BED-Con '18: Task & Life Management for Nerds

Grocery lists, notes on the fridge, calendar apps – there are infinite ways to organize yourself. Tech-affine people might prefer digital tools, but: Which of them are still useful in case of an *extreme* task overload?
From my personal background (software developer couple with five kids and different hobbies) I will present the best approaches, mindsets, and hack-projects that helped us to really get things done. Additionally, the audience will learn the importance of emptying the mind to stay relaxed and productive at the same time.

"Without any free time at all
still feeling free all the time."
– Peter Liske

Transcript

1. Task & Life management Task & Life management > for_ NERDS PETER LISKE 2018-09-06
2. Without any free time at all still feeling free all the time. Peter Liske (@rkeytacked) Task & Life management for Nerds Senior Software Engineer + Principal Family Manager
3. 3 job = 40h family + household = 75h sleep = 50h hobby = 3h “Work-Life-Balance”?! Life = Work + Life ⇔ 0 = Work
4. 4 #1 – Why? Task & Life management for Nerds
5. 5 Remembering important tasks is hard. To forget them is also hard. Why should we even try it then?
6. Time management
7. 7 #2 – What? Task & Life management for Nerds
8. “You see, Momo, it's like this. Sometimes, when you've a very long street ahead of you, you think how terribly long it is and feel sure you'll never get it swept. And then you start to hurry. You must never think of the whole street at once, understand? You must only concentrate on the next step, the next breath, the next stroke of the broom, and the next, and the next. And all at once, before you know it, you find you've swept the whole street clean, bit by bit. What's more, you aren't out of breath.” Michael Ende, Momo Beppo Roadsweeper:
9. 9 1. Capture/Collect 2. Process 3. Organize 4. Review 5. Do Getting Things Done, by David Allen
10. 10 Lean Brain Management, by Gunter Dueck • Entertaining instructions on how to stop wasting our intelligence. • By putting all the intelligence into a system itself it becomes capable of being run by unskilled workers.
11. 11 #3 – How? Task & Life management for Nerds “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” Abraham Lincoln
12. 12 Task & Life management for Nerds • I am showing tools • Start slow and don’t hurt yourself! Health & Safety first!
13. 13 • Each and every “stuff” always goes directly into a physical in-basket or a digital todo list • Our ticket list is the one-and-only place to look for everything we have to do • Refuse to remember tasks ⇒ keeping your mind free all the time (A) Empty your Mind Task & Life management for Nerds
14. 14 • A recurring ticket tells us to process the in-basket during the weekend • for each (stuff) { • Either trash it • Or put it to the archive in-basket • Or do quick action immediately • Or turn it into a digital ticket • } (B) Process your in-basket regularly Task & Life management for Nerds // prioritize due to your own needs
15. 15 • A recurring ticket tells us to process the high-level projects (a.k.a. “epics”) • Excel list with priorities, business value, costs, … (C) Process your high-level projects regularly Task & Life management for Nerds
16. 16 • From time to time check your mail inbox • for each (mail) { • Either trash it • Or archive it • Or reply immediately if possible • Or create a follow-up ticket • } (D) Treat email as “stuff” like physical letters Task & Life management for Nerds
17. 17 • Monday: • We work a bit longer at job • Grandmother picks child #5 from Kindergarten • Child #1 doing 1st hobby • Tuesday: • She works a bit longer at job • He picks child #5 from Kindergarten • Child #1 doing 2nd hobby • Child #3 doing 1st hobby • Wednesday: • He works longer and doing his hobby • She picks child #5 from Kindergarten • Child #2 doing 1st hobby • Child #3 doing 2nd hobby • Child #4 doing 1st hobby • Thursday: • We work longer at job • She doing her hobby • Babysitter picks child #5 from Kindergarten • Child #1 doing 3rd hobby • Child #2 doing 2nd hobby • Friday: • She picks child #5 from Kindergarten • Child #2 doing 3rd hobby • Child #3 doing 3rd hobby Standard week for a big family • Saturday: • Processing in-basket • Sprint Planning Saturday – Sunday • Sprint Planning Monday – Friday • Doing all left-over tickets from before • Sunday: • Doing all other tickets between Brunch and Dinner • (including preparation for next week)
18. 18 Choose your weapon: The ticket system • Plain text files • Mantis • Bugzilla • Trac • Thunderbird + Lightning • MS Outlook • Google Mail + Calendar • GMX Mail + Calendar • Owncloud • Jira • Backend: JSON-API • MySQL • Apache Httpd + PHP (legacy) • Tomcat + Java / SpringBoot • Frontend: • jQuery SPA • Android App • Shared calendars: • DaviCal • CalDAV-Sync Custom Solution Evaluation until 2010
19. 19 Task & Life management for Nerds DEMO
20. 20 Open Sourcing any of these projects? Well, I did once for one piece. But at the moment I don’t have any time… ––––––––––––––– have other priorities…
21. • (A) Free your mind: • Use single in-basket • Use single ticket list • Trust the system • Use recurring tickets to: • (B) Process in-basket, using your prioritization method • (C) Process high-level projects • (D) Treat emails like physical letters • Process them only once into your system Summary Relax! Task & Life management for Nerds
22. 22 Recommended Reading • Momo, Michael Ende • Getting Things Done, David Allen • Lean Brain Management, Gunter Dueck • Your Competent Child / Dein kompetentes Kind, Jesper Juul
23. Thank you Questions?