SimpleProductivityBlog.com » Out Of The Box

Getting Rid of Ants

LJ — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Since today is a holiday here in the U.S., I’m going to detour from the usual productivity article. Instead, I will tell you of something that happened recently.

I love nature. I take a live-and-let-live approach to it, trying hard not to interfere with the critters that live around my house. I don’t use pesticides so I won’t poison the frogs and lizards, and we don’t put chemicals on our yard that can find their way into the river.

But I draw the line (pun intended, read on) when the wildlife decides to move in with me.

I came downstairs a few evenings ago and noticed movement on one of my kitchen counters. As in dozens of ants crawling. After a predictable fit of heebie-jeebies, I noticed they seemed to be coming from the outlet right above the counter. A closer examination showed that there wasn’t a nest back there, but they were using that as a point of entry.

We’ve fought the battle of the ants for years, and it’s never been this bad. We won’t use an exterminator (see reasons above), and my choices for control are limited indoors because of the fur-beasts that live with us.

I remember reading that ants won’t cross a chalk line. I was desperate, and I took a piece of chalk from my daughter’s chalkboard and drew a solid thick line of chalk around the outlet.

The ants wouldn’t cross the line.

New ones came out of the outlet box, then went back in. The ants on the outside of the box wandered around and tried to find a way, then gave up.

A few swipes with cleaner and paper towel and the ants were gone. Thankfully they haven’t been back. But if they do, you can bet there’s going to be a lot more chalk drawings on my walls and floors.

Photo by gaab22

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Six Ways to Make the Blog More Useful

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

LJ — Mon, 31 May 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Mondays are productivity days at SimpleProductivity blog.

Since today is a holiday in the U.S., I’m going to skip the usual productivity post and let you in on something that really knocked my socks off.

About a month ago, I started hearing about a book. People I respect were reading it and raving. And although my reading taste is a bit non-mainstream, I thought I would give it a try.

Enter The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

It’s a long book, at 608 pages. I was prepared for a fast-paced story. But I wasn’t prepared for the intricate plot threading and the twists and turns. Nor the main character who isn’t that lovable and you end up really being concerned about.

I couldn’t put this book down. So if you’re looking for something to read, go get this book. Now.

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What To Expect As A Consultant

LJ — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Fridays are tip days at SimpleProductivity blog.

I’ve spent most of my career as a software consultant. My job was to go into places and provide expert skills for the project at hand. The skills could range from design to requirements to process improvement to project management to programming.

As a result of being a consultant, I worked in many different spaces for many different companies. I like to think that I did it with minimal fuss and concern to the client, being ever-mindful of how much my idle time was costing them.

Now that I’m a “regular employee” in a place that still has many consultants, I have to shake my head at some of the expectations these new consultants bring to the job. Not only are the expectations unreasonable in some cases, but cause a great deal of ill-will between the consultants, the regular staff, and the support staff. So I decided to put together a list of things that you need to be aware of if you are thinking about making the jump into consulting:

The Client Doesn’t Know You

Before you are at the client site, all the client knows about you is what is on your resume. This may have been “updated” by the people representing you in order to capture a contract. Hopefully you will have had an interview with the client, but your skills still have to be proven.

You may know what you can do, and even if you are a genius, you are going to have to prove that to the client. Don’t expect them to treat you with the respect your skills deserve until you have proven you know what you are doing.

If your skills have been exaggerated, the client will find out. They might have a process in place to catch this; but you need to realize that even if the managers don’t know, your fellow employees will. It pays to be honest and up-front and know what the client is expecting, and whether you have the proven skill set to deliver results.

You Don’t Know the Client

Even if you are a world-class expert in the business of your client, you will not know how the client specifically does business. Don’t assume that your way is best, but take the time to learn what the client does.

One of the best way to alienate your co-workers is to keep saying, “At company X they do such-and-such and it’s the best way.” Sometimes processes were designed for reasons beyond what you may see. Respect that and work with the client without vocalizing judgment.

You Are Not An Employee

Full time employees have certain benefits, both written and unwritten. They may be paid for corporate holidays. They may show up five minutes late without repercussions, or get to learn new technology on the job.

As a consultant, these benefits will not be extended to you. No client is going to pay a consultant for not working on a holiday (that’s why they hire consultants – they don’t have to pay benefits). If your company doesn’t pay you for the holiday, don’t complain to the client.

If you don’t know a skill (especially if you are supposed to know it), don’t expect the client to pay for you to learn it. And if you try to learn something you are supposed to know on the job, it will be noticed.

There are also benefits extended to employees after the employee has proven themselves. At my company, teleworking is allowed if you have proved yourself to be a productive person who does not need constant supervision. Not all employees are allowed to telework; consultants should not expect to be allowed to telework after a single day on the job.

Your Client Might Not Be Ready For You

Of all the clients I worked at, there was only one that was ready for me when I walked in the door. Unpacking a computer or installing software was par for the course. Some clients didn’t even have the project ready to go due to circumstances beyond their control.

If you are greeted with having to unpack a computer on the first day, don’t be a prima donna and expect someone else to set up your working environment for you. If there is no work readily available, learn what you can about the company, their systems and other items applicable to your job.

You Are Not A Superhero

Most consultants are not brought into a place to revolutionize things. Most likely the people you will be working with are competent, and probably don’t need saving. Don’t cause ill-will by always needing to be right or assuming you know the best.

Often consultants are brought in as a set of extra hands to get through things. Many clients I was assigned to used consultants to do maintenance on legacy code instead of working in the new development. If this is the case, don’t whine about what you are asked to do. Companies give new development to their employees because maintenance can be tedious.

Follow the Office Policies

All companies have rules, both formal and informal. Adhere to the dress codes of your client. Respect stated working hours. Don’t install software or hardware without permission. If the company prohibits use of cell phones or personal laptops in the office, adhere to that. Keep common areas clean.

Being a consultant involves looking and acting like an employee without actually being one. There are some definite down-sides when compared with regular employees, but the rates offered consultants generally offset that. If you respect your client and co-workers, you will have a smoother time of things.

Photo by granth

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Simple Productivity (in seventeen syllables)

GuestPost — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 11:00:00 +0000

This is a guest post by Rich @Haiku-It! Haiku-It! – where less is more. Applying the limiting structure of haiku to modern life; keeping it short, simple, and to the point.
If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here.

Focus essential,
eliminate distractions,
realistic goals.

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Followup to Weather Applications

LJ — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 20:34:39 +0000

Some of you might have wondered at my last article, and my concern about the weather. It has proved to be very handy in the last 24 hours.

You see, I live in an area of the United States that doesn’t get snow. Our major weather events are nor’easters and hurricanes. But no real snow — at most we may get a dusting. So no one is prepared for it. No one can drive in it, and at the hint of snow people stock up on food like they’re going to be stranded for months.

So when the weather alert came through yesterday, I kind of blew it off…after all, they promised us 9 inches of snow for inauguration day in 2009, and we got nothing.

But we got snow.

It’s now sitting at about 8 inches of snow and is being topped with a fresh layer of sleet. The weather application has been updating me regularly.

I was raised on the frozen tudra, I can deal with this. I have appropriate clothing, I own a snow shovel, and I know how to drive on ice. Unfortunately, most people here don’t. Especially the driving part.

Since the county only plows and treats major streets, it’s best if I just stay inside.

Photo by jpctalbot

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Concerto Living

LJ — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 11:00:00 +0000

Wednesdays are simplicity days at SimpleProductivity blog.

I’m a musician, both by training, and often by how I think. My life has a soundtrack, both of music and non-music, and there are a lot of things that I find in music that apply to everyday living. One of those things is concerto living.

Structure of a Concerto

A concerto is a form of music that was popular during the Baroque era (approximately 1600 to 1750 CE; think Bach and sons). It was usually written for a solo instrument with the backing of a group, and usually consisted of three separate parts or movements.

(I find the term “movement” fascinating, because it so aptly describes what music is: an experience the performer and listener go through together, moving through time.)

In a concerto, the movements are generally different speeds, as well as different keys, producing a different type of mood.

Concerto Living

It is helpful to me to remember that my life can be seen like a concerto. There are periods of happy music, mixed with different moods and tempos. Sometimes the music is turbulent, sometimes frantic. Other times it is peaceful and bucolic.

2009 was a slow and calm year for me. Will 2010 show the end of that movement? Or will I continue on in the same slow and pastoral pace and tone?

Photo by wlodi

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Best Books I Read In 2009

LJ — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 11:00:00 +0000

Guess what? I don’t spend all of my free time reading productivity books. In fact, 2009 was a banner year for reading fiction.

Usually I stick to the same sort of books every time. I like cozy mysteries, or the classics. But this year I branched out a bit, and came across four new authors and their books which were the best I read in 2009:

The Other Boleyn Girl

If you saw the movie, consider reading the real story. The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory, talks about Mary Boleyn, and how she escaped her families machinations and was the only one to survive. It is a gripping tale, an excellent work of historical fiction. Ms. Gregory’s other books, which I rapidly devoured soon afterward, are also very good.

Murder with Peacocks

Take a situation that makes most people insane – a wedding – multiply it by three and add in a few corpses and a wacky family. There’s the premise for the first Meg Lanslow mystery, Murder with Peacocks by Donna Andrews. It left me guessing until the very end, because the corpse was someone everyone had it in for.

You Can Heal Your Life

I had never heard of Louise Hay before a guide asked me to read anything by her to get back in the right mindspace for writing and creating. I picked up You Can Heal Your Life at the library, and then went out and bought it. It’s a beautiful book — beautiful in the sense of the book itself is a work of art with all the illustrations. It might be a bit “woo-woo” for some, but I have found some truth and comfort in its pages during a particularly challenging time.

Juicy Pens, Thirsty Paper

Another new-to-me-author, SARK (yes, that’s really how you request her books), jumped out at me when I was looking for books on simplification on day at the bookstore. The book Juicy Pens, Thirsty Paper: Gifting the World with Your Words and Stories, and Creating the Time and Energy to Actually Do It caught my eye not only because of its color, but also because of the subtitle. Who wouldn’t want to have more time and energy to gift the world with creativity? This book is also beautiful, decorated with wonderful artwork that makes it a treat to pick up.

Crazy Aunt Purl’s Drunk, Divorced and Covered in Cat Hair

Laurie Perry writes a blog as Crazy Aunt Purl, part knitting, part fun. Crazy Aunt Purl’s Drunk, Divorced, and Covered in Cat Hair: The True-Life Misadventures of a 30-Something Who Learned to Knit After He Split tells the story, as only Laurie Perry can do, of a 30-something woman suddenly on her own with four cats. She takes up knitting to save her sanity. This isn’t for everyone, but had me laughing out loud many times, and there were some great patterns at the back.

John Buchan

I have to throw in a plug for a favorite author, John Buchan. I’ve read his The Thirty-Nine Steps several times (again, if you’ve seen the Hitchcock movie, read the book. It’s much better). But this year I read the other books in the Richard Hannay series as well: Greenmantle, Mr.Standfast, and The Three Hostages. These books kept me on the edge of my seat for many days.

What were your favorite books?

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Sunday Rant: Does The Character of Authors Matter?

LJ — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 17:20:45 +0000

I’ve gotten involved in a discussion over at a group about productivity in response to a question about an author’s ethics. The person asking the question was planning on getting the book, but found a review that made him raise questions. I answered with a specific example of what I found unethical in the book, and the response was over the top, leaving me rather scorched.

So my question is, does the character of authors matter?

I think it does. If an author is presenting himself as an expert on a situation, shouldn’t he be blameless? After all, would you really want to get how-to-grow-wealth advice from a book by Bernie Madoff? Sure, he made a lot of money, but look how he did it.

Same with the author in question, Tim Ferriss. Here is the passage that turned me off:

“I won by reading the rules and looking for loopholes, of which there were two:

1. Weigh ins were the day prior to the competition. Using dehydration techniques….I lost 28 pounds in 18 hours, weighed in at 165, and then hyperhydrated back to 193 pounds. It’s hard to fight someone from three weight classes above you. Poor little guys.

2. There was a technicality in the fine print: …I decided to use this
technicality as my single technique and just push people off.”

Why is this bad? When this situation happens at my daughter’s school, for instance…a child who weighs more than another child and pushes them around to get what they want…it’s called BULLYING.

Do I really want to take lock, stock and barrel advice from someone who bullies? No, not really. His credibility was shot. I read the rest of the book, reviewed it (Book Review: The 4 Hour Work Week), and thoroughly examined what he had to say. But it was all colored by that passage.

Yes, I’m interested in working less. Who isn’t? But I won’t do it by crossing the boundaries of what I consider right conduct.

So to bring this back around. Does the character of an author matter? I think it does. Credibility and respect are intangible things, and once lost, regardless of how worthy the message, the value of the message is diminished.

So I’ll pass this over to you. What do you think?

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Getting back to exercise: the obvious

LJ — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:00:00 +0000

I’ve slacked off on exercising.

The sad part is that I have a whole list of excuses why I can’t exercise. During the summer it was because it was too hot, or I didn’t have time before work. Since school started, I’ve been walking after I get my daughter on the bus, but I skipped it if it were raining.

We’ve had a lot of rain lately.

So when I was talking about this to my husband, he asked when the last time I used the Wii Fit was.

Talk about obvious!

But I hadn’t considered it, because in my mind, the Wii was something I did in the evenings, or first thing in the morning. I never considered that I could use it during my walking time on rainy days.

One more excuse, down the drain…

Photo by ColKorn1982

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Quick and Easy Apple Desserts

LJ — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 11:00:00 +0000

Fridays are tip days at SimpleProductivity blog.

Fall is a time for apples, and the apple market is glutted this year. Here are four of my favorite simple desserts using apples:

Apples And Cinnamon

This is a good lunch “dessert” for my daughter. Take an apple and slice it up, then sprinkle it with cinnamon. The cinnamon makes it taste like apple pie, and hides any oxidation (browning) on the cut apple at lunch time.

Bananas and Apples With Honey

A great, healthy and quick dessert takes sliced apples and sliced bananas in a bowl, with a small drizzle of honey and an optional sprinkle of cinnamon. Tastes wonderful.

Baked Apples

I don’t do these the way my mother did. I use my microwave. Core your apples and place them in a microwave-safe dish. Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, raisins (or some other small dried fruit) and nuts (I like walnuts) in a bowl. Pack the center of the apple with the mixture and drizzle the whole thing with melted butter, making sure to get some butter in the center. Microwave until the apples are soft, checking every minute. (In my microwave it takes about 7 minutes for 3 apples)

Apple Spice Cake

This one is really easy. Take a spice cake mix, a can of apple pie filling and 2 eggs. Mix it all together and pour into a greased 9×13 pan. Bake at 350F until done (30 to 35 minutes). This cake is really moist and tastes heavenly.

Photo by The Artifex

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