How I like working by way of Merlin Mann
I’ve talked about what I’m looking for in a job, with a greater focus is more on how the organizational culture works and how that meshes with my work style than how the job description reads. I found this video (~35mins, just under 3 time tokens) via a Lifehacker post this morning, and it really speaks to how I work in general, what I’m looking for in an environment in terms of excellent ways people can manage time and communications.
Video feedback highlights:
- Merlin talks about how you can control who has access to your time, how, and by which methods. It’s not impossible magic, it’s about choices you make according to the value you assign to tasks, meetings, interactions, and relationships. I make these choices all the time, by way of who gets access to me via which social networking sites, my status on chat, when I answer emails, and how/when I use in-person/phone communication. Just because I have Piper (my Blackberry) with me at all times doesn’t mean I’m a slave to her; she’s my right-hand gal, and I access her as necessary, not every time she makes a noise.
- Towards the end, Merlin tackles the tough bit of not being the only person who believes in these tenets, and how to figure out how it works in the group work dynamic in bite-sized pieces. I’m looking for a place that either a) already believes in these methods and is open to working through them, or b) willing to be open to experimenting and compromising on how things are done using these methods, where the bargain will work both ways.
- Learn to use tools better. Read Send: The Essential Guide to Email for Office and Home. Have the conversations with people about how you communicate, and don’t assume people use text, email, Twitter, wikis, Facebook, LinkedIn, chat the way that you do. Understand when you should have a conversation with someone, and have it. And be mindful of other people’s time tokens.
