2019 reflection question

Posted by Ken
Jan 1, 2020 at 07:27 PM

jaslar wrote:
Fellow CRIMPers,
> >My question is not, or not chiefly, which tools did you use this past
>year, but what new thing did you discover in 2019 through USING that
>tool? That is, are we just shuffling our data around, or did any of us
>actually learn something from our software spelunking, something
>meaningful?

Great questions. I find CRIMPing to be a dual-edged sword. On the one hand, every switch has some productivity cost, whether that be a learning curve or time for migration. And this is why pen and paper is sometimes needed in my life. Keep it simple and focus on getting tasks done. If you don’t ever do the actual task, then you never move forward. Then again, this antidote only goes so far, especially if you are finding tasks piling up at a rapid rate. So, finding something that works and is as frictionless as possible is something that I always keep in mind and use to limit my desire to CRIMP at any deep level.

But, CRIMPing and exploring/testing new software, which I usually explore as what I am using still has some issues (i.e. friction) also pushes me to re-evaluate how I manage my tasks and information. A lot of the new software offers new features and tools, and that can open up new ways to look at how I manage my work. I recently decided to give ClickUp a spin after a long evaluation process. It offers a number of way that I can set it up to handle my projects and tasks, and that has caused me to reflect if how I am currently working could be changed or improved. Granted, one could say that this is just shuffling of the data, but the time I spent considering the options does cause me to reflect a bit more on my processes, and that is not always a bad thing. I do think there is a balance between refining and re-evaluating/improving my skills, and finding that balance is important, just like when CRIMPing. Sometimes we need to challenge ourselves with new thoughts and other times we just need to work on improving what we already know. I heard it once referred to as “a beginner’s mind”, and I like it at times as it keeps me fresh and from getting too set in my ways and thoughts.

—Ken