make sure you watch your laptop (if you have one) and coat go through before you step through the metal detector! That way, if someone were to steal something from you, they would only be able to steal your shoes - your laptop/coat/valuables are in the x-ray machine or inside the protective cage (for inspection by TSA personnel) and are already safe!

The second part of this article, the post-security part, will come on Monday. Have a great weekend!

6 Tools to Make You Work Better

2008-07-14T15:18:00.000-06:00

Jott - use Jott to dictate messages over the phone - and have them emailed to you or saved on their website, Jott.com. You can also use Jott to send SMS to other people - they are transcribed automatically by real humans!
RescueTime - RescueTime is a program for Windows and Mac, running all the time, that tracks what you do and reports to a website. Whenever you like, you can visit RescueTime.com to see how your time is being used.
Doodle/When Is Good/Presdo - use one of these three tools to schedule meeting times with other people - especially useful for parties, when everyone has a busy schedule but you still need to find time!
GrandCentral - GrandCentral allows you to establish one number for all calls, which are then directed to your different numbers, like work, home, and mobile. Bonus feature: voicemails are emailed to you - so no need to constantly check messages!
Universal Packing List - if you're going on a trip, for business or pleasure, use the Universal Packing List to decide what to bring or not. It's a complete packing list where you specify your trip details. I use this constantly!
Your Public Library - uh oh, books. Scary, isn't it? Limitless knowledge at your fingertips - and a great way to cure Internet addiction. Through your public library and interlibrary loans, you can now obtain nearly any published book - whether it is currently held down the street or on the other side of the world.

Hopefully these 6 tools will give you the slight edge over your competition!

The Three P's

2008-07-11T11:59:00.000-06:00

When you're a freelancer - whether a writer, web designer, programmer, or photographer - you need to prioritize your jobs. Which ones should you sign on for - and which ones should you steer away from?

When in doubt, think about The Three P's.

The People - Who are you working with or for? Are they easy to get along with? Do they respond and communicate well with you? Cooperation is essential.

The Project - Is it interesting or boring? A challenge or something that you do over and over?

The Pay - Am I getting compensated fairly or am I being taken advantage of? Maybe the gain isn't just monetary, but something that I could put on my resume instead. Or even better - something that I would pay to do anyway!

Ask yourself these questions before accepting a job to make your decisions painless and have a balance in your job. Try to find assignments or careers that satisfy 2 out of the 3 credentials - once in a while, say, if you really need the money, you might just have to settle for 1 out of 3, but hopefully this is a rarity. Find the 3 for 3's too - and enjoy them! Who knows - maybe you'll enjoy what you do even more!

(Thanks to photographer Jim Sugar for the idea!)

Welcome! You must be new here.

2008-07-07T09:42:00.001-06:00

Hi there. I’m Adam. I’ve been writing seriously (though not on a personal site) for the past five years, on some sites you’d probably recognize, and about many things you’ve heard about. I go through some pretty amazing stuff, so I thought it’d be interesting to share them with you.

My real passion is photography. I love to take pictures more than anything else in the world, and it’s really gotten me places as well. I’ve photographed weddings of famous people, sold fine art prints, done contract work for non-profit organizations, and recently started to work from a journalistic standpoint - I've shot everyone from Hillary Clinton to Olympic athletes.

While photography is my passion, I’ve decided to write about something a lot more broad than that - I want to show you how to improve your life by working hard, playing hard, relaxing hard, and traveling hard.

I love people. Even more, I love talking to people. Since I can converse in English, Spanish, and the international language of photography, I can learn so much from other people - about their lives, and what I’m missing from mine.

Some parts of this blog may be depressing and saddening, while others may be simply hilarious. I just ask that you join me for the ride. You’ll notice that I won’t talk a whole lot about myself or give away too many personal details - because more than anything, I want this blog to be about you, not me. Expect at least two posts per week on this site, and if I don’t keep that up, you can publicly tar and feather me.

If you have any questions for me, I’d love to hear from you. I’ll try to return any emails within a week. If I’m missing something in the blog, am talking about something far too much, or even worse, have some technical problem, please send me an email at unexpectedperspective@gmail.com.

Enjoy!