John Zeratsky: Articles

2009: The year in places

2010-01-14T05:30:00Z

The past year was a blast. Michelle and I planned our wedding, got married, visited the Virgin Islands twice, saw friends and family in Wisconsin, sailed a bunch, made countless kitchen disasters, celebrated engagements, pregnancies (not ours), promotions, and much more!

(And somehow I managed to fly over 80,000 miles on United for work!)

For the 2009 edition of “The Year in Cities,” I am making a semantic change — to account for the variety of places (not just cities) I have visited, this post is called “The Year in Places.”

Without further ado, here are the places in which I spent at least one night during 2009. In roughly chronological order:

St John, USVI
San Francisco (nine times)
New York (10 times)
Austin, TX
Traverse City, MI
Madison, WI (twice)
Mackinac Island, MI (three times, including our wedding!)
Milwaukee, WI
Las Vegas, NV
Green Lake, WI (three times)
Tortola, BVI
Norman Island, BVI
Peter Island, BVI
Cooper Island, BVI
Virgin Gorda, BVI
Jost Van Dyke, BVI

And for reference, here are the related posts from 2008, 2007 and 2005.

2009: The year in books

2010-01-04T04:55:59Z

In 2009 I took advantage of a busy travel schedule to read 22 books throughout the course of the year. I gave up on the Chicago Public Library in June and bought an Amazon Kindle — this gave me the flexibility to travel with more books, buy books on the road, and ultimately read more.

(The Kindle is far from perfect, but it is the best e-book reader available and offers a great user experience. I look forward to improved screen technology, less restrictive content licensing, and more sophisticated tools for sharing and managing content in future devices.)

Thanks for reading, and enjoy!

Value Averaging by Michael Edleson
This smart, math-heavy book proposes an formula-based investing technique that enables you to buy low and sell high without having to guess about market timing.
Farm City by Novella Carpenter
Wonderful memoir about the author’s backyard farm in Oakland.
Up in the Air by Walter Kirn
Enjoyable, fast-reading novel about corporate America, airlines, and relationships. Also a very good movie!
The Four Pillars of Investing by William J Bernstein
Clear, well-written summary of sound investing technique by one of the most well reasoning authors in the business.
The Economic Naturalist by Robert H Frank
Professor Frank applies basic economic priciples to common scenarios. I wish I had this book (or class!) in college.
Personal Development for Smart People by Steve Pavlina
Better than it sounds. The author describes a unified theory of personal development built around love, truth and power.
Rapt by Winifred Gallagher
Fascinating summary of research on human attention, including a look at how what we choose to focus on affects our development as people.
Around the World in 79 Days by Cam Lewis and Michael Levitt
Great account of the Commodore Explorer’s non-stop round-the-world sailing expedition that set the world record in 199X.
Easy Money by Liz Pulliam Weston
How-to guide for automating and simplifying your personal finances.
Basket Case and Nature Girl by Carl Hiaasen
Hiaasen’s novels are formulaic but really entertaining. Great vacation reading.
Your Credit Score by Liz Pulliam Weston
Detailed summary of how your credit score is calculated and used. Easy to follow and readily applicable; Pulliam combines a lot of difficult-to-find information and makes it clear.
The Frugal Millionaires by Jeff Lehman
This is a really cool book: Lehman interviewed hundreds of “frugal millionaires” and summarized the best advice on saving, investing, housing, insurance, cars, and more.
The Cruise of the Snark by Jack London
I had high hopes for this book after reading an excerpt in Before the Wind, but it was rambling and too scattered for my taste.
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Classic adventure book. A bit slow by modern standards but still great reading.
Before the Wind by David Gowdey (editor)
Wonderful collection of short stories about sailing.
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Sound advice on increasing your professional and personal influence. Carnegie promotes techniques based on genuine and shared interest between people; not tricks or swindling. This book is old but it has aged well.
Free by Chris Anderson
Anderson’s books and articles can appear gimmicky, but are often filled with thought-provoking arguments and great examples.
Sailboat Electrics Simplified by Don Casey
Dry but clear description of sailboat electrics. A good reference.
The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
These books changed the way I eat, buy and cook food. Highly recommended.

My proposals for SXSW 2010

2009-08-25T20:40:08Z

SXSW has quickly become one of my favorite spring traditions, so I made it a perennial goal to submit at least one presentation for consideration each year.

For 2010, I am proposing three sessions — two solo talks and one interview-style conversation with my friend Maura Thomas. Please take a look and by all means, vote or leave a comment if you are interested!

User Experience Without Design

Matt Shobe and I developed this talk for last year’s Tech Cocktail Conference in Chicago. Since then, we have presented it (separately and together) at the University of Illinois, ORD Camp and Sitter City. Hopefully I will get the chance to take this show on the road to Austin.

Web user experience is virtually synonymous with design. But there are plenty of other factors that will make or break the user experience of your web-based product, service, or publication. This presentation introduces holistic user experience design and proposes a number of ways to improve the user experience… without design.
Design Workshops That Really Work

A big part of my job at Google is working with groups of engineers, product managers and other stakeholders to collaboratively design products. I hope to share some of those experiences in this new session.

Design doesn’t happen in a vacuum — it requires active participation from a variety of stakeholders. Learn how to lead workshops that build trust, foster teamwork and create an environment for great design. Hear about John Zeratsky’s experiences using design workshops in large-scale projects at Google.
Win the War Against Information Overload (with Maura Thomas)

After my talk on productivity techniques last year, Maura approached me and we started working together on ideas for SXSW 2010. Maura is an expert on personal productivity and has a dedicated following of happy customers. This should be a great session!

Join productivity trainer Maura Thomas of RegainYourTime.com and Google designer John Zeratsky for an interview-style conversation about productivity processes and tools, why people are drowning in information, the difference between information and knowledge, a new definition of “work-life balance,” and why it all matters.

Getting things done the simple way

2009-03-21T02:54:24Z

Here is a written version of what I presented at SXSW Interactive last weekend. My session was a Core Conversation, so I only spoke solo for the first 10 minutes or so — but a lot of people asked to see that, and I am happy to share it! Please let me know if you have questions or comments.

Over the past few years, we have seen a surge of interest in productivity tools and techniques. David Allen’s book, Getting Things Done, is a phenomenon that has sold millions of copies since it was first published in 2002.

As Getting Things Done (GTD) caught on with geeks, they naturally turned to software to help implement Allen’s techniques. But until recently, there were not many software tools well adapted to GTD. Now there are lots of great apps that are more or less tailored for capital-GTD — including OmniFocus, Things and The Hit List on Mac OS X alone.

The excitement, discussion and product development around productivity is great. It reflects that we are all dealing with more information every day; we are managing many different projects; we have lots of open threads; we are doing more than we used to, and we are coming up with clever tools and techniques to help.

We use all these productivity helpers, whether tools or techniques, to help us with two very important goals:

Get things done
Don’t freak out

But I think the GTD culture that we have created — the tips, the life hacks, the shiny Mac applications, the million ways to manage a to-do list — may help us get more done, but it also kind of stresses us out. That is not right.

So I want to talk about how we can use these tools and techniques, but do so in a way that is as simple and as lightweight as possible, so we can get back to that original idea of being productive and reducing stress.

A lot of friends and colleagues have said to me: “I am feeling really overwhelmed… I have too much going on… I can’t keep track of everything… So what software should I buy?” I think that’s the wrong question. If you answer that question, you are focusing on the details of the solution and not the fundamentals of the solution. You need to start with the fundamentals.

I always give people this advice: First, read the first couple chapters of David Allen’s book; then we can talk about which techniques might help; and then we can figure out which tools they need to implement these techniques. (Notice David Allen doesn’t really talk about tools very much in his book.)

So to kick off the discussion, here are five productivity techniques that are critical to me. These techniques keep me sane, and help me get things done:

Routine inbox processing

I get my inbox to zero every day (typically right after lunch), and process my paper inbox once or twice a week.
Ubiquitous capture

I never know when inspiration will strike (or when I will think of something I need from the store, or someone I need to email, or…) so I always keep my iPhone with me, and almost always have a pad of paper. This way I can email myself, or make a note, wherever and whenever I need to.
Task list filtering and sorting

I use DNZO, which allows me to filter and sort my task list by project, context, due date or completion status. This is critical for my ability to focus while maintaining a 30-50-item task list.
Weekly-ish review and prioritization

I complete a weekly review of projects, tasks, events and whatever else is on my mind — pretty much “by the book.” During this review I measure everything on my plate against written goals, and re-prioritize if necessary.
Remind myself

I use Google Calendar to send myself email and SMS reminders of things I need to do at certain times. “Next actions” go on my task list; other things go on my calendar.

Which of these techniques do you use? What are your critical productivity techniques?

From this point, I opened discussion to the 100 or so enthusiastic folks in the room. Thanks to those of you who came to the session at SXSW! For everyone else, feel free to drop me a line if you want to chat about these ideas.

Speaking at SXSW

2009-03-11T04:04:17Z

On Tuesday, March 17 I am leading a SXSW Core Conversation called “Getting Things Done the Simple Way.” The format is a bit up in the air — I have never been to a Core Conversation, so I am not sure what to expect — but my basic goal is to lead a conversation about simple, non-proprietary tools and techniques you can use to focus on your work and get things done.

If you plan to be in Austin this weekend and want to chat or hang out, please get in touch! Best ways to reach me, roughly in order of preference, are:

Email: john@zeratsky.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/jazer
SMS: Find my number is listed on the home page

Hope to see you there!

2008: The year in cities

2009-01-08T01:38:38Z

It’s that time of year again. Time to reflect, make resolutions and prepare for another year. And time for me to make an increasingly rare post to johnzeratsky.com!

In past Januaries, I have reported on my travels by listing the cities I visited in the previous year. Check out 2007 and 2005 for some historical perspective (I missed 2006).

My calendar says “January” and my thermometer says “stay inside,” so here is a list of cities in which I spent at least one night during 2008. In roughly chronological order:

Chicago, IL — We live here.
San Francisco, CA — For 10 (!) visits to our headquarters in Mountain View
Keystone, CO — Google ski trip!
Winter Park, CO — Skiing with my family
Austin, TX — For SXSW!
Cincinnati, OH — Visiting Mike and Katie on the way to South Carolina
Greenville, SC — Visiting Michelle’s dad
Knoxville, TN — Random hotel on the way home from South Carolina
Milwaukee, WI — Several visits; weddings and Michelle’s family
New York, NY — Three visits for work
Atlanta, GA — User research at CNN
Green Lake, WI — Fourth of July with Eric, Laura, Matt, Suzie and Michelle!
Wisconsin Dells, WI — Nina and David’s bachelor/bachelorette party
Mackinac Island, MI — After the Chicago-to-Mackinac race
Madison, WI — For Molly and Paul’s wedding
Las Vegas, NV — Not for Jake’s bachelor party :)
Napa, CA — Wine and food with Liz, Michael and Michelle
St John, USVI — My favorite destination, with my favorite person. A great way to close out the year!

2008 was an incredible year. I can hardly wait to see what’s in store for 2009!

2008: The year in books

2008-12-06T21:41:07Z

One of my favorite traditions on this site is “The year in cities,” which I have written at the end of each year since 2005. The 2008 edition is coming soon.

This year I have decided to start another year-end tradition: The year in books. So far in 2008, I have read 17 books — most while traveling for vacation or work. I have been keeping track using Google Book Search, which has some surprisngly cool “library” features.

And in the spirit of “The year in cities,” here is a list of the books I read in 2008. In roughly chronological order:

Simple Prosperity by David Wann
Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks
The Handbook of Sailing by Bob Bond — Starts at the beginning (“how to sail”) and covers everything through cruising, navigating and offshore safety with clear writing and illustration
The Living Great Lakes by Jerry Dennis — I was mesmerized by this book, especially reading it just before the start of Chicago’s sailing season
Sailing Alone Around the World by Joshua Slocum
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson — Saw the movie; had to read the book (the book is better)
Lamb by Christopher Moore — Hilarious and clever
The Random Walk Guide to Investing by Burton Gordon Malkiel
Ambitious Brew by Maureen Ogle — Really fascinating! Much of this book took place in Milwaukee
Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich
The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach
Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Todd Gilbert
The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster — Bob recommended this story; I found it incredibly vivid and evocative of post-modern times
Choosing Simplicity by Linda Breen Pierce
Options by Fake Steve Jobs
The Not So Big House by Sarah Susanka
Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin

(As an addendum, I should add that I only bought two of these books! Most were gifts, loaners or library check-outs. While I am intrigued by (and squarely in the target market for) devices like the Kindle, I will have to wait until the content can be borrowed, gifted or otherwise transfered.)

Voting open for SXSW 2009

2008-08-12T16:57:41Z

Last week, I submitted two presentations to SXSW 2009, and now it is up to you (and the rest of the web) to decide whether or not I make the cut.

Presenting at SXSW in 2007 was a great experience, and attending earlier this year was a blast, so I made it a goal to prepare and pitch at least one topic for 2009. Fortunately I had one close at hand, having presented at Tech Cocktail Conference this spring. I rummaged through my brain for another idea that was interesting to me, and hopefully to at least some of you. Here is what I came up with:

User Experience Without Design

Web user experience is virtually synonymous with design. But there are plenty of other factors that will make or break the user experience of your web-based product, service, or publication. This presentation introduces holistic user experience design and proposes a number of ways to improve the user experience… without design.
Getting Thing Done the Simple Way

There are dozens of applications promising to help you get things done. But most are complex and proprietary, better adapted for fiddling than actually working. Learn how to apply David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” using plain text, paper, and the email and calendar you are already using.

Please take a minute to visit the SXSW Panel Picker and place your votes (voting closes on August 29). If you have questions or feedback, feel free to email me (john@zeratsky.com) or leave a comment on the SXSW site. Thanks!

Speaking at Tech Cocktail Conference

2008-05-19T00:44:20Z

Next Thursday (May 29, 2008) I’m speaking at the Tech Cocktail Conference here in Chicago. Matt Shobe and I will present some tips and strategies for entrepreneurs who want to create good user experiences, but may not have the staff or resources to do so via traditional means. We’ll probably try to make some jokes, too.

Tech Cocktail Conference is a new one-day conference organized by Eric Olson and Frank Gruber, who run the popular mixer events by the same name. They say:

The focus of the conference is taking a ‘no nonsense’ approach to building a business that can flourish by leveraging technology and the Web.

As for my inclusion in the conference — I’m pretty sure it’s some kind of mistake. The speaker lineup, which includes Brad Feld, Dick Costolo and Jason Fried (of 37signals), is top-notch and I’m honored to be involved.

Registration is still open, so sign up now if you’re interested. Let me know if you’ll be there; hopefully we can find a chance to say “hi!”

Eat better, feel better

2008-03-01T23:22:43Z

Bob Walsh of Web Worker Daily interviewed David Allen, the author of Getting Things Done, about the impact of stress on web workers’ physical health. My favorite part is David talking about how a better, more nutritious diet has made him healthier.

From the interview:

Bob: Do you exercise? I know you were into karate many years ago.

David: Not as regularly as I can… I have a pretty active lifestyle: I walk dogs, get on planes, all that work. You know, one of my biggest “A ha’s!” that was a big surprise to me, was nutrition. I didn’t think it was that big a deal. I lived a disposal life, just “open mouth insert food.” In the travel I was doing in my life, I thought if I exercised enough that would handle it.

[At the end] end of 2000, like seven or eight years ago I discovered a nutritional program that made a lot of difference. Since then, I’ve reduced to almost zero cold and flu. It allows me a lot more stable energy, I think, than the highs, ups and lows and downs that I’ve been expecting before.

This has been very much like my experience over the past eight or nine months. I do not dedicate much time to exercise (though I do walk a lot), but improving my diet has made me healthier — I feel better, I get sick less often, and I have a higher overall level of energy.

My diet is better largely because of Google. Since starting there in June 2007, I have taken advantage of the famous free lunch to eat salad every day, diversify my caloric intake, and stop drinking soda (almost) altogether. For breakfast, I have a Clif bar (all-natural, balanced energy) and a fruit smoothie. It’s not hard to eat right when the right foods are convenient, and it helps when they’re free too!

The other contributor to my new and improved diet is local, organic produce from the Home Grown Wisconsin Cooperative. Michelle and I are members of their Community-Supported Agriculture program, which delivers farm-fresh produce (vegetables, fruit, cheese and eggs) to Chicago from June through February each year. (Sadly, as I write this, it is truly the off-season.) The steady stream of ingredients has motivated us to explore new recipes, eat seasonally, make healthier meals and become generally more engaged with the experience of buying, preparing and eating food.

This David Allen interview inspired me to share my experiences, because I think it’s important to highlight the real, noticeable health improvements that good nutrition provides. If we become more aware of the importance of nutrition in our daily lives, that can only be a good thing.

Save No Sweat

2008-02-08T03:05:12Z

I am always searching for the perfect tee shirt.

What was printed on the shirt used to matter more to me than the shirt itself, but I learned to value cut and quality, then responsible labor and production practices.

American Apparel made my first favorite tee shirt, and I stocked up during the two years when I lived across the street from their store. But while AA originally excelled at creating shirts that lasted and fit well, recently they have changed the cut of their Fine Jersey tee and may not be the good corporate citizen I once thought.

Patagonia made my second favorite tee shirt — it fit great, looked cool, and was made of organic cotton by an exemplary company. If Patagonia made tee shirts that were a little cheaper (they cost $30) and came in solid colors (patterns only), I wouldn’t be writing this article.

A few months ago a co-worker suggested No Sweat, a Boston company that sells a variety of shirts, tanks, shorts, pants and more. I ordered one of their Organic Bethlehem Unisex No Logo Tees (which cost only $15) and took it for a test drive. Three washes later, it’s still my (new) favorite tee shirt.

Anyway, the point of writing this article is to say that No Sweat is currently suffering a cash crunch, and now would be a great time to order a shirt! I am almost certain you will be a satisfied customer.

Verizon V740 on Mac OS X: It just works

2008-02-04T03:50:01Z

I just got a Verizon V740 wireless broadband card for use with my MacBook Pro. The packaging included a bright yellow “Activate Your Phone” guide, a VZAccess Manager CD-ROM, and a manual that instructed me to install Verizon’s software before plugging the card into my computer.

But then I noticed page six, which says:

Mac customers are not required to use VZAccess Manager to use the ExpressCard. Drivers for the Verizon ExpressCard are built into the Macintosh operating system.

The conflicting instructions spurred me to search Google for clearer information. I found a couple of Macworld articles about the WWAN Support Update 1.0 that Apple released last year, and decided to live on the edge and plug in the Verizon card before installing any software. Daring, I know.

As soon as I inserted the card, I saw a Mac OS X dialog that said:

You have inserted a WWAN card that has not been activated. Would you like to activate this card?

So, I clicked “Activate” and waited a minute while OS X (apparently) activated my card with Verizon (really?!) and displayed this dialog:

When that was finished, I opened the Network preferences pane and saw a new service in the left-hand menu: “Novatel Wireless CDMA.”

I clicked on the new service and saw that the “Account Name” and “Password” fields were already filled in with my info. So I clicked “Connect” and before I knew it, I was connected to the internet via my new Verizon card.

New technology can be painful and complicated, but sometimes, it just works.

The best things in life are free

2008-01-17T04:00:00Z

Of the ~~four~~ five announcements Steve Jobs made in his Macworld keynote Tuesday morning, my two favorites are free software updates. This is out of character for Apple, a company that makes money primarily by selling hardware.

Past keynotes have been notable for the credit-card-grabbing, frantic-pre-ordering lust they inspire; the iPhone, Apple TV, Powerbook G4, Airport and several iMacs were all announced at Macworld keynotes. So the emphasis on software, and free software that enhances old hardware, is either a subtle shift in strategy, or nothing at all. Either way, I like it.

Apple’s Macworld announcements, in order of favorite-ness, are:

Apple TV Software Update

I bought an Apple TV early last year, and I really like it. No, it won’t record live TV, and it doesn’t do HD, and I can’t shop iTunes on it. Nor does it do any of the other things you wish it would do. But it does allow me to watch movies on my TV, and listen to music on my stereo. And I think that’s worth $299.

The new software enables a lot of great functionality, including iTunes Store access, movie rental support, HD movie playback, and Flickr integration. For Apple to give this away as a free software update; well, that’s just really nice.
iPhone Software Update

A year after its first demo, the iPhone is still the most remarkable device in the world. Consistent with previous updates, there’s a bunch of good stuff in the software announced Tuesday: auto-locator, better maps, Web Clips, customizable home screen, and more.
Movie Rentals
MacBook Air
Time Capsule

2007: The year in cities

2007-12-30T22:27:36Z

I published a similar list in early 2006, and it was fun. What happened last year? Not sure.

Here is a list of cities in which I spent at least one night during 2007. In roughly chronological order:

Chicago, IL — We live here.
Madison, WI — For Taylor’s birthday and a few other social visits.
Austin, TX — For SXSW with Justin.
Steamboat Springs, CO — For some spring skiing with a bunch of friends.
Green Lake, WI — To visit my parents, enjoy the lake, etc.
Denver, CO — For my sister’s graduation.
San Francisco, CA — For JavaOne and inconvenient-but-fun lodging while working in Mountain View.
New York, NY — For Google orientation and training, then back for Real Work.
Mountain View, CA — To connect with co-workers, make big plans, and enjoy the food.
Waukegan, IL — During the Chicago-Waukegan regatta in June.
Indianapolis, IN — For Weezie and Jim’s wedding.
Paris and Coudray-Rabut, France; Brussels, Belgium; Amsterdam, Netherlands — During our two-week vacation in September.
Milwaukee, WI — For CJ and Danielle’s wedding.
Las Vegas, NV — For fun! (With Taylor, Justin, Eric, Frank and Rick)
Greenville, SC — To visit Michelle’s Dad.

Wow! What a year.

Version 4

2007-12-19T03:30:00Z

It’s been five months (!) since my last post, and it’s taken me that long to design, implement and launch version four of johnzeratsky.com. I hope you like it!

My primary goal for the redesign was to highlight the links and photos I publish on an almost-daily basis. (FriendFeed helps me do this; see below.) I recast the blog posts as Articles, since they’ve become longer, richer, and less frequent over time. I also added a prominent summary of my current projects, with links to photos, examples or actual project output.

Generally speaking, I want to represent my whole “web self” with this site. Hopefully johnzeratsky.com now gives you a good sense of what I’m thinking, reading, and doing on a day-to-day basis.

How it works

After spending close to a year building a custom, Django-based CMS for this blog, I reverted to Movable Type 4 at the last minute. The software is feature-rich, reliable and easy to use. The community is active (again) and the documentation is excellent. After five years deploying, configuring, hacking and using Movable Type, I’m still happy to be here. (Thanks, Six Apart!)

FriendFeed also plays a huge role in this new version of johnzeratsky.com. I’m using this fantastic service to merge my del.icio.us bookmarks, Flickr photos, Netflix movies, and johnzeratsky.com articles into one feed, which is included on my home page and available for you to subscribe to (if you want).

My new design is fully buzzword compliant — grid-based, elastic, and composed to a vertical rhythm. Hopefully this means it will be more friendly to you, the reader, and more appropriate to the types of content I publish.

Problems? Thoughts? Let me know

I really want to hear what you think of the new design. Please feel free to send me an email (at john@zeratsky.com or via the “Email the author” link in the left column). And thanks for reading!