Kyle del.icio.us’ed me this article and I really dug it. Work has been really crazy lately - we’ve been ramping up development efforts so both coding and project management needs have increased.

Have you ever asked yourself the question: “Am I busy or productive?”. I’ve been asking myself that lately. Sometimes, less is definitely more. In the Agile Software world, there’s this whole idea of sustainable pace.

How productive are you as a developer after 60 hour workweeks and a lack of sleep? Every good developer should know when quitting is actually more productive than staying busy. If you’re burning the midnight oil and making frequent mistakes give these ideas some thought:

• Am I introducing flawed code that is going to haunt me later?
• If I’m observing many mistakes that I’m making, is it possible there’s many more I’m not realizing?
• Am I really contributing to burndown/velocity effectively?

Know when to quit! Your team members and your supervisors will thank you.

I use Remember the Milk for all of my task management activities. It’s a great help to anyone that is looking to implement David Allen’s GTD System. The application is extremely useful. Once you get a handle on all the accesskeys (shortcut keys), you can manage the system very efficiently.

I love the application because of how fast you can maneuver through it. It has mobile/PDA support as well!

The developers at Remember the Milk continue to impress. They launched a tool that allows you to integrate with Google Calendar. It’s like two of my favorite online tools coming together. Read their blog to find out more.

I’ve absolutely fallen in love with Podcasts. Here’s why: I spend a lot of time on the road and I feel like driving is an absolute waste of valuable time. My good friend and I were planning a road trip for the weekend so I scoured the net for some decent podcasts. I’ve posted my favorites here. The six hour round trip was spent learning about project management and entrepreneurial subject matter. I came home from the trip extremely excited to put some of that knowledge to work. There’s so much free information on the web. Apple has a great getting started guide on how to tap into these resources.

If you haven’t learned it yet, you’ll quickly find that as an entrepreneur your time is a valuable commodity. If you have a passion for learning and you spend a lot of time on the road, I highly recommend using ITunes and your MP3 Player to listen to podcasts while driving.

I’m a huge fan of Lifehacker. They keep their content fresh, and it’s always interesting and helpful content. They recently mentioned a program called AntiRSI - it’s basically an egg timer on your computer that tells you when you need to take a break. It doesn’t let you cheat, either - if you move your mouse or type at all, it will reset the timer until the Mac is idle for the given time. After using it for a week, I can honestly say that I’m more focused, comfortable, and energized when I’m at my computer now. I highly suggest the download if you’re a Mac user (if you’re not - seriously, get with the program! ).

It’s important to take regular breaks when you’re a heavy computer user. This program will help you stay disciplined. Don’t neglect your health or your eyes - download this program (link below).

References

• Lifehacker Article
• AntiRSI
• Wikipedia on RSI

Ever feel like there’s not enough time in the day? From previous endeavors, I’ve learned that you simply can’t commit to something if you don’t have the time. I found that creating a time budget was a great way to determine how many hours a week that I can devote to developing my business.

Be realistic! It’s better even to ide on the side of pessimism. Bear in mind your primary objectives: do you want to prioritize your familiy? Your career? The key is to try to make sure your allocation of time matches up with how you want to spend it! For example, I spend 42.5 hours per week on a job does not contribute to my long term goals. This exercise told me I need to take steps to reduce time at work so that I can spend those hours on developing my business. All in all, it puts things into perspective. There is enough time in the day - so long as you’re spending it wisely.

I’ve attached my spreadsheet to help you get started.  Good luck!

Time Budget Worksheet