/home/dkramer

Preserving and sharing project knowledge

I came across this blog post on the Developer Art blog on preserving and sharing project knowledge.  I found both the articles and the comments insightful, offering several good suggestions for persisting and disseminating project knowledge.

This is a topic near and dear to my heart.  Anyone who has worked with me on a project knows I take endless notes, and I have been saved by them many times.  They can lead to information overload, but to me, it’s worth the risk.  You can’t go back in time and take notes at a meeting that already happened any more than you can reshoot your vacation pictures once you’re back home and notice that they all have your thumb in them.  I would rather record information and throw it away later if I don’t need it, than try to reconstruct an undocumented conversation after the fact.  The act of recording the information also helps me remember it.

Read on…

Time Management For Job Hunters

Time management for job hunters is tricky.  On the one hand, many career counselors will tell you that finding a job is now your full-time job you should be spending 40 hours a week on.  On the other hand, once you’ve exhausted the low-hanging fruit, you’ll be hard-pressed to find 8 hours of productive activities a day.  It goes without saying that trying to do nothing else all day would lead most people to deep depression and/or anxiety  Imagine spending 40 hours a week trying to find a date.  Finding a balance and prioritizing are the key.

Working on your job search is great, but not if you’re really doing busy work.  Focus on high-value activities when you’re working, focus on high-fun activities when you’re playing, and you’ll be much happier.  And above all else, be honest with yourself which one you’re doing   It’s essential to plan relaxation time in the day, because depressed interviewees don’t become employees.
Read on…