Archive for February, 2008

The Cost of Perfection

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

I’m a perfectionist. I always have been. I struggle every day with wanting everything to be perfect. I’ve spent the past 10 yeas working at internet companies. For anyone who has ever used a website before (clearly you), this isn’t going to come as much of a surprise. But it turns out software (including websites) aren’t perfect and never will be.

One debate we often have at work is when should particular bugs be fixed, if ever. Those last two words are the kicker. That’s right: if ever.

Despite being a perfectionist, somewhere down the line, I learned about opportunity cost. It turns out not all bugs should be fixed. This was an amazingly difficult concept for me to understand. With bugs, the argument is two-fold:

  1. Whenever you change code, you run the risk of introducing bugs. To fix bugs, you need to change code. Thus fixing bugs often begets more bugs. Side note: begets is a great word.
  2. Fixing bugs comes at a cost of not building other things. This means that the outcome of fixing a bug has to be more valuable than the outcome of any other thing that could possibly be built with the same resources.

Now fortunately for most bugs, this evaluation is easy. The bug impacts many users and is important to our business or customers are upset or it leaves us vulnerable or … a million other things. You get the idea.

But there are always those other bugs that are much harder to classify. They don’t affect many people, but they look bad. How bad? Does it really matter? Are we being perfectionists or is it really important? I’ve found that these decisions are often the toughest. Learning to make them quickly and decisively has saved me much time over the past ten years.

Learning to let go of perfection and focus instead on desired outcomes and recognizing “good enough” has helped me enormously in my career. Now you might not work in software, but this philosophy works in every day life as well. It really comes down to filtering out the noise and focusing on what’s important. It’s not about being perfect in everything, it’s about being good enough in the things that matter.

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Green Tuesdays: Switch to CFL Bulbs and Unplug Those Energy-Wasters

Tuesday, February 26th, 2008

Despite the recent trendiness (or admittedly, maybe because of the recent trendiness), I’ve been putting more of a focus on living green. I’m an outdoorsy, environmentally-aware gal and I feel I should do my part. But where do I start? There’s so much conflicting information and it’s all a little overwhelming. I’ve decided to help focus my efforts and get better at it each week, I’m going to blog every Tuesday about one more thing I’m doing to live green.

This week, I did two things:

1) I switched all my light bulbs to CFLs. Over the past year, I’ve been replacing bulbs as they burnt out, but after reading this article, I decided to stop waiting and do a whole-house inventory. For those of you who hate to link off (do it anyway, Pablo writes good stuff), here’s a quick summary:

  • CFLs are almost 3x as efficient as incandescent bulbs, making it more than worth the money and sunk (environmental) cost of having to produce and transport that old bulb.
  • CFLs produce less heat and thus are less of a fire hazard.
  • While CFLs contain some mercury, they may cut down on mercury emissions - read the article for more details.
  • Old drawbacks of CFLS, such as slow light up times and dim lighting, have been improved upon recently and are hardly different from incandescents.
  • And if all of that isn’t enough, you’ll save money.

2) I started unplugging appliances when not in use. Most appliances, even while off, still drain electricity while plugged in. Unplug those suckers. I unplugged the following:

  • coffee maker
  • toaster oven
  • blender
  • paper shredder
  • roomba (I plug it in to charge on the day I plan to use it)
  • rarely used old PC
  • VCR (why do I still own this?)
  • xbox 360

As soon as I figure out how to make it easy to plug back in, I also plan to unplug my tv, stereo receiver and dvd player. But right now they are stuffed behind an entertainment center. If anyone has any good suggestions I’d love to hear them in the comments.

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Start the Day Right: Go For a Walk

Sunday, February 24th, 2008

I live one and a half miles from my office. I usually ride my bicycle. But recently, due to a knee injury, I’ve been walking. I have found it’s a great way to start my day.

Walking is slow. It gives me time to observe my surroundings, think about the day ahead of me and enjoy the current moment, all at the same time. It’s hard to be stressed out while walking. At least for me, the act of walking is calming.

I realize that not everyone lives close enough to work to walk. But everyone can walk somewhere - even if it is just around the block. Next time you are stressed out and need a break, take a walk.

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A Simple Diet Makes It Easier to Have a Healthier Diet

Monday, February 18th, 2008

Last October, I drastically changed my diet. After about a dozen people recommended Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, I finally read the book. I’m a skeptic of most diet programs and being active, I didn’t have a strong need to lose weight. At the time that I changed my diet, I thought maybe I had 5-10lbs to lose - nothing to write home about. So I wasn’t motivated by weight loss. I finally picked up the book because so many people had told me they never felt better after they switched. Here’s what I liked:

  • It’s written by an actual doctor. (Ok, Dr. Atkins was a doctor too, so this reason doesn’t stand on it’s own … keep reading)
  • Dr. Fuhrman’s successfully treats heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and stroke patients with nutrition. I have all these diseases in my family history, so this one really won me over.
  • Dr. Fuhrman’s diet is simple. The philosophy is increase the ratio of nutrients to calories in your diet. You do this by eating whole plants, the less processed the better.
  • What I really liked is that it makes sense and is simple. Eat natural foods. Avoid processed foods. Eat as much as you want, when you want.

So in early October, I went cold turkey. I cut out all refined sugars, processed foods, meat, dairy, salt and oil from my diet. I thought it would drive me crazy. Up until this point, I had subsisted on ice cream, soda, tortilla chips, cheese, crackers and just about anything else that came in a box or a bag. But it was far easier than I had thought. Here’s how I do it:

I eat fruit every day for breakfast. If I have time before work, I’ll also have oatmeal or whole grain toaster waffles. But usually I stick to just fruit and tea.

For lunch, I eat a salad. Every day. I mix it up. There are lots of types of salads. I avoid dressing unless it’s vegan. But I was never a big salad dressing fan, so this one was easy for me. Some of my favorite salads were things I had never had before:

  • purple cabbage, carrots and onions with some balsamic vinegar
  • green beans and tomatos - simple and delicious
  • taco salads are great even without the meat and cheese
  • pecans, almonds, walnuts add a whole new world of flavor to mundane salads
  • beans also add a lot to salads: garbanzo beans (some call them chick peas), kidney beans, black beans and pinto beans are my favorite salad toppers.

For dinner, I’ve been exploring all kinds of vegetarian/vegan fare:

  • soups
  • vegan chili
  • whole grain pastas and brown rice
  • vegetable stir frys
  • veggie sandwhiches
  • home-made veggie pizza (cheese-less, of course)
  • veggie curries

The options are endless. In between meals, I snack on nuts, fruits and veggies.

So what’s the verdict? I love it. I feel great. I sleep well. I have a ton of energy. I both think more and less about food - more about what’s in my food and less about what to eat for each meal (something I used to hate). I enjoy cooking more - turns out adding some constraints really opened up my creativity in the kitchen. I did lose some weight. It turns out I had a little more to lose than I had thought, but not much more.

If you are concerned about what’s in the food you eat or are concerned about health risks associated with diet, I highly recommend Eat to Live.

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Avoiding the Ups and Downs of the Election Process

Saturday, February 16th, 2008

I used to be a news junkie. I strongly believe that as an American citizen I have a civic duty to vote responsibly. I thought that the best way to do this was to be a news junkie. If I don’t know about the issues, how do I pick who has the best policies for the issues? My actions were based on a false assumption. I assumed that the news was the best source for understanding the issues. I was wrong.

I didn’t consciously stop reading the news. It just happened over time. It began in November 2004. I was deeply disappointed that we Americans re-elected George W. Bush. Don’t worry, I plan to keep specific politics out of this post, but the 2004 election had such a profound effect on me that I have to mention it. In the days after the election, I would start to read the news and would have to stop. It was too depressing. Instead of the usual ups and downs that is the American mass media, I saw it all as extreme downs. I stopped reading as a way to fend off despair.

This may sound extreme to some, but at this time, it really was affecting my daily life. So I stopped reading.

At the time, I thought I would pick up again after the post-election mayhem died down and the news turned to the more mundane. But even after that happened, I still couldn’t stomach it. So I gave it up.

About two months ago, it dawned on my that the California primary was in February and that I better figure out who to vote for. I started by watching the New Hampshire Democratic debates. I was blown away.

I didn’t know a thing about the candidates before watching the debates. I had ignored all media up until this point. I don’t have television, I don’t read the newspaper, most of my family subscribes to a brand of politics I don’t prefer, and I don’t run with a crowd who discusses politics often. So I really did know nothing about the candidates.

this gave me a fresh mind to evaluate character, performance and policy differences. For the first time in my life, I was watching a debate and not rooting for a winner. I was curious, engaged and indecisive. It was refreshing.

Afterwards, I fought the urge to dive into the news coverage. After all, I don’t need someone to tell me what my opinion is. Instead, I kept watching the subsequent debates.

I voted on Super Tuesday without reading a single article about the candidates, without visiting a single election website and without watching any television pundits. As a result, I believe it was the most educated voting choice I’ve made.

It had other benefits as well. I saved countless hours by not reading or watching the news. I also saved myself the emotional rollercoaster of the ups and downs of an election cycle.

I hope the candidate I voted for wins, but I don’t plan on watching how it plays out. After the conventions, I’ll tune into the debates, but until then I’m enjoying my ignorant bliss.

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How to Find Motivation When Stuck in a Rut

Wednesday, February 13th, 2008

As evident by my lack of posts this past week, I’ve been stuck in a bit of a rut. Not just in blogging, but in most areas of my life. My house is a disaster, I was feeling overwhelmed at work and I’ve had a string of injuries that is driving me crazy. I realized that I was getting into a tailspin of negativity, which was keeping me from being productive. I’m not back to full speed yet, but here’s what I am doing to help me get charged up again.

1) Allow yourself time to relax.

I do a lot. When I start to get in a rut, the first thing I do is embrace it. I think it’s important to have periods of laziness and inactivity. It allows your body and more importantly your brain to recover from the rigors of an active life. Of course, I can’t embrace it for too long without feeling the stress of falling behind. But I do allow myself an evening or two to do absolutely nothing. I indulge myself by watching a dvd of my favorite tv show or spend hours leisurely leafing through magazines. To fend off the stress of feeling irresponsible, I set a time limit and I savor ever moment of it.

2) Start Small, Just Do Something

When I fall behind, I have a really hard time starting. If I think about doing all the dishes, I don’t even want to start. Instead, I break it up. I tell myself, I’m just going to unload the dishwasher. That’s not an overwhelming task. But almost always, after unloading the dishwasher, I keep going and load up the dirty dishes. The same works for me at work and in every other aspect of life.

3) Ease Back in by Taking Breaks

When I get stuck in a rut, it’s usually because I worked too hard or did too much and am experiencing burn out. If I try to dive right back in, I often find myself back where I started, in another rut. Instead, I treat it like I’m recovering from a physical illness. I break things up into manageable sizes and I take lots of breaks. During this time, I might not be very efficient but I know that I’ll be more efficient in the long run. Going slower now, is worth knowing that I’ll be back to full-speed in no time.

4) Surround Yourself with Other Doers

I feed off of the energy of others. If I’m hanging out with people who are also in a rut, it’s nearly impossible for me to get out of it. I seek out people who are going full tilt and feed off of their energy.

5) Start the Day With Exercise - No Matter How Little

When I start the day with exercise I feel more energized. Often this is the first habit to go by the way side when I get stuck in a rut. Getting back into this routine helps to get my body and mind back into action-mode.

How do you get out of ruts? Share your tips in the comments.

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What To Do When the Travel Bug Hits

Monday, February 4th, 2008

Lately, I’ve been yearning to get out and see the world. I’ve spent the past 10 years working in the internet industry, and while I love it, I feel like I’m missing out on many life experiences. Unfortunately, I work at a startup during a critical time and I can’t exactly drop everything to feed my wanderlust. Here’s what I have been doing to cope:

Weekend Mini-Trips

I’ve been doing the best I can to take advantage of my weekends. This weekend I’m dusting off my snowboard and heading to Tahoe to take advantage of the very wet winter we’ve been having. A few weekends ago, I spent a long weekend in Southern California visiting family. I’m also looking at possible weekend trips to Seattle, Portland and other nearby jaunts in the coming weeks. With cheap tickets from Southwest and friends all over the country, I’m forcing myself to get out and explore the nearby world.

Plan A Vacation

Even if you can’t take time off now, there’s no reason why you can’t get excited and plan a trip for when things are less hectic. I’m in the middle of planning a big vacation for the summer (more on this in future posts) - I’m not sure summer will be less hectic, but I know by then I’ll need to take the time off for my own mental health. So I’m treating the travel bug by exploring future options.

Live Vicariously

On a related note, I’ve subscribed to National Geographic Adventure and Travel, and am clipping vacations that excite me. I’m keeping a folder and using the clippings as inspiration for weekend adventures and future travel. I’m trying to integrate travel into my routine and this is a great way to keep it top of mind.

Other Suggestions?

Do you have other suggestions for how to beat the travel bug when you can’t drop everything and run away? If so, I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

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Still Learning to Slow Down …

Saturday, February 2nd, 2008

I’ve been bogged down with a nasty cold all week. As a result, I’m not sleeping well, I have no energy, and generally feel terrible. And yet, this week I:

  • Went to work all five days.
  • Woke up at least an hour earlier than usual (to catch up), three of the five work days
  • Played in a hockey game
  • Took a skating lesson
  • Went to a pubic skating session to work on what I learned in my lesson
  • Attended four social events

Despite my efforts, I’m still learning how to slow down.

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