Organize IT

The whole idea of work/life balance has been a big issue for quite a few years now. As we become more embroiled in work and businesses demand more and more from us, it increasingly encroaches on our personal time. It’s no wonder the popularity of personal productivity and time management has soared. But how do you actually create this work/life balance?

I recently came across this quite inspiring video by Honda as part of their Dream The Impossible series. It covers their various failures over the years and how they used the lessons learned to ultimately become a better company and produce better vehicles and engines. Considering this week has been all about not fearing mistakes, I thought it was rather appropriate. What do you think?

One of my favorite shows ever has to be House. Such is my love for the man that is Gregory House M.D. that when the fifth series finally started here in the UK last week, I went all fanboy-ish. Last year I wrote four life lesson you could learn from him. Unlike certain new shows that shall remain nameless, he doesn’t come across as (almost) flawless. On top of liking his painkillers, being anti-social and arrogant, he also gets it wrong more often than not. It’s easy to forget this fact, but in the process of curing his patients every week, he probably mis-diagnoses a good 90% of the time. But he’s not afraid to do it.

Productivity has long since moved on from being about to-do lists and GTD to being almost a way of living. Basically, it’s about being organized, systematic and efficient in what you do and how you live, whether that be with coping when you feel down or – in the case of this post – learning from and resolving mistakes. I’ve often found that I learn more from getting something wrong than from anything a textbook or a bunch of lectures can give me. So why not apply a productive mindset to the experience and make the most of it? Below I’ve detailed my five steps to dealing with mistakes the productive way. Love to read your thoughts on this one!

One of the highlights this month has been my guest post over at Twitip. I got my first 1000 followers on Twitter recently so social media is (finally) becoming something I pay attention to. If you are interested in how I manage my Twitter account, it’s worth checking out my previous post. The tips can be used for any social media site (Facebook, Digg, Stumbleupon) so that it doesn’t become one massive time vacuum. Anyways, onto the highlights of May. Have a good month!