Canion dot Blog

It’s common within Australian business culture for people, when asked the question of ‘How are you going?’, to respond with something along the lines of, ‘I’m really busy’, or ‘flat out’.

This might be a reflexive response to avoid having to provide a more substantive answer, or it may be bluster to hide the fact they are anything but busy. Mostly, I think the response is given in the belief that “busy-ness” implies importance, worth and value. I think this is misguided.

When I hear somebody say they are busy, I tend to interpret it as:

• I don’t know how to delegate, so I’m doing everything myself.
• I’m disorganised and can’t structure my days.
• I’ve failed to prioritise and eliminate extraneous activity.
• I’ve actually got nothing to do, but I don’t want anybody to find out.

Being busy is not a badge of honour. It’s a cry for help. Either you’ve got too much going on, or not nearly enough. Either way, there’s going to be a lack of focus on the projects and activities that really matter, and deliver true value.

Customers don’t pay for busy-ness; they pay for value provided. A customer doesn’t care how much work went into something; they care if it solves their problem.

If you find yourself busy all the time, don’t accept it, and don’t feel good about it. Identify how to eliminate, automate or simplify the tasks that are eating away your days. Gain back some time that can be put to better use, such as long-term planning, blue-sky thinking, or relaxing by the pool.

People are not machines. Our lives should be balanced. Sacrificing some busy time for a chance to pursue enjoyment, self-development, or diversification is a trade worth making. If you’re not busy, these alternative activities will fill your time in productive ways and build knowledge and capability over time. If you’re too busy, rebalancing and jettisoning the things that don’t add value will help you to concentrate on the things that matter.

One of the joys of parenting is being exposed to children’s television. Much of it is as you would expect, which is to say, execrable.

A new Australian Show, Bluey, bucks the trend. It successfully encapsulates typical family life within modern Australia.

This article with the show’s creator goes into great detail about what makes the father character particularly great:

Equally refreshing is Bluey’s take on fatherhood. Bandit is a laid-back but resourceful dad who’s heavily involved in the day-to-day childcare. In his home office, he sits on a yoga ball at his desk because, as he explains to Bluey, “I wrecked my back changing your nappies”. From cleaning to washing to school runs, Bandit navigates the drudgery of household life with calm assurance. “He’s actually really competent,” Brumm says. “He’s a good dad.”

A fish kill of this scale from algal bloom is a serious issue.

I give full credit to Jeremy Buckingham for bringing it to our attention in this way.

Sometimes, in meetings, I have to scribble down a non-work-related thought or question to hunt down later just to get it out of my head so I can pay attention to what’s going on in person.

Phil nails the exact problem I have right now, as I trial using The Brain, consider how it fits into my existing usage of DEVONthink Pro, and consider whether I persist with my Wiki.

If the Australian dollar wasn’t so weak against the US dollar right now, I’d probably just purchase The Brain to relieve myself from the cogitation.

Jack Baty is a great member of the Indieweb community. He continually tinkers with online tools and services. His latest experiment is in publishing a wiki - specifically a TiddlyWiki instance he has set up at Rudimentary Lathe.

Jack’s enthusiasm has inspired me to throw up my own wiki to play around with — even though I have a local installation of DEVONthink that does a perfectly fine job of capturing and managing my knowledge and notes.

I didn’t have a super quick and easy way to install TiddlyWiki on my web host, but I did have the option to one-click create a DokuWiki. So I’ve done that and published it at my domain.

After seeing a micro.blog post by Frank McPherson about the Federated Wiki, I took a look at it.

Created by Ward Cunningham, who happens to be the inventor of the original wiki, the Federated Wiki system appears designed with a more fluid, attractive front-end, supported by the concept that each author should host their own content, rather than relying on a central ‘owner’ of the content - who could go away and take your content with them.

I get the ideal, but I find the implementation confusing. Despite its allure, I don’t think this system is for me.

This iOS app, Allowance, is the first application I have seen using the new YNAB API. It’s quite a helpful little app, just bringing front and centre a small selection of budget categories.

Seems I’m not the only one having similar thoughts about Markdown editing, and the place that Ulysses does or does not have in the workflow.

Chuq von Rospach reflects on his own experience.

I also had no idea that Jason Snell had also raised this Markdown obfuscation issue, but now it makes me feel smart.

This is where mental models can help. As in any other area of your life, developing some principles or models that help you see how the world works will give you options for relevant and useful solutions. Mental models are amazing tools that can be applied across our lives. Here are five principle-based models you can apply to almost any family, situation, or child. These are ones I use often, but don’t let this limit you—so many more apply!

From The Farnham Street Blog, a thoughtful look at how the use of mental models can provide a more strategic approach to wrangling those children.

Thirteen per cent of families even had to delay paying a bill or cut back spending on necessities to compensate for children’s purchases.

— ABC News

I am incredibly grateful that my Mum ensured I had financial literacy at a young age. We were poor but that didn’t stop me from learning the value of money. I’ve always been hyper-aware of money management, to the point of risk aversion.

I was also fortunate enough that I didn’t grow up in an era of intangible in-app purchases.