Scott Hanselman

Hanselminutes Podcast 268 - Personal Systems of Organization - Rey Bango interviews Scott Hanselman

May 31, 2011 Comment on this post [16] Posted in Musings | Podcast
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When life gives you lemons, organize your closet and install a valet hook   Tables turned this week and Rey Bango interviews Scott on his personal systems of organization. How has Scott synthesized the systems of Stephen Covey, David Allen, J.D. Meier and the Pomodoro Technique into a living system that works for him.

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About Scott

Scott Hanselman is a former professor, former Chief Architect in finance, now speaker, consultant, father, diabetic, and Microsoft employee. He is a failed stand-up comic, a cornrower, and a book author.

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May 31, 2011 8:15
This was one of your best, Scott, in the sense of direct practical benefit. And not only to developers. Thanks!
May 31, 2011 11:39
Thank you! One of the best shows!
May 31, 2011 18:51
Thanks for your insights. I'm going to try some of your ideas this week.
So why did you change from Evernote to OneNote?
May 31, 2011 21:00
Great show! Thought you'd find this article interesting, not often you see a productivity tip that involves buying a used caravan. :)

http://jacquesmattheij.com/productivity+tips+for+the+easily+distracted
May 31, 2011 21:40
I switched from OneNote after the OneNote for iPhone application came out. I was consistently frustrated with Evernote's lack of formatting flexibility. It basically does lists, while OneNote is more freeform. Once I could put my OneNote in the cloud and sync to all my machines, plus my iPhone, I was sold on OneNote.
June 02, 2011 0:25
Thank you for the great show ... Exactly what I was looking for. So many good systems out there ... so many ways to configure them ... too many choices :-P
June 02, 2011 9:09
Scott,
Thanks for the great show! I'm always trying to find the right organization method for me. Guess I need to do more of a cafeteria approach until I find what works for me.
I was talking to a buddy of mine about your "two aspects" of organization 1) GTD aspect, and 2) "capturing stuff" aspect. He pointed me to a recent blog article with a pretty harsh critique of GTD. Just wondering what you think of GTD?
I'm new to your podcast, so I'm not sure if it's OK to share links, but here's the blog: http://bit.ly/l55zfR
-Rick
PS - thanks for the story about the space pen vs. the pencil. Definitely one I'm going to retell!
June 03, 2011 2:23
Scott, I have started using the pomodoro technique and am about to buy an egg timer. but do you really have an egg timer clicking away at your desk?
also i had to get a space pen, i forgot about those. thanks. :)
June 03, 2011 8:09
Scott, Just to let you know that the Russians never used pencils in space, the graphite would have splintered and caused havoc. Good show though!
June 05, 2011 1:09
According to NASA history page, NASA did not develop or spent insane amount of money for space pens. And on first mission astronauts used pencils, while cosmonauts used grease pencils.
But strangely I've never heard this story/joke before. But loved it none the less. Thanks for great podcast!
June 06, 2011 23:29
Yes, it's true. The Russian Pencil is a lie. :(
June 06, 2011 23:30
Ty - I use my Phone's timer. There are apps also, some of which tick, some don't.
June 07, 2011 22:14
Well I started using Focus Booster (http://www.focusboosterapp.com/) after listening one of your earlier podcast.

It helps a lot. Great.
June 10, 2011 17:43
Thank you, this was an excellent show. A lot of great practical advice.
July 09, 2011 23:06
This was a great show and something I've been needing to work lately.

I definitely relate to the feeling of burning a day and feeling like I didn't get anything done. Sometimes I'll go back through my sent emails or commit log and see I did get some stuff done, but it was so disorganized that it didn't feel like it amounted to much by the end of the day.
July 10, 2011 22:16
Very nice show. I wonder if questions were made up personally by You, Scott :)

It's good to know that even people like You have some procrastination and blame-myself moments. And it's very good to know that you combine several techniques (Covey's, GTD, Pomodoro, ...) into one working for You. That would be also my guess. I'm working on mixing several techniques right now.

Many thanks for this show and wish you many successes in getting important things done/delivered :)

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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed herein are my own personal opinions and do not represent my employer's view in any way.