Tag: Intent

Replied to Do you really know how you use your time? by Oliver Quinlan (Oliver’s Newsletter)

The clearer the understanding we all have of how we are spending our time, the more intentional we can be about this.

Another interesting piece Oliver. I always cringe when people are asked in meetings to provide an estimate about how long something will take or how much time they have spent on a particular task. I always feel like we over / under estimate such situations, especially if there is not a requirement to bill the hours.

Working in a role where I wear multiple hats, support, development and testing I really struggle to keep track of where my time goes. I wonder if the challenge is not only being aware, but also being in control of your time? I think this goes for both home and work.

I’ve read things like Cal Newport’s piece on getting things done and tried things like batching emails and responses. The problem I have every time I try such strategies is to get others onboard.

I am left with a question, how much of time is a shared resource? As you suggest, maybe I need to have a go a logging my hours.

Liked It’s Not About Intention, It’s About Action – RyanHoliday.net (RyanHoliday.net)

A Stoic is able to think positively because they know they can create positive outcomes with their actions. A Stoic isn’t afraid to think negatively either, because these thoughts help shape the actions they’re going to take (again, to create a positive outcome). They don’t wait for The Universe to line up perfectly with their vibrations and visualizations. They get moving. They assert agency. Action by action, Marcus said, no one can stop you from that.

Replied to Picking a Noticing Pattern: I’ve Logged 469 Photos of 106’s (CogDogBlog)

So it’s been 7 and a half years since that first 106 photo and I find, when I’m out, my secondary senses are usually noticing signs and addresses and license plates, as my brain seems tuned into looking for that pattern.

I will never forget walking the streets with you Alan when you were in Melbourne. All the sudden it occurred to me that you were counting. It wasn’t that you were on the hunt, but rather you seemed opened to the opportunity:


“A House of DS106” by cogdogblog is licensed under CC0

What it made me realise was how much I take for granted. I really like your idea of picking something to notice.

I had a similar experience with Amy Burvall, who stopped mid-conversation to capture a unicorn caught in the concrete.

Bookmarked The 7 Habits: Begin With the End in Mind | The Art of Manliness by Brett and Kate McKay (The Art of Manliness)

Instead of thinking of mission statements as just a list of ideals, Covey suggests thinking of them like a constitution for a government. Back in my law school days when I wrote legal memos for attorneys, I’d have to lay out the law that governed the case I was writing about. Every time I did so, I had to make, at least in passing, a reference to the U.S. Constitution because the Constitution is the source of all law in the United States. Even if it was a state issue, I referenced the U.S. Constitution (Article 10, baby). With every legal decision, I turned to the Constitution first.

Brett and Kate McKay discuss Covey’s habit of ‘Starting with the end in mind’ and what this might mean for the individual.

They map out three steps to creating your own mission statements:

  • Step 1: Block off uninterrupted time
  • Step 2: Prioritize your roles in life
  • Step 3: Define the purpose of each role

The authors explain that this is about process as much as it is about product. For me it is about intent.

This is a useful resource alongside Adrian Camm’s steps to developing a learning vision.

Bookmarked Researching Your Own Practice: The Discipline of Noticing by CEM (eDirector's News)

One of the key ideas in Mason’s book involves the pitfalls of teachers acting by routine only. Professionals become professionals, he acknowledges, by developing perceptions and skills, and by ‘routinising’ them. But Mason says that routines also deaden us. When things seem familiar and we react according to pattern or habit, we may not really be seeing what’s there. That means that we may not be doing as well as we might. The art of noticing is to keep open to new perceptions while standing on the base of skills, routines, and knowledge that enables us to function as well as we do. The discipline of noticing is to keep such noticing productive, and this is at the core of Mason’s agenda.

A short summary of Researching Your Own Practice: The Discipline of Noticing by John Mason