“Erik K. Antonsson, a prof at Caltech, has a page of quotations related to design and engineering. Some samples: ‘If a major project is truly innovative, you cannot possibly know its exact cost and its exact schedule at the beginning. And if in fact you do know the exact cost and the exact schedule, chances are that the technology is obsolete.’ -Joseph G. Gavin, Jr., discussing the design of the lunar module that landed NASA astronauts on the moon.”

“Keep track of GTD blogs, software, news, etc. all on one page.”

“Distributing work is never easy. Taking on a new job generally finds few takers, especially if the task is demanding and the time available is short. Not surprisingly, we often run into problems while allocating work. Ranging from a simple goof-up by a colleague to ultimately having to do things yourself in order to get it done correctly and on time, we have all experienced the perils of delegation… As usual, this can be analysed down to a simple list of easily avoidable mistakes.”

Awesome! A new, quite active blog by former XPLANEr Jeff Lash: “How To Be A Good Product Manager is a blog that provides daily tips on good product management practices. While it focuses more on managing technical and online products, most of the concepts are appropriate for broader product management purposes.”

“The Brazen Careerist blog points out ‘10 tips for Time Management in a Multitasking World.’ It’s a great list. My professional career began over 17 years ago. I have only worked in a traditional office setting for the first 6 of those years. Since then, I’ve been based out of a home office. Folks often say, ‘I don’t know how you work at home�ĶI tried but there’s always something in the house I end up doing that takes me away from getting anything done for work.’ I assure you, getting distracted by housework is not my problem. Without feeling that anyone is directly monitoring your activities, it’s way too easy to be distracted by an over-stuffed to-do list and jumbled priorities.”

“What is the hardest thing that company boards have to do? I can answer this with considerable authority, having been on a board for all of two months. The hardest thing is not strategy. It isn’t complying with hundreds of petty regulations. It isn’t setting the chief executive’s pay, or even sacking him. Doubtless, these things can be hard. But harder is arranging to meet at all.”

“Even if you’re not a genius, you can use the same strategies as Aristotle and Einstein to harness the power of your creative mind and better manage your future. The following eight strategies encourage you to think productively, rather than reproductively, in order to arrive at solutions to problems. These strategies are common to the thinking styles of creative geniuses in science, art, and industry throughout history.”

“Over the years I have worked at many client sites and a variety of office layouts. On one project in particular, we had as many as 80 people in a project team, seated via an open plan arrangement. It was pretty difficult trying to stay focused in an environment like this. These days, the projects I’m on are typically smaller, but there are still a number of distractions which frequently interrupt my working groove. So what are some of the things we can do to minimise such interruptions and distractions? Here’s my list of 18 ways to stay focused at work…”

“I’m a law student and am working in a litigation firm this summer. I have been quite disappointed how little energy I have for ‘high’ culture when I get home from work. It’s just so easy to watch Friends! … How can I work, write fiction and consume culture in a workable way? Is the problem the ten hour work day? I’m interested to hear about your schedule and your thoughts on overcoming a (hated) tendency towards passivity.”

“Tim Bray posts that an answer to a tough technical problem came while mowing his lawn. I don’t have a lawn any more, but when I did, I often did my best thinking while mowing.”

“How to do smart software development even when facing impossible schedules? Say you’re the lead developer on a small, five-person team. You’ve been working for weeks on a project, and the team is just starting to jell. Your team members range in experience from a senior architect to a junior programmer just out of school. Then your boss calls you in and tells you the senior vice president was just on the phone chewing him out, and he wants your project done yesterday.”

“Each of us have our busy lives and in this world of constant distractions, how can we stay focused on our goals? This article discusses several techniques I have found to work. For me, there are always several things constantly competing for my time — articles to write, business opportunities to explore, links to follow up, my daily work, personal commitments etc. In my experience whenever I try to work on many things at the same time, none of them actually gets done. In response, I’ve incorporated the following techniques for staying focused into my work patterns…”

“In Merlin’s latest 43 Folders podcast, The Perfect Apostrophe, he tells the story of the book he almost wrote. You should go listen to it - Merlin’s a stitch, as always. For the uninitiated, 43 Folders is a ‘Getting Things Done’ blog about how to be more organized in business and life. When he and a colleague were invited to write a book about personal productivity, it was like a dream come true for Merlin. I’ll let him tell you the story about what happened next, but suffice to say, the book never happened. The productivity expert procrastinated himself out of his own book.”

“In my experience, projects must; actively involve all the group members, have excellent communication and access to project information, have a shared desired outcome, have specific dates for completion of tasks, and have all the required tools (when needed) in order to finish. If there is no enthusiasm in the group, your project is dead or doomed to be incredibly dull and tedious.”

“Bill Westerman has joined the back-to-paper movement. Here are a couple of Bill’s ingenous methods for managing his time and to-do lists in his notebook.”