Parkinson’s Law - or how Lack of Limits Leads to Laziness

Traditionally, Parkinson's law is the adage that "work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion". But I think my version - Lack of Limits Leads to Laziness - is more memorable.

I've experienced this first hand recently. I've recently taken some time off. First I took this past summer off, for travel with the family. Then when my kids started school, I planned on doing a combination of personal projects, and a more extensive job search than what I normally do, to find a job that really suits me.

However, in reviewing the past few months, I'd have to say I'm disappointed in what I got done - EXCEPT in the weeks between when I accepted a job offer, and when the job actually started (last week). Somehow that fixed deadline, after which I'd have very little spare time, got me to actually get going on some projects that I'd been delaying for quite some time.

I'm not going to theorize about why merely having a hard and fast limit - a deadline - inspires people to be more active. A lot of ink has been spilled on that topic. But I'm a firm believer in deadlines - the more rigorous and "real", with penalties, the better.

As a matter of fact, that's how this blog post is getting written! A friend and I have an agreement. We've mailed each other checks, made out to organizations that we do NOT believe in. If one of us doesn't fulfill this agreement - which relates to regular blogging - then the other will actually mail in the check to the organization. It works like a charm!  Check out this article for some additional info.

What do people really think on their deathbed?

I've seen this quote repeated ad nauseam in a lot of books, and places I happen to hit on the web:

No one on his deathbed ever said “I wish I’d spent more time at the office.”

Let's think about this a moment. Perhaps nobody has actually said those exact words on their deathbed. In fact, I would imagine that most people aren't busy thinking about regrets during their last moments, if they're even thinking clearly at all.

However, in terms of overall life regrets, I imagine that not finding the right job, staying in the wrong job too long, feeling like you're not contributing to the world enough - these are all huge regrets.

I've certainly felt this way at times in my life. There have been numerous times where I wasn't in a position to influence things, or wasn't doing what I thought was productive work, where the project I was working on was ill-conceived and doomed to failure. Or where I was just marking time, in one way or another, though I was getting paid.

I like this passage much better. It's from the book Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson.

To do great work, you need to feel that you’re making a difference. That you’re putting a meaningful dent in the universe. That you’re part of something important.

This doesn't mean you need to find the cure for cancer. It’s just that your efforts need to feel valuable. You want your customers to say, “This makes my life better.” You want to feel that if you stopped doing what you do, people would notice.

 You should feel an urgency about this, too. You don’t have forever. This is your life’s work.

Ditto - the most useful application you've never heard of

What is Ditto?

It's a free clipboard manager, that extends the functionality of the standard Windows clipboard. Everything that you copy to the clipboard is stored, instead of disappearing the next time you copy something. To retrieve it, you just hit a key combination (mine is ctrl + `, the default). There's a search functionality which allows you to search everything you copied, which I use frequently as well.

The user interface. I had been doing some copying/pasting while writing code.

Most people haven't heard of clipboard managers. But whenever anyone is watching me do some work on the computer, and I pop up Ditto, they're always intrigued by it, and can see immediately how it could be very useful.

I haven't tried any other clipboard managers, but I'll stick with Ditto for now. It works, is simple, and works well.

There's a download here.  Enjoy!

Yummy, super-easy microwave cheese crisps

Years ago I had fancy cheese crisps as an appetizer at a friends house. It was mind-bendingly delicious. I assumed that some special technique and great skill was required, but it turns out that there's a microwave version that just couldn't be easier. If you have any kind of cheese, then the only thing you'll need to buy is some parchment paper (which is an absolute must).

Here's the steps:

- Slice up some cheese onto parchment paper, in about one inch squares. Actually, the size isn't really critical, nor does it need to be sliced evenly - it'll all melt completely. You can use grated cheese as well, but if you just have block cheese, don't bother grating it. I've tried cheddar and parmesan cheese, and they both work very well. And online, I've seen recipes using other cheeses like mozzarella, etc.

- Put the cheese slices on parchment paper into the microwave. I just put the parchment paper directly onto the microwave tray, but you could put it on a plate as well.

- Microwave it on high power it for about 90 seconds (timing will vary depending on your microwave). The cheese will melt, and after melting will start to get crispy and brownish. Check frequently, at least every 15 seconds or so - definitely don't step away or let it get too brown.

And voila!  Carefully peel the cheese crisps off the parchment paper, and serve.  Crispy, salty, cheesy - what's not to like!

Crispy deliciousness