HeyChristine.com

Tuesday, October 17th

HTML, Macros, Color Codes...

I've been playing around with the colors of the lines in these journal entries. Maybe I'll change them every month to add a little spice to my mundane ramblings. I found an HTML color code reference sheet that is short and simple, the way I like it.

Also, Gus came down and set me up with the latest Textpad macro he created, which automates the process of adding HTML tags to URL addresses. All I have to do now is place my cursor at the end of a URL, press ALT-L and presto! Try coding something like this (see forums section) manually! Gus is just too awesome!! We were fighting over the keyboard trying to use this new macro (lol). Yo Gus, you're in MY CHAIR. Move it buddy!

Today's New Gig got me going. Check out what the "experts" said about attention spans at the office:

"NEW ECONOMY DISORDER: The multitasking nature of work in the new economy may be causing workers to experience symptoms of attention deficit disorder, experts say. With the constant barrage of e-mail messages, phone calls, meetings and interruptions from coworkers, it's no wonder. Symptoms include difficulty making decisions, concentrating and prioritizing projects. Sound familiar? Well, rest assured, you can't catch ADD, but there are ways to combat the sense of disarray."

Now see? Didn't I just rant about this the other day?

"Working from home occasionally or using headphones at the office can also help reduce distractions, according to Wilma Fellman, an ADD counselor and career specialist in Troy, Mich."

Working from home reduces distractions? HOW, por favor.

"Fellman advises her clients to track their energy levels to determine when they are most productive and then tackle their biggest projects during those times."

Well... almost. But not quite.

Have you ever noticed that when our energy level is at a peak, we multitask to the max, and are the least focused? We sit in our "urgent, not important" quadrant and answer tons of random emails, make all kinds of phone calls, and shuffle documents from one place to the next and back, and all the while we think to ourselves just how productive we're being when actually... we are not. We're very BUSY, but hardly productive, and as the day goes by we start to wonder where it went.

After awhile, when we come off that high, we find ourselves struggling to address those big projects that actually require concentration. But by then, it's the end of the day. To justify our actions, we make a pact with ourselves and say, "I'll get to it first thing tomorrow morning"... yet the vicious cycle continues.

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The better advice would be to first put some discipline on how we manage our emails and phone calls, and then tackle the bigger projects during our peak energy levels.

People may say "but Christine my whole job depends on email, I have to be on it all the time." Well...... I used to think so too. I manage an interactive, online community. It's not a community of millions, but it does generate enough inquiries to keep me busy. Getting my .COM project off the ground also involves a lot of communication with a lot of people. And, I do have a few friends with whom I email on a regular basis.

See if you can do this --> Turn off your email and phone for just one hour.

If you can get passed that urge to "check mail" and overcome the feelings of withdrawal -- and you will experience both -- I think you'll discover a whole new meaning to life...

YESTERDAY | THE NEXT DAY

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