iOS productivity

I absolutely love my Macbook Air with OS X. I flip up the lid, type in my password, and within seconds I'm working. No waiting for the device to spin up out of hibernation.

But I'm beginning to think that I get more concentrated work when I'm using iOS on the iPad or iPhone. Whatever I'm working on takes up the whole of the screen automatically. So I focus more easily without the distractions of a Twitter feed in the corner of the desktop, or a notification badge for another email to read, or a browser tab just a click away...

We no longer 'just' watch TV. We always have a second, or a third, screen to hand. On the one hand I convince myself that I am able to multi-task; on the other I fret that my ability to concentrate on a single task without distractions is diminishing.

So, Macbook's going to sleep for the rest of the day. I'm going to do everything I need to do today from the iPad and see just what impact that has on my concentration on the matter at hand.
Get more like this

Lean Startups: Attitude

A friend of mine asked for some war stories of entrepreneurship over a couple of beers.

My best advice was to point him in the direction of Eric Ries super book, almost a manual, certainly a must-read ... The Lean Startup.

At its heart, though, my experience is one of focusing on a few simple principles:

In addition to the necessary and sufficient test, and turning Weaknesses into Strengths, we actively use our geography to help us. And it's really all about having the right attitude.

We can see problems as obstacles, or as hurdles to be overcome. I no longer expect problems to disappear, but to change and be replaced by new things. Provided that the challenges are changing then, crudely, we're making progress!

Get more like this