"There are two types of schedule," he writes at paulgraham.com, "which I'll call the manager's schedule and the maker's schedule. The manager's schedule is for bosses. It's embodied in the traditional appointment book, with each day cut into one-hour intervals. You can block off several hours for a single task if you need to, but by default you change what you're doing every hour.

"When you use time that way, it's merely a practical problem to meet with someone. Find an open slot in your schedule, book them, and you're done . . . But there's another way of using time that's common among people who make things, like programmers and writers. They generally prefer to use time in units of half a day at least. You can't write or program well in units of an hour. That's barely enough time to get started. When you're operating on the maker's schedule, meetings are a disaster. A single meeting can blow a whole afternoon, by breaking it into two pieces each too small to do anything hard in."

Each type of schedule works well enough on its own, Graham says. "Problems arise when they meet. Since most powerful people operate on the manager's schedule, they're in a position to make everyone resonate at their frequency if they want to."

The rest of the article is also worth reading, but these 3 paragraphs are exactly what I've seen myself struggling with recently, especially when I've been attempting to do both a management (day to day line management and team management) and a making role (active development on my current project) at the same time. I've taken to blocking out entire afternoons to enable me to get on with "making". This article has given me the justification to continue doing that and I might just try and block book all afternoons to see what I can achieve without meetings cropping up here and there.

 

 

While I'm on vacation, here's a guest post by John Hersey. I'll bet the title at least got your attention.

Many, women and men, believe they can’t. Equally, many have experienced failure while trying, but there is indeed a way for women leaders to be successful and happy.

The question is: What makes women happy? A team of researchers spent five years looking for the answer to this question. After this time, they discovered why successful women are as much excellent professionals as excellent in life.

They talked to more than one hundred extraordinary women worldwide who have managed to uphold happy families and also leadership careers in every kind of field, from orchestra conducting to espionage, and who state that they are deeply satisfied with the choices they have made.

Based on their research, the team discovered 3 practices that these women follow that, when combined, become a winning formula, and are all aspects that we can control:

1. They have a passion
One of the most important characteristics the researchers found is that these women are prominent because they are doing something they see as significant.

Some women simply know what makes them happy and chase after it since they are very young, like a Nigerian lawyer who was inspired by a TV show when she was a child and didn’t stop until she was able to establish her own law firm. For others, the road towards the discovery of what makes them happy sets them free to find passion in new ways, like a consultant who dumped a profitable career her parents had chosen for her to follow her dream of making movies.

Finding their passion gave these women the strength to turn into individuals that make things happen, instead of waiting for others to decide about their lives. Being able to do this fills you with a kind of energy that moves from work to home and vice versa, making everything right, and rewarding.

2. They see obstacles as opportunities
These women are realistic, they are able to analyze the evidence and act accordingly. Women are very often labeled as emotional extremists, vulnerable to feelings of failure when confronted with problems, but it is possible to turn things around consciously and take care of any issue for what it is.

3. They bond with others
Being emotional is, in fact, a strength of successful women. Women leaders are able to bond with people, and through these deep relationships, they get a feeling of being in the right place. By acknowledging the individuals around them, they are able to boost and speed up their personal growth.

The research showed that women who follow these practices are happier and more successful in their jobs, as leaders, and in their lives.

Every company should be aiming to get and keep these women leaders; they are strongly capable of steering leadership performance and action by creating meaning and might, by outlining circumstances to find the best way out, by channeling the force of comprehensiveness and total commitment, and by dynamically directing energy flows.

These women are powerful and happy because they assumed control of their lives, and anyone can do the same, regardless of ambiguity, chance, or any stress they may be experiencing.

John Hersey
John Hersey is a successful business owner, published author and motivational leadership speaker. John writes one of the most recognized leadership blogs in the business world: http://www.JohnHersey.com/blog

 

 

 

I'm always a bit wary of articles and posts which are gender related, and especially when they're written by someone of the opposite one... However, this is quite interesting to read, especially if you substitute "people" for "women" at appropriate points.

For instance, "Every company should be aiming to get and keep these women leaders" is a great sentiment, but surely "Every company should be aiming to get and keep these great leaders" would be better? Or maybe even, "Every company should be aiming to identify, develop and keep these great leaders" - allowing for the home-grown talent to be spotted, and shaped (regardless of gender). After all, leadership, like many other skills, is something that should be ever evolving. Certainly on a personal level, my skills in the various elements that make up leadership, change (hopefully for the better) due to external or internal influences - it could be feedback received, it could be a book I've read, a podcast I've listened to, a practice I've seen someone else using to good effect, some training I've received or a blog post read.

None the less, I've just gone off and subscribed to John Hersey's blog as there looks to be some interesting and relevant material there.

We’ve looked at backup solutions for your photos previously, but I’ve recently started exploring the possibility of using Flickr as a way to keep images safely stored off-site. In today’s Quick Tip I’ll be explaining how this works, how much it costs, and how you could retrieve your images if the worst happens!

 

Backing Up To Flickr

Although the main purpose of Flickr is for sharing your images, the online service will also safely store the original file you upload – providing you have a Pro account. This costs $24.95 for one year, removes any upload or storage limits, and lets you save and access very large resolution files.

If you have a very large photo library, the process of uploading your entire catalog of old images is going to take a very long time. There’s no way around this, and it’s the cost of using any off-site type of backup system.

Fortunately, there are various plugins that can help simplify the process – whether you use Lightroom, Aperture, or any other application for managing images:

• Aperture and iPhoto have in-built Flickr integration. Be sure to check the box that asks whether you’d like to upload the original resolution file.
• This plugin is a good solution if you’re an Adobe Lightroom user.
• Alternatively, you can use the Flickr Uploadr to upload large batches of files directly from folders in Mac or Windows.

If the process of uploading your catalog of photos is too much to bear, consider adding it to your workflow for shoots from now onwards. You can always work backwards at a later date if you decide to.

Keep Photos Hidden

Obviously you won’t want your whole catalog of photos on display to the world. You can elect to keep them hidden when uploading, and just share those that you’re particularly proud of.

Downloading All Your Images

If the worst happens and you lose all your local copies (and backups) of your images, it would be a nightmare to go through each image individually on Flickr and download the original. Thankfully, there are various tools that make the restoration process fairly straight-forward:

• Flickr Backup – A free, open source option for downloading all your images.
• Flickrtouchr – A command line utility for those who prefer a geeky, technical solution.
• Flump – A cross-platform, Adobe Air application.

Don’t Rely on One Solution

Although Flickr seems like a very reliable web service, it would be foolish to rely solely on an online system for backup purposes. In all likelihood, your data is far safer on Flickr’s servers than it would be locally, but it pays to keep your own backup too.

The beauty with this solution is that it’s a very inexpensive way to keep all your photos stored off-site. It removes the headache of rotating hard drives between two locations, and is very cost effective (I imagine many of you already have a Flickr Pro account!)

I’d love to hear what other solutions you use for off-site backup. Feel free to share in the comments!

 

As I've mentioned before I've been using flickr as part of my off-site backup strategy for a couple of years now - if you haven't considered using flickr this way, this article might give you a few tools etc to use to upload, or even download, your images.

Trust me – this is photography-related. I went to a writer’s conference last month. I was there to support a friend. The conference featured several very famous authors who gave readings from their published works. They also taught workshops, discussing technique and craft.

There were many similarities between the writer’s workshop and several photography workshops I’ve attended or spoken at.

There was one very big difference. During the question and answer period where the attendees could ask these famous authors any question they like, nobody asked….

“What Brand of Pen Do You Write With?”

_______________________________________
This post sponsored by Ray Flash – Ring Flash Adapter

A great observation, retweeted by Neil Ford this morning, and a great reminder to look for the beauty, art, colours and composition and not get bogged town in the equipment!

This is the second part of a five part series about the little things a leader can do that could make a BIG difference in how they are perceived as leaders.

I have bad news and good news for all of you leaders and aspiring leaders.

You decide which you’d rather read first. Start with the good or jump to the bad and come back.

The Good News:

The ability to listen has been identified in study after study as one of the most important leadership skills – if not THE most important – than any other.

When you listen, you’re seen as a leader that:

 Is trustworthy

 Is patient

 Cares about others

 Is respectful

 Is compassionate

The ability to listen to employees, manager, peers, coworkers, and customers is a core, foundational skill for successful leaders. The ability to listen is key to:

 Developing and maintaining relationships

 Making good decisions

 Solving problems

Now here’s the good news:

Listening is one of the EASIEST leadership skills to learn and apply! We were born with the ability to listen. It’s a natural gift. Most people already know how to listen, and when they choose to, can do it very well.

If you want to listen, but for some reason you really don’t know how, no worries.

All you have to do is keep your mouth shut. Then, listen like the CEO is talking to you. Or like you're on a first date.

If that doesn’t work for you, then there are plenty of books, videos, courses, and blog posts with excellent, proven tips. No need to repeat them all here. With a few tips and a lot of practice, you’ll be astounded with the results.
Talk about little things that will make a BIG difference – what other skill could give a little this kind of return on investment? Give it a try. Sit back and watch your relationships improve – at work and in your personal life.

The Bad News:

Listening is one of the lowest rated leadership skills for executives. It’s an average rated skill for individual contributors and managers, then takes a nose-dive for executives. It’s one of the most common flaws I see on 360 assessments. It’s the number one reason employees think their bosses are jerks.

The botom line: poor listening is a significant contributor to executive derailment (failure).

When you fail to listen, you’re perceived as someone who:

 Is insensitive to the needs of others

 Is arrogant, impatient, or uninterested

 Is dictatorial

 Makes others feel stupid or unintelligent

 Is close-minded

Failure to listen can result in:

 Disastrous decisions

 Mistakes

 Bruised and unproductive relationships (both at work and home)

…..and eventually, if not addressed – you’ll go down in flames.

If you’re seen as a bad listener, in most cases, it’s because you’re making a CHOICE not to listen. To be blunt, you’ve gotten so full of yourself (due to your success), that you don’t have the interest or patience in what most people are saying.

If you don’t believe me, try asking for feedback. Ask the people in your life that matter to you how well you listen - and what it means to them when you don't. If this little scolding has already caused you to see the light, then go back to the good news. There’s hope for you. Good luck!

This has been in my reading pile on instapaper for a week or so but I hadn't got around to reading it yet. Then, this morning I had some appraisal training, and listening was one of the areas we covered and tried during an exercise. The exercise was enlightening, and made me appreciate just how important both listening, and choosing the right kind of question to ask, is. So I figured I'd revisit the article and read it with my newly found insight. I nodded my head a lot, so thought I'd make a note of it here for me to come back to and revisit.

 

7 Tips to Better iPhoneography: by Jeremy Edwards

 

Since the birth of my FROM THE POCKET project in late 2009, I have received several emails from fellow iphoneographers - many of which want to know the applications I use for processing, capturing techniques, subject choices, and so on. As we all know, iphoneography is a rapidly growing artisitic medium, and with that, comes the introduction of new artists and iphoneographers alike. The art and design world is slow to accept iphoneography as a true expression of art - however, we are seeing that iphoneographers who are true artists beginning to alter this interpretation. Just like any new form of art, iphoneography needs to grow and establish artistic legitimacy. There are those who simply take pictures with their iPhone, and those who employ the iPhone as an artistic tool.

This article is directed at my fellow and aspiring iphoneographers who want to better their iphoneography experience and artfully improve their images. Below, I have listed 7 simple tips to better your iphoneography. This will not be a source of suggesting applications you should be using to process images, or how you should hold the iPhone, or how to make your images look "more analog". My intentions are to provide artful insight into bettering your iphoneography.

1. Embrace the limitations of the iPhone camera. There's only so much the iPhone camera can do. Become overly familiar with what it can and cannot do from a photographic perspective. Learn how it treats light, shadows, and movement. Just like film or advanced digital photography, do not force the camera to do something it simply cannot do, and then rely on your post-processing to fix it. This is a poor approach to solid photography. The best photography doesn't have to be a product of the best cameras.

2. Commit to your subjects. If you are inspired by a photo-op, commit to it, spend a few seconds assuring that what you capture is what inspired you in the first place. Believe it or not, it's okay to miss opportunities - merely capturing images for the sake of making up for a missed opportunity, does not necessarily equal a beautiful image. Some of my best images came from just standing around and waiting. Find the subjects (i.e. portraits, ordinary, street, landscapes) that inspire you and commit to capturing the perfect moment. Remember, quality is always better than quantity.

3. Fine tune your style of spontaneity. Photographers are infamous for being spontaneous and having "off-the-cuff" personalities. Because the iPhone offers a discrete method of capturing images, it also allows you to be truly spontaneous in ways you've never experienced. For me, my creative capacity relies on having absolutely no barriers to what I can shoot. If you are someone who creates best from having predictable subjects, then stay true to that style of spontaneity.

4. Do not"over-app", or "over-edit" your images. This is probably the most important tip I can offer to any iphoneographer. I could write an entire article on this tip alone. I see hundreds of iphone images a day. Many are wonderfully done, and many are simply junk. Please remember this: just because the iPhone offers you endless applications to edit your images and make them "look better", does not mean you have to use them all. If you take pictures of everything you see with the mindset that your post-app processing will make the image "better" - you're on the wrong path. It's not artful. It's alteration and superficial. Also, the more you edit, the more likely your image will blur and over-pixelate - which leads to poor images that have little aesthetic beauty.

5. Create projects. Try to organize your iphoneography subjects into mini-projects -just as you would do with a professional photography portfolio. This offers creative structure to what you shoot on a daily basis. It's very easy to find yourself shooting everything from coffee cups to sunrises to reflective puddles and everything in between. Your viewers should be able to navigate your portfolio and have a sense of anticipation when it comes to your choice of subjects.

6. Explore the available software and find what works best for you. In my iphoneography "camera bag" - on a daily basis, I only use 4 different applications to post-process. I've made a rule to not spend any more than 10 minutes editing any image. If you have a basket full of choices, the chances are you will over-app and ruin the roots of the image. Learn your favorite applications well and know their limits. Remind yourself of these three things when processing - why did I take this picture? will this app help it or ruin it? and is it really necessary? Don't become a filter photographer.

7. Keep it artful. This is the theme and purpose of this article. Because your iPhone has the capabilities of altering an image a thousand different ways, doesn't mean you forfeit the general rules of artful photography - composition, managing light, focus, and subject choice. What you shoot will always be better than how you shoot it. Your subject should be able to stand on it's own as a piece of photographic art - it's up to you to do it beautifully with artistic integrity.

If you feel this article is helpful, please reblog. Because, in the end, better photography is beneficial to all of us. Your comments and suggestions are welcomed via email.

-Jeremy
[FROM THE POCKET]

As a recent iPhone camera user I found this article interesting and inspiring. Quite a bit of food for thought for me, and interesting that a recurrent theme over a few articles I've read recently is about having a project. I'm still working on defining myself a project for the next few months - this isn't something I've done before so I'm not sure how long to give myself to achieve it. All ideas gratefully received.