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The Over-Engaged Knowledge Worker

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Re: The Over-Engaged Knowledge Worker

#21

Post by ehnto »

harryf wrote: post #8
ColinWright wrote: post #2

Could someone more familiar with the subject and vernacular provide some sort of summary of what this is trying to say? I've read it two or three times and I still can't work out the point being made. If any.

So to me it made some sense. Putting it in my own terms, he argues knowledge workers are _by default_ overloaded and they use distractions as a necessary form of relief from the pressure - the distractions aren't the problem, they're a symptom. Right now we're too focused on tools and strategies to make us "more efficient", block distractions and promote collaboration. Instead we should focus on reducing the mental d…

Minimizing context switches has been my angle after I burnt out. I automate things that take me out of context and use every last feature of my IDE to make sure I don't have to alt tab all over the place. Terminal, database, docs and code is all in my IDE. It feels more like sitting down at a specialized workstation than a general computer and it keeps me focussed and in flow. Not only is that a less stressful state of mind to work from, it also means I ultimately spend less time in work mode and I can cleanly delineate work from not-work.

Re: The Over-Engaged Knowledge Worker

#22

Post by 6nf »

philipodonnell wrote: post #15
harryf wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So to me it made some sense. Putting it in my own terms, he argues knowledge workers are _by default_ overloaded and they use distractions as a necessary form of relief from the pressure - the distractions aren't the problem, they're a symptom. Right now we're too focused on tools and strategies to make us "more efficient", block distractions and promote collaboration. Instead we should focus on reducing the mental d…

Can chrome or Firefox do an "exit but save all my tabs"? I find myself force closing Chrome because I can use the recover tabs when I come back.

Chrome is easy. Just hit X to close it normally, and then on re-launching:

menu -> history -> recently closed -> XX tabs

It will open all the tabs you had going when you closed.

Re: The Over-Engaged Knowledge Worker

#23

Post by pcblues »

ehnto wrote: post #21
harryf wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So to me it made some sense. Putting it in my own terms, he argues knowledge workers are _by default_ overloaded and they use distractions as a necessary form of relief from the pressure - the distractions aren't the problem, they're a symptom. Right now we're too focused on tools and strategies to make us "more efficient", block distractions and promote collaboration. Instead we should focus on reducing the mental d…

Minimizing context switches has been my angle after I burnt out. I automate things that take me out of context and use every last feature of my IDE to make sure I don't have to alt tab all over the place. Terminal, database, docs and code is all in my IDE. It feels more like sitting down at a specialized workstation than a general computer and it keeps me focussed and in flow. Not only is that a less stressful state…

I minimise the impact of unexpected context switches by keeping a running log what I am doing or should do next in a document for each project. It might seem like a waste of time but I can safely mentally let the whole current context go when I am interrupted for an urgent job and I don't have to keep a stack of contexts in my head at once. It is especially useful in getting back up to speed in a context that had to be ignored for a week or more.

Re: The Over-Engaged Knowledge Worker

#24

Post by ct520 »

pcblues wrote: post #23
ehnto wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Minimizing context switches has been my angle after I burnt out. I automate things that take me out of context and use every last feature of my IDE to make sure I don't have to alt tab all over the place. Terminal, database, docs and code is all in my IDE. It feels more like sitting down at a specialized workstation than a general computer and it keeps me focussed and in flow. Not only is that a less stressful state…

I minimise the impact of unexpected context switches by keeping a running log what I am doing or should do next in a document for each project. It might seem like a waste of time but I can safely mentally let the whole current context go when I am interrupted for an urgent job and I don't have to keep a stack of contexts in my head at once. It is especially useful in getting back up to speed in a context that had to…

I use the same practice and it greatly aids in reducing the congnitive energy required for context switching etc.

Re: The Over-Engaged Knowledge Worker

#25

Post by jungler »

ehnto wrote: post #21
harryf wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So to me it made some sense. Putting it in my own terms, he argues knowledge workers are _by default_ overloaded and they use distractions as a necessary form of relief from the pressure - the distractions aren't the problem, they're a symptom. Right now we're too focused on tools and strategies to make us "more efficient", block distractions and promote collaboration. Instead we should focus on reducing the mental d…

Minimizing context switches has been my angle after I burnt out. I automate things that take me out of context and use every last feature of my IDE to make sure I don't have to alt tab all over the place. Terminal, database, docs and code is all in my IDE. It feels more like sitting down at a specialized workstation than a general computer and it keeps me focussed and in flow. Not only is that a less stressful state…

I'm moving towards an approach of batch processing more things. What this means in practice is that more of my tasks use limited interactivity - e.g. "draft and redraft" vs "draft and edit". This has the effect of the "yes and" in improv, where I make errors but have to keep going regardless. Working within that mode also means that I can activate on a reflexive, pre-flow state level where I flex the project-management muscles, not the problem-solving muscles. Flow means I am challenging myself, and with so many years of experience, challenging myself means that I am overcomplicating it.

As well, I'm more likely to treat looking up docs as a research project where I copy relevant snippets of the text into one place for easier reference.

I'm still unhappy with a lot of aspects of how I code, but most of it isn't on the end of the day-to-day editing, but rather things like, "oh, I switched languages again - time to relearn the string library".

Re: The Over-Engaged Knowledge Worker

#26

Post by jlelonm »

ehnto wrote: post #21
harryf wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So to me it made some sense. Putting it in my own terms, he argues knowledge workers are _by default_ overloaded and they use distractions as a necessary form of relief from the pressure - the distractions aren't the problem, they're a symptom. Right now we're too focused on tools and strategies to make us "more efficient", block distractions and promote collaboration. Instead we should focus on reducing the mental d…

Minimizing context switches has been my angle after I burnt out. I automate things that take me out of context and use every last feature of my IDE to make sure I don't have to alt tab all over the place. Terminal, database, docs and code is all in my IDE. It feels more like sitting down at a specialized workstation than a general computer and it keeps me focussed and in flow. Not only is that a less stressful state…

> every last feature of my IDE to make sure I don't have to alt tab all over the place. Terminal, database, docs and code is all in my IDE

Which IDE is this?

Re: The Over-Engaged Knowledge Worker

#27

Post by cortesoft »

philipodonnell wrote: post #15
harryf wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So to me it made some sense. Putting it in my own terms, he argues knowledge workers are _by default_ overloaded and they use distractions as a necessary form of relief from the pressure - the distractions aren't the problem, they're a symptom. Right now we're too focused on tools and strategies to make us "more efficient", block distractions and promote collaboration. Instead we should focus on reducing the mental d…

Can chrome or Firefox do an "exit but save all my tabs"? I find myself force closing Chrome because I can use the recover tabs when I come back.

You can do "restore previous session" from the hamburger menu the next time you start up, even if you don't force close.

Re: The Over-Engaged Knowledge Worker

#28

Post by rfrey »

jlelonm wrote: post #26
ehnto wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Minimizing context switches has been my angle after I burnt out. I automate things that take me out of context and use every last feature of my IDE to make sure I don't have to alt tab all over the place. Terminal, database, docs and code is all in my IDE. It feels more like sitting down at a specialized workstation than a general computer and it keeps me focussed and in flow. Not only is that a less stressful state…

> every last feature of my IDE to make sure I don't have to alt tab all over the place. Terminal, database, docs and code is all in my IDE Which IDE is this?

Let me introduce you to the song of the Emacs People.

Re: The Over-Engaged Knowledge Worker

#30

Post by masonic »

6nf wrote: post #22
philipodonnell wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can chrome or Firefox do an "exit but save all my tabs"? I find myself force closing Chrome because I can use the recover tabs when I come back.

Chrome is easy. Just hit X to close it normally, and then on re-launching: menu -> history -> recently closed -> XX tabs It will open all the tabs you had going when you closed.

Unless incognito mode was used.
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